Dislocated leg?

[jessicaanne]

Okay so my mum had been keeping and eye on my axolotl's because I was away for 2 days. Before I left, my wild type (there's always something wrong with HER) was laying in the corner with her leg in a weird position but I figured she could just be resting in an awkward yet comfy position. I told my mum to keep an eye on her for the next few days and when I came home she said that Corona had moved from the corner but was still laying in a weird position so I thought that was odd, however she looked normal otherwise. I stayed at my boyfriend's last night and came home just before and found her in the same position (different spot). Basically she isn't using her front left arm at all when she walks and it is NOTICEABLY fatter (swollen) than all of her other feet. Her leg is really swollen and her toes look like sausages. There doesn't appear to be any tears in the skin or fungus growing so I'm not sure if it's an injury from fighting with the male or not. I'm leaning towards dislocation because it's positioned further up than the front right leg but then again it could be just the way she's holding it up. I can't get a photo because she's so dark and therefore you can't see her leg while it's being held up against her side Has anybody had this happen to theirs?

By the way her tail and gills aren't curled so she doesn't physically look stressed by it.

 

[jessicaanne]

Well the lighting in my lounge room must be horrible because I didn't even notice the discolouration on her leg until I seen the photo taken using flash The first image shows how fat her toes are (the foot that is top right in the image). Does anybody think it will heal seeing as though there isn't a tear in the skin or any fungus?

 

[jessicaanne]

Well I'm hoping it's a problem that can fix itself over time. She just ate so it isn't affecting her appetite and although she can't swim that great and she's a bit wobbly, I'm sure she'll get the hang of it after a while. If infection arises then I will do salt baths as per the tutorial. I think I may have to eventually separate the pair as she may become more vulnerable to attacks and besides I'm pretty sure this happened as a result of a fight. I just read a few promising posts about dislocated/broken legs returning to normal after a few months so I'm hoping that's all it is!

I've attached a video of her swimming. The view from above shows it clearer which begins at 30secs

MOV02759.mp4 video by xx-jecca-xx - Photobucket

 

[RedJesta]

Hey ^__^ My axolotl always does a weird thing with his leg and often favors to not use it at all while swimming around and even while walking around the tank the only exception is that my axolotl's leg is not swollen. So I hope its just something like that because they all seem to have their own weird traits. =D And hopefully its nothing serious for you.

 

[jessicaanne]

Update: She has fungus growing at the base of her leg

I was hoping I'd never have to do a salt bath because I've heard that they can thrash around a bit. I feel bad enough having to get them out of the tank which is always something I get my boyfriend to do instead I just fed her so fridging her wouldn't be a great idea because the food won't digest, correct? Also the salt bath will have to wait until tomorrow because it's getting late.

 

[jessicaanne]

I don't know why I'm bothering to update this thread because of the lack of interest/help but here are some pictures anyway..

The fungus is still attached to a tiny bit of skin but even after using tweezers it was too hard to pull away. Almost similar to when you have a scab and there's that one part that is still attached to the fresh skin and it hurts to pull away. I'll try another salt bath tomorrow and hopefully within a few days she's fungus-free. The area is still red and tender so I'm hoping that will just repair itself with clean, cool water and the swelling goes down.

 

[Kaysie]

Keeping her clean and cool should help the salt baths work better.

Any ideas on how she dislocated it in the first place? Tank mate?

 

[jessicaanne]

Keeping her clean and cool should help the salt baths work better.

Any ideas on how she dislocated it in the first place? Tank mate?

I kept her in the fridge from yesterday afternoon up until this morning and did another salt bath, now she's back in a separate container with de-chlorinated water. My tank is a stable 14 - 15 degrees Celsius so would she be fine to go back in there or will I need to keep her in the fridge as long as I'm doing the baths?

Well her and her tank mate often have shots at one another so he either grabbed her by the leg and it's been injured that way OR she's had a fright and swam really hard into the tank wall and/or tunnels. I'm trying to work out another tank to put her in but I'm not having any luck so far.

 

[joescalais]

Mine has same sort of problem hope it gets better

 

[Kaysie]

She should be fine in the tank, as long as the fungus is diminishing with the salt baths. You don't want to keep putting her in the fridge and taking her out, as the constant changes in temperature can be stressful.

To reduce aggression, you can try introducing more hides/visual barriers (like plants). Also, Feed the aggressive one first, and on the opposite side of the tank as the more timid one.

 

[jessicaanne]

She should be fine in the tank, as long as the fungus is diminishing with the salt baths. You don't want to keep putting her in the fridge and taking her out, as the constant changes in temperature can be stressful.

To reduce aggression, you can try introducing more hides/visual barriers (like plants). Also, Feed the aggressive one first, and on the opposite side of the tank as the more timid one.

Yeah I put her back in the tank last night and everything is so far so good. I'm going to take her out and do another salt bath soon so hopefully that one little bit is ready to come away from the skin :happy:

I have to give my tank a makeover because the 3 hides I have are too big to use together and very jarring to look at! I want a more natural look so I've found a few natural looking hides on ebay. I manage to kill all the live plants I've had in the tank so I think silk plants may be the way to go

I do feed the male first but because the female takes a while to eat hers (and sometimes spits it out repeatedly) it's so hard to try and keep him from wandering back down to her end.

 

[jessicaanne]

I just checked on her because I was about to do a salt bath but that piece has fallen off by itself and she's fungus-free! Will I still need to do a salt bath? I don't really want to put her through that process if it isn't necessary

 

[Kaysie]

I would do salt baths for another day or two, just to kill any microscopic bits of fungus that are left.

 

[jessicaanne]

Well I don't think it was a dislocation because after her first 2 days of salt baths, she was moving it again and the only evidence of injury was a red patch where the fungus was. She was better besides the tender part but now (a week later), her arm and fingers are swollen like a balloon again and she's holding it up the same way There is no recurring fungus yet but I don't know what's caused it to swell again (let alone the first time)

 

[Minniechild]

Legs are a pain I'd probably be starting up the salt baths again- a tip I've figured out for keeping them calm is to gently rest your finger/thumb over their nose whilst putting them into the bath, and then supporting their body... they still wriggle, just not as much.
Keep us up to date, all right?

 

[jessicaanne]

Legs are a pain I'd probably be starting up the salt baths again- a tip I've figured out for keeping them calm is to gently rest your finger/thumb over their nose whilst putting them into the bath, and then supporting their body... they still wriggle, just not as much.
Keep us up to date, all right?

She was fine during the salt baths. She just sat there calmly and allowed me to remove the fungus with a cotton wool bud. However, I'm a bit reluctant to start the baths again while there aren't any signs of fungus. I had another look and it doesn't seem as red and the swelling isn't as bad as it was earlier. I will definitely keep you posted though.

 

[jessicaanne]

Just an update:

She doesn't like using the sore leg as much but does so when she's swimming. The wounded area that had fungus isn't getting any worse yet it doesn't appear to be improving either. It's no longer red but it is white which is a stark contrast to her dark body! That part is skinnier than the remainder of the leg, so it is now obvious that a chunk of skin was pulled away, almost to the bone I guess. I'm fairly certain it was a result of a fight with my Copper. For the past few days she's been sitting lop-sided but hopefully she'll be better in a few weeks. I'm still contemplating moving her to another tank because her and my male just seem to be a clashing pair

 

[Kaysie]

White is good. It usually means there's new tissue growing.

If your tank is big enough, you could try a divider too.

 

[2gsom]

I hope she keeps getting better. Poor baby. I found moving my boy who was unwell has recovered well and much faster since I moved him into his own tank. Best wishes.

 

[jessicaanne]

Okay well that's a relief Kaysie! Unfortunately my tank is only 3ft long so dividing it would leave them both with minimal area. My boyfriend's mum has a spare tank but I have a feeling it is only about 2ft long, would this be okay for her as she is 8"?

Thanks I hope so too. I hate seeing them fight because she always comes out second best. My male rarely attacks first but when he does, he is rough and causes damage by grabbing and shaking whereas she attacks more often but they're just nips. Hmm I hope I have things resolved soon whether it be more hides or plants because it's come down to more than just hunger aggression..