Dislocated or Twisted Arm

[BuzzC89]

I'd like to start this post by introducing myself. My name is James, I've been looking through the forums for a while now (since before my tank was cycling) and yesterday I got myself my first Axie I think she is a female and is a wild type Axie. I haven't got a name just yet and if you read on you'll find out why.

I picked her up from the store yesterday, she was the most active wildtype in the tank. When I got her home I floated her bag in her new home for around 45 minutes to 1 hour. During this time every 10 minutes or so I added some of the tank water then left the room. I netted her carefully (she practically walked into the net on her own accord and this is when I noticed one of her legs was stuck behind her gills, so I released her into the tank and she swam around checking out all of her new things then found a place to hide for a couple hours. I was checking on her often and she finally come to the front of the tank intrigued at the new face staring through the glass at her.

She never stops for a breath, constantly swimming and walking around the tank. Usually at the side of the glass closest to my bed. Well after inspecting her I noticed that her leg seems slightly twisted, it doesn't appear to be broken but as she moves it she doesn't have much control, as she walks it comes past her body and down brushing her gills, when she swims she holds it in a vertical position. I called the pet store today and aske them for advice. I said I can monitor her for a couple more days if she doesn't get better can I bring her up. The guy was happy for me to do this and said bring her up in a couple days an they will inspect her and will be able to either exchange her or give me store credit.

Do you guys have any idea what may have happened, do you think she is still repairing a damaged joint? I don't really want to have to exhange her because I've been able to hand fed her worms which she loved and shes very active and inquisitive which is exactly what I think makes the perfect Axie on the other hand I'd rather not have an Axie with a defect so to speak if exhanging for a more physically able Axie.

They're very mystical creatures and I think I have the Axie bug

Thanks in advance for any information and suggestions guys. Btw the temperature of the tank has been 15-18 even with the gorgeous low 20c weather we had today so hopefully I won't need to cool the tank manually too often this summer.

 

[snuggly time]

Welcome :happy:

I'd keep a close eye on the leg. If it stays like that I wonder if other members will suggest having it amputated if it's causing her trouble. They can grow limbs back within a few weeks.

Other than that she looks like a healthy little lotl.

 

[BuzzC89]

Thank you for your response. I think I will ring the store tomorrow and find out if they have more Axies due in soon or whether they still have the other wild type. I plan on getting a larger tank possibly double the size of my current tank which is just over 14 gallons or about 2.5 feet wide and would be looking for another axie roughly of similar size and most probably a Leucistic just have to keep my fingers crossed they settle in together. This will most probably be after summer. I will have a think overnight and decide whether to keep my Axie or exchange her. She's such a character and have barely had her 36 hours

 

[hannahll]

Although you may not have noticed her arm at the shop, I think it's somewhat your fault for not watching them as closely as you should before purchasing.
Whenever i buy an animal, i always remind myself i am purchasing a living creature, not an item that sits on the shelf.
BUT that aside, i think you should keep her anyhow. I don't think that's going to affect her quality of life all that much.. Obviously she's very healthy. In the future & if necessary, amputation could be an option.

 

[BuzzC89]

I am quite aware of checking health of aquatic animals as I've been keeping them for many years. I did check the health of all the cold water tanks, no dead fish and spot on parameters. The tank with Axies is at the bottom and is very dark so when she was swimming around I wasn't able to see her leg. It looked normal to me as I did check all the limbs, it still looks normal, she barely moved at all right up to the point she was in the tank thats when I noticed she didn't have full control if her leg. Like I said I will monitor her leg. I doubt I will take her back and get a replacement. Personally I don't like the idea of amputating her leg and don't have any access to vets that deal with aquatic animals an such. The main reason for taking her back to the store is so they can advise me, they're the professionals and the internet has its limits. Shes a very happy girly, currently patrolling her new home. I'll be building a nice slate cave for her tomorrow which I'm sure she'll enjoy

 

[Mortimer]

I am also unsure how you didn't notice this! That aside, I'm similarly unsure why you would want to exchange her for another.

Does it seem to cause her problems getting around? If you add another axolotl to the tank, would it be putting her at risk?

Also....I'm wondering if she had her leg bitten off before and maybe this is how it grew back. I know they don't always regenerate things quite like they were originally.

Did you ask the pet store owner if that's how he/she got her?

And...welcome to the forum.

Sharon

 

[BuzzC89]

Hi Sharon, thank you.

I did ask, the guy I dealt with goes to a fish keeping collage and knows the breeder well, hes visited hes classes many times so I'm told. The breeder is reputable and has bred thousands for the store. They get delivered from the midlands in England.

The loss of limb is what I asked as a possibility because I've done a fair amount of reading through the forums and noticed a lot of Axies lost limbs and they didn't regenerate properly. I' hoping the joint was damaged and is still in the process of repairing its self as when she can she doesn't use it and instead of walking she tends to swim so shes possibly resting it as shes constantly active, around the 'shoulder' on closer inspection it does seem slightly thinner than her fully functioning arm/leg on her right side so I think damage was definitely done at some point. Shes between 5 and 6" so I think a year old give or take. Shes got a healthy appetite which is a bonus for me. I didnt feed her yesterday and fed her a few mill worms today. She loves the taste of fingers it seems so it should be fun trying to build her cave tomorrow! I may have to put her in the currently empty vaccy tank (with some of her water obviously at least she won't be pecking at my hand while I build her a new sleeping headquarters

I misread your question but a little bit of extra info is always nice haha. They had about 40 axies a couple months ago so it was probably awkward checking for 'defects' as it were. I'm sure the limb loss is more viable

 

[Mortimer]

I was just thinking that if it regrew like that, it probably isn't causing pain (?). If it's joint damage, it might be.

You mentioned that she's moving around a lot. How much would you say? (Ha...I don't know how you'd quantify that!). Before I would let my treated water sit before adding it, my adult axolotl (Mortimer) would move around like crazy and sometimes run smack into the glass. After I started letting the water age after treating it, this stopped happening.

 

[BuzzC89]

I think she is just a crazy Axie to be honest haha. Shes really inquisitive and interactive. Im using my phone and the room is dark. I think because the phone is lighting up my face shes trying to get to me, the tanks a couple foot away from my bed. She seems very happy already, has also been landscaping her tank, i liked it the way i did it to be honest haha

 

[Mortimer]

Pictures?

 

[Chirple]

My guy had only one arm when I got him - he has all four now (the one with only two fingers is actually the one he started with - the regenerated ones are "perfect") .

It skeeves me out to talk about "returning" an animal because it's "defective". This is not some life-ending defect where euthanasia would be humane, such as a digestive system with no outlet (which can happen to a axolotls). This is an animal who has been injured and I wouldn't return her to the store that would treat a life with such little regard. They should be offering to help treat or sending you to a vet not offering store credit, that's disgusting.

I would watch it for a while and if it's not getting better in a few weeks I would consider amputation. Even if it doesn't grow back properly it will most likely be better an developing complications or free injuries from not being able to properly control the limb. Having a three legged pet isn't the end of the world and an arm injury isn't a reason to return an animal to face the likelihood of it being killed for something that could easily have been cared for.

You seem kind and like you are trying for her, so don't take this as a personal comment on you, but on the store. Check out earthworms or blackworms as a food source - mealworms are not very nutritious, and good nutrition is essential to healing.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

 

[snuggly time]

If you plan on putting two axies in the same tank make sure you quarantine them both. Also adding a tank divider might be a good idea for a while.
I'm just a bit worried if she's a bit slower due to having a broken leg she might not be able to get away from a new axie quick enough. Sometimes they nip at each other, most likely thinking the other axies legs or gills are a juicy worm. If her energy is going into healing one leg, losing another could be very stressful.

 

[BuzzC89]

I'll definitely be separating them and will have them in separate tanks for a while before moving them both into one tank. I dug up some small worms yesterday and tried her with them. Bearing in mind shes only ever been fed bloodworms til I brought her home. I picked out the smallest worm and held it to the glass. She swam from one side of the tank to the other to see what i had for her so i opened up the tank lid she was already at the top waiting for it so i held the worm about 1" above the water and she forced herself out of the water and grabbed the worm from me. She loved it.

I made her a cave yesterday, trying to work in the tank with her in there is a nightmare if not a little funny. I guess she thinks im food too lol

Her tank


Checking out her cave


Starring completion with the camera lol


I don't have the light on at all, i only turned it on to eliminate some reflections. Without the light on the tank has been a solid 18 degrees (65/66f).

All seems well so far. Shes eats and poops well and is still trying to use her poorly leg. It seems her shoulder works and its her knee that is twisted or has grown back funny thats why it looks awkward when she walks/swims

 

[snuggly time]

That's a nice tank.

 

[BuzzC89]

Thanks she loves it in there. I'm gonna get some small live potted plants for her. She has the moss ball and java moss from my tropical tank for now. She likes her new cave too. She was peeking out at me through it earlier

 

[pondweed]

Seconding that that's a rather gorgeous tank set-up. And she's pretty! So long as her leg doesn't cause her any impediment, I don't know why you'd try to do anything about it. Hope it's healing, though.

 

[Jen10s]

I'd have to agree with everyone else, she is gorgeous and so is your tank. Jealous of your lovely moss ball too

One of my Axies came with a leg missing (right up to the shoulder), it took a while to regenerate and he always held it down along his body when it grew back cause I think he just got used to swimming without it or didn't quite know what to do with it.

 

[Tephra]

One of my axies has a strange front leg as well, when it's in resting position she just holds it at her side rather than put it on the ground. She does use it a lot, kind of awkardly, but often enough to know that it doesn't cause her pain. She just looks a little funny, but other than that, no problem.

Just keep an eye on it for a while, see if it could cause your axie pain. If not, just leave it as it is. Animals adapt easily.