Does Lavender look healthy/is this normal behaviour?

[faebugz]

Lavender is my wild type who I rescued, her growth was severely stunted. She's grown about half an inch since I got her about 6 weeks ago, and she has successfully learned to walk, swim, and put on weight! This is my first time owning an axolotl so my only issue is I don't have a baseline to compare to for behaviour/mobility techniques (not sure what to call it lol)

She has passed a few large and a few small pieces of gravel from her previous tank since I got her (hard to miss as its bright blue).
It seems like she still has some in her, because of how her belly hangs, but honestly I could just be overfeeding her (she was so skinny when I got her, I've been feeding her 1-3 earthworms a day, fasting every 3-5 days for 24 hours)
There was a huge poop in the tank (like half the size of her head) next to some blue gravel this morning. This was after 3 small earthworms last night following a fast day.
The video was taken just now.
It seems like she's swimming a lot better but she still seems to struggle to reach the top. Normal?
She seems much more buoyant than usual, she looks like she's having fun hanging out up near the top and sinking down slowly. Normal?

It seems like the fast day then worms acted like a laxative to get some gravel out. Should I continue this? Should I be trying harder to get the gravel out, or just keep doing what I'm doing?

She seems much happier now from when I got her- she hid in her log constantly but now she's always out and about, attacking anything that remotely seems to have a pulse

TL;DR is her behaviour normal? Should I continue feeding as I am?

 

[vagus]

Hi Faebugz,

Gonna lay it to ya straight-

I will assume that you have read all the pages over at Axolotls: The Fascinating Mexican Axolotl and the Tiger Salamander. If not, I highly recommend it.
And as with all new axolotl owners I will advise that they are tough critters so long as you are mindful of water quality and temperature. If those are good and they have a healthy appetite, they are typically in good shape.

That said, gravel in the digestive system is a serious concern, and even if you see no bowel movements with gravel in them, it is possible some is still in there and could cause trouble at a later date. There is no "laxative" for axolotls, though I have heard some people using fattier grubs like Waxworms. I have never done this, so I can't attest to it.

The bad news to watch for- if you see what looks like fine translucent "worms" hanging from the axolotls vent, then the stones have terminally damaged the intestines, and the axolotl with need to be euthanized. The axolotl may still be active and have an appetite, but the stones will have done damage to the intestines that their natural regeneration can't repair, and you aren't likely to find a vet that can fix.

The other bad symptom will be signs of prolapse. This can potentially be fixed by a vet with reptile and amphibian experience if noticed soon enough. It is always good to know who your exotic pet vets in your area are before you potentially need them.

As it stands, I would switch to a bare bottom tank so you don't have grit making a potential situation worse, but otherwise just keep your routine and be mindful of changes. As to the various swimming and floating behaviors, those look normal to me from here. Younger axolotls do lots of weird things when moving around their environment. And not knowing how big the axolotl is or the earthworms, a good rule of thumb in my experience is to feed as much as the axolotl will eat in 5 minutes, offering food every day for the first year or so, and moving to every other day as they get to 2-3 years old.

 

[faebugz]

Hi Faebugz,

Gonna lay it to ya straight-

I will assume that you have read all the pages over at Axolotls: The Fascinating Mexican Axolotl and the Tiger Salamander. If not, I highly recommend it.
And as with all new axolotl owners I will advise that they are tough critters so long as you are mindful of water quality and temperature. If those are good and they have a healthy appetite, they are typically in good shape.

That said, gravel in the digestive system is a serious concern, and even if you see no bowel movements with gravel in them, it is possible some is still in there and could cause trouble at a later date. There is no "laxative" for axolotls, though I have heard some people using fattier grubs like Waxworms. I have never done this, so I can't attest to it.

The bad news to watch for- if you see what looks like fine translucent "worms" hanging from the axolotls vent, then the stones have terminally damaged the intestines, and the axolotl with need to be euthanized. The axolotl may still be active and have an appetite, but the stones will have done damage to the intestines that their natural regeneration can't repair, and you aren't likely to find a vet that can fix.

The other bad symptom will be signs of prolapse. This can potentially be fixed by a vet with reptile and amphibian experience if noticed soon enough. It is always good to know who your exotic pet vets in your area are before you potentially need them.

As it stands, I would switch to a bare bottom tank so you don't have grit making a potential situation worse, but otherwise just keep your routine and be mindful of changes. As to the various swimming and floating behaviors, those look normal to me from here. Younger axolotls do lots of weird things when moving around their environment. And not knowing how big the axolotl is or the earthworms, a good rule of thumb in my experience is to feed as much as the axolotl will eat in 5 minutes, offering food every day for the first year or so, and moving to every other day as they get to 2-3 years old.

Thank you for the detailed response!

Yes, I have done extensive reading (everything on that site and many others, and tons of old and new questions on this forum). Of course, it's no trade for experience, but I at least have some experience keeping fish and other "contained ecosystem" animals. So, the water quality and temperature are good, at least.

Luckily neither of those bad signs have happened!! I've kept a close eye on her, but she honestly would have to be very resilient to have made it this long.

Her previous owner was a late friend of mine who kept her in a large, very overstocked goldfish/pleco/algae eater tank. It was pretty filthy and had a lot of current, she spent most of her time starving in a hide.
She was in there for 1-2 years, which is why her growth was so stunted. She was about 5 inches, barely, when I got her, and looked anorexic. In less than two months, she has gotten to 6 inches and is nice and round. The tank she came from had fairly small gravel, luckily, and was very rounded. No sharp edges, so while I imagine it sucks to pass it's at least not cutting her up.

The reason I chose sand initially is because she was struggling to walk, she's better now but it was difficult for her to relearn. I did sift the sand thoroughly through a fine mesh strainer to remove anything that might cause issues, do you think that's enough? I don't want to cause stress by forcing her to walk without sand.

Hmm, I'm not sure how to apply the 5 minute rule to my situation. I feed her by hand, partly because I don't want her ingesting sand, partly because she won't eat anything not waving above her head, and partly because it was how I helped her learn how to walk and swim again. It's also really cute watching her chase after the worm. I usually make her work for it, so I don't know how the 5 minute rule of thumb would apply here... She gulps them down pretty fast once she gets them!

The worms vary in size from about 1 inch long to 4 inches long, and are either common earthworms or Canadian nightcrawlers, all from my compost pile. If the worm is bigger, she only gets one, smaller, she gets more.

I'm estimating she's at least 2-3 years old, but I honestly have no idea. Seeing as she's having a growth spurt, should I feed her as an adolescent?

Thanks again for your thoughtful answer, and I apologize for the lengthy reply!