Dying Axolotl - WHY?

[leandrah]

Hey guys and girls,
I am very confused by something that my Axolotl is going through.

I sit on this forum constantly, and I know the different signs of different illnesses, but I just don't know what has gone wrong with my little boy.

I got him about a month ago, and i have been feeding him earthworms, needless to say - He has gotten a lot bigger and his gills were blooming beautifully.
On Saturday Night he got fed, and he was 100%, but on Sunday when I woke up - his mouth was VERY swollen, and he was floating badly.

I took him out, put him in clean dechlorinated water and put him into the fridge straight away. I noticed that he had spots of blood on his body, like he was literally bleeding at certain spots. He is alone in his tank, besides some shrimp and the nitrites and all are normal.

He has gotten worse and I know that he is on the verge of dying which breaks my heart. Under his chin, he has a line of what looks like blood, basically where it connects the head to the neck, his gills are very red - they look like they are blood red, He is red where his limbs connect to his body, and he is now floating on his side badly, and sometimes belly up. He has different points on his legs where he is bleeding randomly - it looks like he is hemorrhaging from the inside. His tummy looks normal, slightly red on the sides and it isnt really swollen.

I have seen what it looks like when Axolotls have renal failure, but he isnt bloated besides in his face.

Do any of you know what this is from?
I will be putting the little guy to sleep tonight because I hate seeing him like this, and I do not think that he will recover from this stage - I don't want him to be in pain

 

[auntiejude]

Red spots and bleeding like you describe sounds like septicemia/systemic infection. This could be casued by almost anything - a minor injury is quite likely.

I think your axie needs to see a vet - he may need antibiotic injections. He will fare better in a fridge, it will slow down bacterial growth, but I suggest vet treatment ASAP.

 

[leandrah]

Hi Auntie Jude,
there are no vets here that deal with them. The only vet that deals with them is on leave.
He is getting worse in the fridge,

Could he heal from this?
If he has a chance, then I wont euthanize him. I just dont want him to be in pain

 

[auntiejude]

You need a vet to show how to administer the antibioic - it will probably be injections. But I'm not a vet, and I could have the diagnosis all wrong and it's something else.

If there is not vet who can treat your axie locally are they able to call another vet for advice?

 

[OliviaGrace99]

I agree .. Do what you can to keep him alive .
Send him to the vet . Go anywhere you can .
How long is that vet that deals with Axolotls on leave for ?

 

[leandrah]

He only gets back next week,
There is no one who deals with that stuff here

Could I not just give him antibiotics as a last resort?
I dont think he will make it until next week and I can get the antibiotics from a chemist

 

[auntiejude]

Do you know what antibiotic to use and what dose? You could try a generic treatment like merhylene blue in half the dose for fish, but I really think he needs vet input.

 

[Skudo09]

sorry to hear he is not well.

I agree with Auntiejude, veterinary advice is probably needed in this case. Unless you know what antibiotic and what dose to give, I would not attempt to medicate him with antibiotics bought from the chemist without consulting a veterinarian. You could cause more harm than good. Methylene blue at a half dose sounds like it may be worth a shot.

 

[Sweetie]

Is there any chance that the earthworm may have had some chemical toxin in it? So many of the rodent baits contain substances that cause haemorrhaging, though I have no idea if these could affect axies, and there are undoubtedly many other chemicals that may do this. Just a thought.

 

[leandrah]

I dont think it was from the earthworms because they all came from one place, and my other axolotls were fine.

I have attached a picture just before i euthanized him,
He only got worse and I couldnt let him carry on in pain.

the water is that colour due to the blood, and i added clean dechlorinated water twice a day.
Closer to the end, all he could do was lie on his side and on his back.

The picture doesnt show his random bleeding, he was a lot more red in real life

Do any of you guys know what this is? And what it is from?

Sorry for the picture, its horrible to look at

 

[HayleyK]

Oh leah, so sorry to hear about your little guy

 

[leandrah]

He had grown so much in 3 weeks. I was going to move him into the big tank soon,
I have never ever had such a hard decision as I had euthanizing him. I was in complete tears before I even took him out of the fridge. A really horrible thing to have to do

 

[Skudo09]

I am sorry Leandrah

 

[leandrah]

Do you know what it could be?

 

[HayleyK]

I completely know how you feel, I felt horrible taking a car ride to the vets to euthanize Jose at least he is no longer in pain.

I'm not sure what this could be, or if it is contagious but it shows the importance of quaranting new things. Thankfully he wasn't able to pass it to your other axolotl.

 

[leandrah]

Yes, so glad I quarantined him
i just wish that I knew what it was

Does it look like septicemia?