Female axie attacked

[hailz]

hi Guys, just when things were starting to settle in the axie department my male axies turned really nasty and attacked my female, Lulu.It happend just after they had their dinner(worms) The damage is pretty bad, he has almost ripped her front leg off(which was already deformed), and he had ago at the left back leg, and 2 big chunks out of her tail, I thought maybe that she had caught it on something in the tank, but as i was inspecting the tank for evidence the male grabbed the end of her tail and ripped it off, i quickly seperated them and yeah, she's not real good, but on the plus side she did eat a worm this morning, im going home to give her a salt bath, the area of the house she is in is pretty cold so i dont think she needs to go in the fridge.Is there anything else i can do to help her? she seems much more relaxed now she is away from him. Does anyone have any idea why my male axie would have such a nasty turn? they had been living together for a few months with never any problems, do u think he was just hungry maybe? i dunno its so weird, im still in shock at how vicious he was being

 

[rheann]

I don't think salt baths will be needed unless infection or fungus sets in, but what you could do is keep her in isolation with about 1/2 a teaspoon of salt in her water, make sure she is well covered in water with lots of space to be able to turn around so she will be comfortible. Also, sounds like your male got a bit territorial or aggitated. I would keep them seperated maybe permenently, sounds like he picks on her. When my Axie came to me with his front leg missing, I just put the bit of salt in his water, he was better. I put the bit of salt in his water each time I did a water change. It helped loads to do this. I hope this helps

Also, keeping her in the fridge helps, it helped with mine, but if the room you are keeping her in is cold, this helps too.

 

[hailz]

ok Thanks Rheann, I went home and checked on her at lunch, she is in a big tub so she has heaps of room to move, her front leg is so bad, you can see right through to the bone bit. i almost cried just looking at her. It has started to look a bit fluffy around the wound but im not sure if this is just a bit of skin or not. i gave her a salt bath before and then she did eat 2 worms and seems more responsive to whats around her so i dunno,she still cant move her front leg. just have to wait and see. I'd say thats what wrong with him, he has never done anthything like that before, they always got along really well. ill wait till she is completely healed and then put them together and see how they go.Thanks for your help

 

[anne-marie]

Keeping her isolated is the best thing at the moment. I have had axies before who have just been plain aggressive and it's really annoying because you have to separate them. Try to track down a tank divider or get one made by a glazier. Just in case.

 

[rheann]

Hailz, if you can get to a petstore, they usually have tank dividers there for pretty cheep, there are different sizes for different tanks. I will have to get one for a small crab that I have, as My Axolotls aren't in their tank right now because it is so hot, so the crab is in the tank. Tank dividers work wonders.

 

[hailz]

hmm i know i saw some at my local pet shop, ill look into it. Hey anne-marie were the axies you had aggressive like that when you got them? gill just seems to have snapped all of a sudden? it was weird

 

[anne-marie]

No she was just always picking on my male - but she died first years ago - I still have him. He leads a peaceful life now

.

It could be some type of mating thing? I know you already have some babies so maybe he thinks its time for more. Also, you mentioned you had just fed? Maybe he was still looking for food and she happened to be the closest thing available?

 

[hailz]

Yeah Thats what im thinking may be the problem, When i thought back i dont think o fed them last week as much as i normally do, and i have noticed since ive removed her from the tank he just keeps swimming and swimming like he's looking for her(dunno if thats a good thing or not considering he tried to eat her,lol) but i also noticed his private area (cant remember what its called sorry) was rather swollen and a bit pink, the same as when they first mated so..i dunno, i dont think i want anymore babies for a while,lol. it takes long enough to look after the ones i have now!
Lulu's leg is slowely starting to heal, i dunno if she'll ever be able to use it again,its pretty messed up. But she still eats like a pig so thats a relief. Thanks for your help ill keep you updated.

 

[hailz]

Update: Her leg seems to be ...rotting? the skin is peeling away and all the colour has gone(except for her toes where there seems to be a tiny bit of blood in them) i also found one of her toes in the tub were it seems to have fallen off

.her tail has healed and her back leg is doing fine.She is still eating really well. Should i do salt baths now? i noticed also she was walking around and trying to scratch her gills with her back leg...she seems to have stopped now but just thought id mention it incase it helps a bit. what should i do about her leg? will it spread to the rest of her?