Heat stress/ possible bacterial issue: should I fridge?

[littlelotllady]

Hi all! I am in need of some help asap! I have an axolotl named Habib who is 4 years old

In summers passed we've had issues with his little toe tips being red. We ended up going on a very stressful car ride to the vet and got prescribed antibiotics-Baytril (this was a couple years ago) but the toe redness did clear up. this vet is a little far away and not very experienced with axolotls so if possible i would prefer avoiding the long car ride but of course will take him is that's what needs to happen then of course we'll make an appointment,

This summer has been wicked hot and despite having 2 aquarium fans and a box fan in his section of the basement his temp was at 72 F yesterday. I have an aquarium chiller on the way and it should be in Monday 8/6

He lives in a 29 gallon tank with sand substrate and 2 large sponge filters. pH is 7.2 ammonia 0 ppm nitrite 0 ppm nitrate 5.0 ppm. He is a pet store rescue and I suspect was not bred with much attention towards genetics and he is albino too so I wonder/worry sometimes about his health and etc

He eats mostly earthworms with the occasional omega-one turtle diet cube and every once in a blue moon 1 wax worm as a treat.

I'm worried about septicemia or some other bacterial issue, he looks red and flushed and his little toe tips are red and stubby again. He is still eating normally and with enthusiasm thank goodness but I'm still very worried. His gills naturally curl a little but they are definitely curled in a stressed manner. I'm currently treating his tank with kanamycin and I am wondering if I should fridge him especially while we wait for the chiller to come in.

Any thoughts or suggestions? I love Habib so much and just feel awful that he is unwell and of course feel guilty too for not being able to fix it! I've attached some photos so you folks can see what I'm talking about

 

[Hayleyy]

Great that you have a chiller coming! I recently got one and it takes so much stress of your shoulders.
You absolutely can fridge until the chiller gets to you. If you can, keep the water around 10 degrees so it isn't too cold. He will eat much less while in there, which is no issue. It may help with the gills too. Is there much of a current in the tank, causing his gills to curl? Your tank set up sounds perfect, so that's the only thing I can think of (other than the temp).
Symptoms of septicemia, I believe, are red legs (along the whole leg) and bloating. Do a search on the forums for this and you should be able to find heaps more info!

 

[littlelotllady]

thank you Hayleyy!
There is not a current in his tank, the sponge filters do cause some bubbles but not even enough to make the silk plants in the tank move so I think the poor guy is just curling gills because he's hot

Let's hope this chiller gets here on time so I can have some piece of mind for the rest of the summer!

 

[Hayleyy]

Heat must be the root cause then, goodluck! Update once it comes so we can see if it helped

 

[littlelotllady]

We got the chiller up and running! He gills are more relaxed now although I'm still a little worried about the redness but my boyfriend says he does look less flushed than before.

I'm going to try and get him to a vet asap the soonest appointment we could get was for Monday the 13th though

On the bright side Habib seems happier and is still eating normally! The chiller is such a relief. The temp has stayed up in the high 80's-90's outside and now I don't have to worry about his tank temperature!

 

[Hayleyy]

I have a new axolotl who has a bit of a red tail so I did some reading and apparently redness can be caused by increased bloodflow from being active and/or feeding, so it doesn't seem to be a sign of stress. Keep checking water parameters and temp so you're on top of it all :happy:

 

[littlelotllady]

Hi everyone!
Just wanted to give an update on Habib, chiller has been great I highly suggest one to anybody who lives in a climate that can get toasty

We saw a really knowledgeable vet finally! She has prescribed 4 medicated baths with 1 liter of water and gentamicin 15-20 mins every other day (4 baths total over 8 days)

I'm so relieved we were able to see someone who knows her stuff and we were able to get vet prescribed medicine, Habib still does have redness on his toe tips and tail but the vet said we've caught the issue early on so hopefully he will pull through just fine

I'll keep everyone posted on how he looks after we finish medication
Also anyone in the Western MA area Dr. Greenberger from Belchertown Veterinary hospital is amazing with exotics and knew a lot about axies!