HEEEEELP!!! my poor axie is sooo sick!

J

jami

Guest
ok...
after reading heaps of stuff in this site (thanks to everyone) I've realized that there are a few things that I need to do asap in order to save my little friend... but any opinions would be great...

My axie is about 4-6 months old... still jus'a little'n..
In the space of about 48 hours he has gone from fine to real bad.
~the ph is neutral, ammonia is 0 & the temp is about 19.
I recently got a new filter & thought the flow was a little high so now I've turned it off for the time being. so I guess he's been a little stressed..

but the situation is this.
his tail has a terrible white fungus eating it away & one of his back legs has become limp & one of his (hands) has swollen & one of his (fingers) has swollen all with this white fungus growing on it. also his underbelly from about the cloacal region through to about half of his tail has a red fungus. also his gills have gone reddish aswell.
he's just sitting there with his back half in the air & hasn't really eaten in 48 hours... it's all happened so quickly...

*weep*sob*weep*

the plan from here is to begin salt bathing twice a day & keep water flow to a minimum. However from here I'm unsure. I was thinking Mercurochrome???
should I add this to the tank? or bath him?

help! does anyone know any other fungal fixes available in Australia?
or does anyone know of a good vet in Melbourne?

I'll post a picture in morning, but other wise any ideas would be top shelf...

excuse me whilst I go cry...
 
I haven't used Mercurochrome but posts suggest that a bath of 10ppm seems to be sufficient for sores, abraisions and fungus.

Furan2 seems to be have used with some success in dilute concentrations too.

Try this as a starting point of use the search option for 'herp vets'
http://www.herpvetconnection.com/oz.shtml

Try to get that filter flow discharge down. Check out 'set-ups' some recently did a trick with a bottle to create an effective diffuser, or try a sponge, directing at rocks etc.

If you cant get furan2 or similar straightaway then try salt baths ASAP.
 
1. Put your axo in the fridge. Seriously.

2. Salt Baths. John suggests "just give him a bath in some salty water for about 10 minutes once or twice a day (2-3 teaspoons per litre/two pints). That should kill the fungus within a few days. Don't leave the Axolotl in the salt bath for more than 10-15 minutes each time, because the salt will start to damage the Axolotl's skin and particularly its gills." (from http://www.axolotl.org/faq.htm#43)

3) Add a bit of salt to the water all the time. around a teaspoon per gallon should suffice.

4) I had great success with Nitrofurazone (the main ingredient in furan-2). It comes under a number of names. ask your local fish store.
 
you know what sucks~

Furan-2 is not available in Australia...
In fact, almost all 'fungal fixes' are not avail in Oz...
The salt baths seem to be keeping him alive, but he's fungal growth has now spread to his front legs...
Ok, I guess it's the fridge from here...

Also I contacted an Australian Herp vet & they said that salt bathing was the worst thing I could do & that it would kill him quicker.
Also that a Mercurochrome bath would almost definately kill him within hours...

rather confused indeed...
 
Ok. first of all, i hate to say it but it is unlikely that your vet has anything like the experience you can find on this board. between us we have been through thousands of axo illnesses and probably millions of salt baths, where your vet may have experienced less than 10. this is not a disparagement to your vet, just the way things are.

If you doubt our experience as laypeople, have your vet contact the indiana university axolotl colony, the foremost experts in axolotl biology. http://www.indiana.edu/~axolotl/
they will tell you the same thing about the salt baths.

next, have you tried looking at different preparations for nitrofurazone? i would look at the labels of anything that starts with an 'n' or an 'f'. i've seen it called furacillin, furacyn, etc. it's a very common product in horses apparently, so i would be very surprised if you cannot find it in an aquatic preparation. ask the vet if they know of it and call the fish stores again.

definitely no mercurochrome.
 
Jami/Elisheba-
Nitrofurazone IS extremely common (in cream form) for horses, though back in Canada they'd recently changed the name to nitrofuracin. Aquarium Pharmaceuticals also sells it for fish. I've seen Aquarium Pharmaceuticals products here in Australia, so it could just be a matter of having the store order some from their supplier. If it were me, I'd run down to the closest large animal/equine veterinarian and pick up a jar of the cream- smearing some over the affected area could help, and it's a thick sticky yellow cream that doesn't dissolve in water (never did on my horses anyway, but they weren't submerged!) Since the situation isn't getting better, I'd try it, but that's just me- maybe wait for someone to confirm this before you do anything.

Just my 2 cents, I know someone correct me if I'm wrong!
 
I don't know anything about the cream but a treatment I have used in UK is Myaxin also labelled and sold as protozin.

I don't think the vet you spoke to has experience of axies. The IU keeps there axies in a 40% solution of Holtfreters constantly...anyone checking the ingrediants will easily recognise it as mostly common salt with a few other minerals tossed in.

The salt baths we propose for treatment are intended for 10 min sessions twice a day and are much stronger than Holtfreters. Also note that I indicated a strength of 10ppm. These products are generally intended for fish but can be successful with axies as long as the dose is diluted sufficiently.

The fridge trick is a good one and the drop in temperature can help prevent infections spreading or inhibit other secondary microbial growth too.
 
I had been having a big fungus problem, brought in by one new axie, killed my old Yella Fella (the bugger)and seems now intent on killing me other little G.I.Jane... ANYWAY after battling with salt baths, temperature etc forever and not wanting to use chemical treatment I tried to go and get the meucherocrome. It's no longer available in Australia, they offered me betadine and looked at me like I was mental when I said I don't know if that would be any good for my axolotl.

FINALLY after much hunting around I found PimaFix. I was almost too scared to ask if it was okay to use but have noticed other people mention it on here recently too. It's worked a real treat. I used it at half dose. It says it is safe for scaleless fish such as clown loaches etc but I thought best to do at half treatment anyway, it is a clear treatment, smells almost like eucalyptus and it's basically I think at this point almost saved their lives. I've done one lot of treatment, my big killer Thugsy Malone (the original fungus bringer)had developed an entire fine milky layer of fungus and after one week that is almost gone.

So yeah the moral - at this stage I recommned PimaFix. Sorry for the ramble.....
 
Um, betadine is a surgical SOAP that contains iodine. I wouldn't put it anywhere near an axolotl, certainly not in the water with it. It's used in animals to wash out new wounds before bandaging, not for constant soaking. It may be ok to clean the areas on the axolotl affected by the fungus, but removing it from it's water to do this might cause more stress than it's worth. Good work going for something other than the betadine Celia!

Pimafix, like Melafix, works as an irritant to the mucous membranes. By causing some irritation, it makes the body produce more of the mucous coating which is the skin's natural protection against disease. Both products do work, in my experience, but are liver-toxic in the long run. Like any other med, be careful not to overdose or it can do more harm than good- don't think that because Pimafix and Melafix are "all natural" they're safe for prolonged use- they aren't.

Glad you've found something that works for you, and I hope everything keeps improving!
 
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