Hello! Axolotl Help?

[Saxatilis]

Hi, I'm new to keeping axolotls and made an account here to hopefully get some help.

Skipper is a juvenile axolotl approximately 2 and a half months old. I've been raising him since just after hatching, and watching the development process. Right now he is almost 2 inches long, and all of his legs have grown in.

A few days ago, he started having buoyancy issues: tail end floating up in the water, leaning to one side. I decided to wait to see if it would work itself out. As of yesterday, he is no longer floating up, but he seems to be stuck lying on his back. I've tried to gently flip him over, but after a minute he flips onto his back again. He is still eating (frozen bloodworms), as long as I dangle the food directly in front of him. Any ideas on what is wrong and what I should do to help him?

Thanks, and if this is the wrong forum to ask questions let me know and I can move. I've learned a lot already just browsing through threads here, so I'm excited to finally join!

-Saxatilis

 

[Otterwoman]

Can you show a picture of your tank? DO you have gravel in there?

 

[Saxatilis]

Hi, thank you for replying. Attached is a picture of the tank and a close-up of Skipper. He is currently in a plain plastic tank as he is too small for a regular aquarium. There is no gravel, and I have been doing daily water changes.

Could the problem be temperature related? It has been hot here lately, and even with the AC on my apartment is around 75 F when I'm not home during the day.