Hello & some advice please.....

[Ondra1]

Hello everyone,
I am caring for my 12 year old daughter’s 2 golden albino axolotls while she is away at camp this week. My husband came home to find one on the floor yesterday evening. He was alive and put back into his tank. When I got in, I was concerned that he didn’t look well. His legs looked dry and his color a bit spotty and darkened in areas. He refused food and also threw up. I noticed his cloaca was very enlarged. I decided to do the fridge treatment because I was scared he might not make it. I have changed his water with the chilled reserve this eve. I expected he would’ve had a bowel movement but he hasn’t yet. I did see him wave his gills so I know he is alive. How long should he stay in the fridge and when will I know if he is well enough to remove?

Thanks for advice.

Heather

 

[Hayleyy]

He can stay in the fridge for a long time but make sure you change the water every day with dechlorinated water (the same temp as the water he is in so there isn't a temp shock, have a reserve ready in the fridge). Can you post some photos? All the times I've seen where axolotls have fallen onto the floor they have developed a wound on their belly which needs extra care. Watch out for fungus as well.
What is his diet? He will eat less while in the fridge as it slows them down, he may also take longer to poop.

 

[Ondra1]

Hi Hayleyy,

I will post a photo when I get him back out of the fridge next. He was alive yesterday, but today I am seriously questioning this. When I changed his water last night, he waved his gills. Today, the gills are more curled, losing color, no movement. Could this be normal as he is in the fridge longer? I was so hopeful when his gills waved last night.

 

[Ondra1]

Also, he appeared to have no damage to his body. His enlarged cloaca was a concern. I believed he was impacted/constipated because of the moisture loss being out of the tank. It could've been for a few hours or all day. I am not sure how long he could've survived out of the tank? we were gone from 7AM to 7PM. After we found him, he was in the tank for a few hours, not looking too good but able to move and swim from time to time. I really hope I didn't make the wrong call by fridging the little guy. My daughter will be devastated if he is dead.

 

[Ondra1]

Here are oics

 

[Hayleyy]

Definitely still looks alive, they bloat once they have passed. The curled gills are an indicator of stress. If he doesn't have any obvious external injuries I imagine he should be okay to be back in his tank, as long as water conditions are kept perfect (0 ammonia and nitrite and little bits of nitrate; water no more than 18 degrees). See how much you can drop your tank temperature so he is comfortable.
When taking him out of the fridge and back into the tank leave the container near the tank so the water adjusts and once it is the same temp as the tank he can go in

 

[Ondra1]

I took him out of the fridge and let the water acclimate. His normal temp in the aquarium is 66-67. I monitored the bath hoping once it reached this temp he would start to become responsive. He was not responding like I thought he should've. Then we noticed just a faint wiggle of his legs and tail a couple of time and then nothing else for hours now...///
I don't know what to do. I put him back in the refrigerator.

 

[Hayleyy]

Keeping him in the fridge won't do any harm so if you're more comfortable doing that then stick with it. It will take some time for him to start to recover and be responsive again. Keeping him in the fridge should help if he has any digestion issues like you mentioned. Offer him food and keep up with water changes. Also in case you haven't done so already, make sure his container is covered so he isn't bothered by the fridge light
Keep us updated on his condition