Illness/Sickness: Help!!! Dear loved hatchling Crowbar bloated,I I think...

[tigmades]

This happened to 1 hatchling not that long ago, that died 1-2 days after... I don't want Crowbar to die S/he was doing so good...

Anything that I might be able to do to help?! As you can see from pics, nothing but huge, clear 'bubble'. I know it's not from not eating enough - s/he ate 2 white worms yesterday... I've been keeping the water clean, and all the other hatchlings are fine.

Please help

 

[tigmades]

Anyone? I know s/he'll likely die but... anything that might increase the chances of living.. even by a hair?

If it truly is bloat... in dogs/seals/etc sometimes they cut a hole so that the gases can escape... would it be a bad idea to find the tiniest of needles and.. i can't believe I'm saying it, but poke a hole so the gases can escape, like in dogs?

 

[Minniechild]

First thing, deep breath.
Second thing, lower the water level so he's got a shot of flipping back over.
Third thing is feeding- I mean you need to STUFF him- squirt bbs in front of his nose continuously so he eats enough that he can burp the bubbles out- Put blackworms right in front of him. Keep annoying him with them. It takes time, but it's likely his best shot. Fingers crossed he pulls through
(Taken from what I did to get Mr Bubbles back to himself on Saturday)

 

[tigmades]

So it likely is bloat/looks like what happened to your little one? He's not on his back, those were pics from under the container to give a better view, but I do have him in shallow water just in case. You can see the white worms in his stomach, so I'm confused... I'm almost 100% sure it's not because he's not eating enough... he's eating just as much as the other hatchlings, if not more... perhaps with the white worms being cut first, some air gets trapped inside the worm and..? Not sure... but I'll continuously try to feed him... I only have frozen bloodworms and live whiteworms on hand, as well as 1 pitiful daphnia. The 1lb blackworms and ~300 daphnia will be arriving friday afternoon, and last time this happened the hatchling didn't live long... will keep trying to stuff my poor guy though!

 

[Minniechild]

Taking a second look, (I was seeing the underside pics as him being upside down), it's not like Mr. B's case, (I'm so sorry about misinterpreting it!) but I've seen it myself a few times, sadly not with good outcomes. It definitely looks like he's not getting enough into his guts (silly lotls can do that at times), though whether it's caused by a genetic anomaly or random chance, I'm not sure. I'd still say that trying to get him to eat is your best bet, as is keeping up with water changes. At the very least you can be sure you've done everything possible to give him the chance to live, for which I am certain he is grateful!

 

[tigmades]

I'm off to bed with a heavy heart... I'm almost certain Crowbar will be dead by morning...

 

[tigmades]

What if I stuck him in the fridge? If it is a gas build up, he may try throwing up his food which could bring up the air bubbles? He's only 1" long but if he's going to die anyways, perhaps a small chance? Could also make his passing easier....

 

[Minniechild]

*Hugs*
Know that you've done everything you could for him- When food doesn't work, and it's something that quite likely is a genetic anomaly, then there's nothing but to love them <3

 

[FX1C]

Thinking if you & will keep everything crossed for crowbar he's a fighter!



<3 >o_o< <3

 

[Minniechild]

Not sure about fridging a little one so small...At this point, it could be worth it? Hopefully Kaysie/other mods will be able to chip in with a more in-depth idea of what the result could be.

 

[tigmades]

Well I ended up sticking him in the fridge shortly after posting if I should. I just checked on him and he's still alive and surprising active and swimming fine, but looks like he's even more full of air. The clear bubble or what ever it is looks like it's be uncomfortable... Like a balloon about to pop! Poor guy!! Yet it's not making him float? Is there perhaps something I could add to water to make him fall asleep to poke a tiny hole? I know it sounds cruel, but leaving him about to burst in my mind is being more cruel? But since he's not floating, is it likely not air? Because that clear space probably takes up 40% of his body volume..

Should I leave him in the fridge? I know hot(er) air expands so taking him out may make him bigger...

 

[Minniechild]

I wouldn't be poking holes...The current development sounds more like Mr. Bubbles' case. He had a few MASSIVE air bubbles in his tummy, (although he was upside down) and after doing a quick search on here, decided to feed the bubbles out of him. This first involved a whole load of bbs (daphnia would possibly work in this case) at a concentration of 3-6mL per 100mL (in approx. 100mL/0.8cm of water so he could reach them), which then got him to burp up the bubbles as the space was filled with food. After an hour of coaching him in the art of gluttony, he decided to start puking up the bbs (and more bubbles with it), so we started on blackworms, which got the last big ones up and I'm guessing breathed the smaller ones as he was back to normal by the time I went to bed.
I wish I could say for certain that this method would help Crowbar- I hope it will! At the very least it gives you a starting point from which to work from.
We're all barracking for you guys!!

 

[tigmades]

Well, somehow Crowbar is still alive - he hasn't eaten since I started this post (day and a half?). I have no bbs on hand because I weaned hen to whiteworms and keep groups together. He doesn't want to eat white worms. My live black worms and daphnia come in today so I plan on filling the **** out of his container with them.

He's fighting, (still swimming fine ??) so he must want to survive... I just hope he survives!!!

But like I was wondering earlier.. If it were bubbles, wouldn't he float? Or have difficulty swimming at the very least?

 

[FX1C]

Yay crowbar!! You can do it!!
*shakes pompoms like a cheerleader*



<3 >o_o< <3

 

[Minniechild]

You have a point...Hmmm...I'd probs still stuff the bejeezus out of him, as it definitely looks digestive-related.
*Grabs own pom-poms* Go Crow-bar, Go Crow-bar!

 

[wandering]

Just a thought.... Is your supply water hard or soft and what do you treat it with? My tap water is very soft and I'm adding calcium by having bits of shell in the tanks, albeit in a somewhat random way! Dissolved minerals in the water create a different osmotic balance between the inside of your axolotl and its surroundings.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[tigmades]

My tap water is on the hard side (I don't have hardness test kits but other s on the winnipeg fish forum have tested the city water and they all say it's somewhat/slightly hard.

Crowbar is somehow still alive. Fuller of.. Air? He's been swimming in daphnia for over 12h but I had a look at his stomach and it looks like nothing but remainder of white worm he ate since first post.

He still doesn't float or have problems swimming, but because he's so round he rests just slightly tilted sometimes. I flipped him over to take the following photo:

 

[tigmades]

I forgot to mention I don't add anything to alter water parameters because to me that's more dangerous in case something went wrong. So no pH altering (it's ~7.6), etc.

 

[tigmades]

I still can't see that he's eaten anything... He's so full of air or fluid or whatever t is, I bet he'll just starve to death! I mean, look at the pic. I can't just do nothing!! I tried to gently squeeze him but that doesn't work... Back to considering the needle poping thing... I refuse to watch him starve to death! Gahhh I just wish I knew what to do!! I feel he'll be gone by tomorrow unless I do something tonight!! AHHH!!!

Any last minute words of advice?..

 

[Morrison]

I don't have experience with bloatls but I would only consider the hole poking thing when nothing else seems to work and that it might be his last hope. It's so sad, poor thing.
Keep trying is all I can say. Keep offering him food. Keep everything cool and clean. I really hope it's just a huge air bubble that he needs to burp out, which might also explain why he's not eating, being full of air. But I'm not sure because I've never experienced this myself.

Go Crowbar, I'm thinking about you!


Edit:
I took another look at the first picture and the air/whatever is pretty much around the internal organs. I think if it was an air bubble then it would be inside of the internal organs and not outside them.

It makes me want to poke a hole in it too but I'm not sure if that's working because I haven't tried it before. Not sure if that's the best solution too.