hi and sick axle

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Kasper

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Hi to everyone,
i have just joined this great forum after learning alot about about axolotles. Anyway, my axle is very sick! He swims with his head down and tail floats up - looks like he has too much gas. when he isn't moving, he tilts to one side with his mouth a bit open. He swims to the top and sometimes gulps in air.I read an article on the net that describes these symptoms as having a systemic infection affecting his equilibrium or producing extra gas and they suggest putting him in the fridge for days and if that doesnt work getting some medication. i know they dont mind it cold but i dont feel good about putting him in the fridge - won't the sudden temp change stress him out even more? He did have a fungal infection in january and i treated it with melafix and it went away but he hadnt been eating as well since and know he hasnt eaten for more than a week(although i had a bit of success an hour ago when he ate 1 meal worm but doesn't want anymore, he tried another but spat it out. His water was bit acid but is 7ph now and nitrate below10ppm, i have also moved him to a cooler room water temp is still 24C - is that still too warm? i put a frozen bottle of water in his tank today, should i keep doing this?I am not sure what to do next, should i get some medicine for the infection, if so,which one do you recommend?He is very thin and i am very worried - can anybody help please? Kasper
 
Dont worry about putting your axolotl in the fridge, he will be fine and will prefer that to the temperature in your tank at the moment. Yes 24 is too high, it will stress him out and may start a fungal infection.
Just a thought...are you feeding the mealworms whole?
 
I have got my really sick axolotl in the fridge at the moment & it's even colder then my chiller which is set at 18 degrees prolly about 16 degrees & he seems to be recoperating good.

Yes I agree with Becky 24 degrees is hot for an axolotl to be in. Just try putting him in an icecream container with enough water to cover him so he sits in it on all 4 legs or you could prolly still have him in the tank provided you keep up with the switch-a-roo of frozen water bottles to maintain a cooler temp.

As for the mealworms you are feeding I was informed somewhere you have to chop off their heads before you feed them as they have a rasping mouth which can damage the axies insides. They're ok I usually stick to earthworms as my choice of worm. In any case keep us posted & welcome to the forums they're a great bunch of peeps here.
 
the only problem with adding bottles of frozen water is that you have to be very vigilant about constantly replacing them once they have thawed otherwise there will be temperature fluctuations.
 
thanks for the advice - should i keep him in the fridge with his aquarium water and change his water every day as there is no filter or start with fresh water? How long have you had your sick axie in the fridge and did he have similar symptoms to mine?
 
My axie I got in the fridge was given to me for free by the pet store as he was on deaths door & they were going to put him down as they didn't have the time to make him come good. He's still alive but unfortunately he's not eating much hes skin has white patches as like his skins missing & he is skinny. He wasn't floating like yours but he had trouble in the pet store trying to go on all 4 legs & usually just floated on his 2 front legs rest of his body leaning against a plastic plant. Least in the fridge it is slowing down his metabolisim & helping him heal with his skin.

Yes you will need to change the water everyday but I suggest keep some empty coke bottles & fill them with water then just add water conditioner to treat how many liters the bottle is. Then also put it in the fridge so the water becomes the same temp he's sitting in as in the fridge.
 
Welcome, Kasper. Since this thread is primarily a "help" question rather than an introduction, I'm going to move it to the axolotl section of the forum.
 
Hi Kasper and welcome to the site,

Have a look at www.axolotl.org it has heaps of great advice and information.

In the wild axolotls live in glacial fed mountain streams and lakes, so cold is not an issue for them. In fact some keepers and breeders with axies in outside ponds have had their axies survive being iced in.

There are many and varied chemical quick fixes, some people have success with them and some don't. Salt baths are probably the most practiced treatment for fungus.

If you are fridging your axie then you need to do 100% daily water changes with dechlorinated water as mentioned in other posts.

Floating tail up can be a sign of constipation or impaction. As you will have noticed axies gulp at their food opening their mouths wide. This action can allow them to ingest gravel or small pebbles which can become impacted in the bowel and can lead to death.

By fridging your axolotl you will be lowering its metabolic rate. this action helps the axie to pass obstructions and is in most cases successful.

Best of Luck
 
very sick axie!

I put axle in the fridge for 5 days and it was unbelievable what came out of him - poor guy! The !st day gravel and on day 4,all those worms he had eaten about 10 days before came out fully undigested!He looked like he was recovering but his gills started deteriorating and getting the cotton wool look which I believe is fungus?I changed his water every day with dechlorinated water.So I took him out and back in his tank but he looks really bad now, the aquarium shop said to use 'melafix' for the fungus but are the salt baths the way to go!I feel like I fix one problem but then he gets another one probably all related to being a very sick axie.He wont eat -(feeding him earth worms now)has had them in his mouth but spits them out, like he cant swallow and sticks his head out of the water looks like his trying to get out of the water.What should I do and why did his gills go so bad in the fridge? Should I put him back in, do salt baths - is it 4 teaspoons of sea salt to 2 litres of water for 10 minutes and what do you think of melafix?
:confused:
 
Hi Kasper, My axi Moreton had very similar symptoms to yours and the Baytrill bath worked well although I did have to get a repeat ( all up he had it for 12 days) The salt baths fixed the fungus. I was doing salt bath in the morning and Baytrill in the evening. I understand your sentiments about getting one thing fixed and then there is something else. But hey! my litttle fella is starting to look so good, his gills and his little digits are growing back. He doesn't do much but I figure he is just healing. I had to clean my filters tonight and had to turn the chiller off so when I do this I put him in the fridge. The fridge is good especially if you don't have a chiller. Well he took a bit of catching not like when he was sick, then he would just let me pick him up. It takes a fair amount of time for their recovery so be patient and good luck. I will post some picture of Moreton as soon as I work out how.
 
If he's got fungus, salt baths are the way to go. Baytril is a great medication, but it's an antibiotic, not anti-fungal. If you can keep him in the fridge, that's best. Especially if you can keep him a little warmer (8C ish). This may stimulate eating. Try cutting the worms into smaller pieces. Bite-size chunks. If he's still not eating, just leave him in a small container, and turn out the lights, and leave him alone with the worm for an hour. Then come back and check and see if he's eaten it.

The gills will probably shrink in the fridge. For one, you're keeping them in shallower water. And then, cold water holds more oxygen than warm water, so they have less need for gill structure.
 
Thanks for your advice.Axle's been in the fridge again 3 days now. He's had 2 salt baths and the fungus seems to have all dropped off his gills and his skin looks better. He looks stressed in the salt bath like he has trouble breathing - kind of swallowing in a weird way.Should I keep him in the fridge and keep doing salt baths, try the baytrill or put him back in his tank? I am finding it very difficult to keep the temp down as the filter produces quite a bit of heat.think i need a cooler.He still hasn't eaten (temp 9C in fridge)which I am very worried about as he is so thin!
 
Kasper said:
Thanks for your advice.Axle's been in the fridge again 3 days now. He's had 2 salt baths and the fungus seems to have all dropped off his gills and his skin looks better. He looks stressed in the salt bath like he has trouble breathing - kind of swallowing in a weird way.Should I keep him in the fridge and keep doing salt baths, try the baytrill or put him back in his tank? I am finding it very difficult to keep the temp down as the filter produces quite a bit of heat.think i need a cooler.He still hasn't eaten (temp 9C in fridge)which I am very worried about as he is so thin!
Click to expand...

you shouldn't need to worry about his weight, because hes in the fridge his metabolism will slow down, which will make him not interested in food. Its not un heard of, my axie is currently in the fridge atm too... im doing salt baths 3 times a day, for about 10-15 mins each time.

If your axie has had fungus, from what people have advised me, i would keep it in for a week after all the fungus has gone.

What salt are you using?...

un iodised salt is probably preferred, as iodised salt can in some cases help metamorphosis, so if i were you id use either un iodised salt or sea salt, but make sure its dissolved in

=]
 
If the fungus is clearing up, keep up what you're doing.

Offer live, wiggly food. Earthworms are great, as they'll stay alive for a fair amount of time in the water. It's important to get it to start eating.

As far as the tank, you'll have to find how to lower the temperature. You may want to invest in a canister filter, or if your tank is small, you can go without a filter and just use an air pump and do frequent water changes.
 
I will look into a canister filter and keep doing the salt baths - how much longer should i do them as he looks much better fungus wise but STILL won't eat!!The worm wriggled all over his head and mouth and wasn't at all interested!Do you think he might have something else wrong with him which caused all those other worms(meal worms) to come out of him undigested a week after he ate them?He hasn't eaten anything since then!!
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Mealworms aren't easily digested.

Try keeping him in the dark and not disturbing him during feeding. Put in worms, and cover the container and leave it be.
 
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