Injured Axolotl, wounds are healing but refusing to try to eat.

[Tak]

Hi,

This is my first time posting to Caudata, I've had an extremely sick Axolotl, Chompsky, and he has seen a vet (and stayed in their hospital for a week).

He injured his leg and rear end on some aquarium decorations, he wounded himself and got infected in the space of 24 hours. The vet thought he wouldn't make it through the night, but he miraculously did, and he has been home for about 2 weeks now. My problem is that he still hasn't eaten. I'm afraid that he is scared of me now as I have to catch him everyday and give him a salt bath and antibiotic injection. He used to be a great feeder, but I'm at my wits end trying to get him to feed. He usually likes bloodworms/earthworms, but I've tried both to no avail.

He hasn't eaten in around three weeks and I'm starting to panic. I've included a few photos of him I took today. He is about 35cm long and around 7-9 years old. He has a daily water change and the temperature is kept around 13-15 degrees.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thankyou.

 

[layna]

He isnt looking scarily thin.
Ive read that axies can survive in the fridge with no food for two months!
You could try some blackworms, ive heard theyre like crack to axies
Your other options are to keep persuing feeding him bitesize bits of worm and he may eventually eat it, or there is a force feeding tutorial in the sticky notes, however if he is already stressed it may make it worse.
He honestly doesnt look too thin to start panicking and after his trauma im not surprised he isnt eating, but if you can, try with some blackworms
Can i ask why you were advised to continue to salt bath him if there is no infection anymore? It cant be comfortable to have salt in that wound
Also almond leaves have anti-fungal properties but are far less harsh than salt baths, so you could look into adding one of these into his tub instead?

 

[snuggly time]

Hi,

I'm going through the same problem with my axie. He's getting antibiotic injections every other day and hasn't eaten for 2 weeks now.

I managed to get him to eat a couple of bloodworms the other day, unfortunately he's thrown them back up today. >.<

Basically, I just dropped the bloodworms on his head until he got fed up and ate a few. Try find plenty of different foods.. Pellets, bloodworm, earthworm, blackworm etc and be persistent. Keep offering them and hopefully he will eventually eat.

I've had Indian Almond leaves in the tub with mine and they seem to be really helping.
Keeping my fingers crossed for your little one.

 

[ciele02]

Hi, just my 2 cents. The wound looks clean, healthy and sealed so I would lay off the salt baths. I know I'm about to talk in human terms here but I was a body piercer for 10 years and found that salt baths were great for treating an inflamed or infected piercing, but doing repeated salt baths on a piercing that was clean and trying to heal created a world of drama including salt burns, which lead to infecting, starting the cycle over.. I know Axies are different but im thinking its probably prolonging the problem...and if there is no sign of infecting (again although ugly its a very clean,sealed looking wound) are antibiotics helping or hindering here? If this gentle giant (35cms! yay) was mine I would be laying off the salt baths and antibiotics (possibly killing good bacteria in his gut making him feel sick) I totally agree with Layna on the Almond leaves, give him a nice soothing tea bath and I think he'll pick up. If you can't get the usual almond leaves, DILMAH make an Italian Almond Tea which is almond leaf and black tea leaf...I have used on mine and they liked it. I just brewed a 5 makes for an hour then put in the fridge to cool and added to my tank

 

[willowcat]

Go to the top of this index page. "How to force feed an Axolotl". I am doing this as we speak to two of my adults. Funny, they are both albinos. I feel that there is something there. Only a huntch. Get the syringe a local pharmacy. I got the 3mm (if I can remember correctly) What I like about this size is that you can and fit a (cut about 1 1/2 inch) piece of aquarium airline,and attach to the end of the syringe. This also allows you to get the food into the stomach. I can actually feel when the tube goes down the throat of the animal. This insures that the animal doesn't spit the food back out. I am using A.P.R. Artificial Plankton Rotifer. It is a powder that I mix with water. Perfect. What ever you find and use, and if you do this procedure, make sure that once you have filled the syringe up, that you purge the air bubbles out. Like the doctors do before they administer a shot.
Hope this helps,
Trace

 

[Tak]

Thanks to all of you for replying. I've been recommended by the vet to continue with the salt baths and injections for this week only, as the leg wound seems to be healing well, but the abscess looking thing on his rear end is still infected. The salt bath she has suggested is 2 teaspoons per litre of water for around 3-5 mins each day. He still hasn't eaten today or yesterday, but I think I will wait until the end of the week before I consider force feeding him. He's a dude and I don't want to stress him completely. Thanks for your suggestions, I'll look into the almond leaves/tea solution as an alternative and give an update on how he feeds (hopefully) soon.

 

[willowcat]

Yes, do what the Vet. says. But, I would definitely get some food in him. I would search out an administrator or moderator on this site. Ask them. If you don't get something inside him for nourishment, you will lose him. Guaranteed.

 

[Kaysie]

I think I would have to disagree with your vet here. Ciele's advice on salt is pretty solid. Salt baths are generally only effective for dermal issues, and will have no impact on internal infections.

I would NOT force feed this axolotl. He's not skinny enough you have to worry about him starving to death any time soon. If you keep him cool, he can go quite some time without food. I've had axolotls off food for over a month.

 

[snuggly time]

I have to agree with not force feeding yet. Mine hasn't eaten in almost 3 weeks. I think perhaps if they're fighting infection they just can't eat. Mine follows the worms around but just doesn't seem to be able to eat them. If I catch him off guard and drop the worm on his head he automatically tries to swallow it but then spits it across the tub. It's like their mind is telling him to eat but his body can't.

If yours doesn't like being handled, like mine. Force feeding could possibly make the situation worse. Keep offering food. :happy:

Also, offer the food and watch from a distance. I think mine doesn`t trust me anymore after all the grabbing him and injecting him. I don't think he feels comfortable with me around at the moment. He used to come greet me, now he backs away when he sees me. So standing over them may cause stress and they won't eat. Just a thought.

 

[willowcat]

I had two adult, female, albinos, quit eating at the same time. They were both robust, and good eaters. I thought that since they looked so good, that the hunger factor would kick in, and they would resume eating. I left them alone for 3 weeks, (water changes, twice a day), in separate shoe boxes. These three weeks they looked great. No weight loss, color looks good, etc. Just wouldn't eat. Well I lost one. So I decided that I am not going to wait to see if the other one would come out of it. I am force feeding her. So this is why I recommended this procedure. This is happening right now to me. So... I don't know if it is going to work for me. But I am convinced that by "not" getting food into this animal, reduces the chances of survival, especially since it is external wound that is being treated. I hope that you are right and I am wrong.

 

[snuggly time]

I had two adult, female, albinos, quit eating at the same time. They were both robust, and good eaters. I thought that since they looked so good, that the hunger factor would kick in, and they would resume eating. I left them alone for 3 weeks, (water changes, twice a day), in separate shoe boxes. These three weeks they looked great. No weight loss, color looks good, etc. Just wouldn't eat. Well I lost one. So I decided that I am not going to wait to see if the other one would come out of it. I am force feeding her. So this is why I recommended this procedure. This is happening right now to me. So... I don't know if it is going to work for me. But I am convinced that by "not" getting food into this animal, reduces the chances of survival, especially since it is external wound that is being treated. I hope that you are right and I am wrong.

It's so hard to tell what the right and wrong thing to do is. I think with axolotls sometimes it's just a guessing game and perhaps knowing your axolotl. Sorry you lost one, I hope the other pulls through with the feeding.

 

[auntiejude]

My top tip for axies who won't eat is a freshly blanched worm. Put a worm in a little tub and splash boiling water over it, then cool it immediately with cold water. It kills the worm so it's not going to struggle, and prevents if from excreting that goo they sometimes make in defense, but it's still fresh and nutritious.

I had to do this with an axie who was heat stressed over the summer - he was refusing any food and got very thin. He took the blanched worms, plumped up nicely and just became a dad.

 

[Tak]

Hi to you all again. WONDERFUL NEWS, Chompsky ate this morning! I tried the blanched worms, but he didn't show interest, (i might try to feed them to him again later this week as I think he'll like them when his appetite fully returns)...so i put the smallest live worm I could find in the tank with him and he seemed to be interested, started to tousle with it, gulped it in a few times, spat it out, and eventually swallowed! He's eaten two now, so I'll stop for today, but will continue tomorrow with more worms! I'm so unbelievably happy and relieved.

He has a vets appointment on Monday, so I'll take him in again so we can reassess the need for salt baths and I'll bring up the idea of changing to almond leaves. I looked underneath him today and he seems to still have a bit of skin irritation around his rear end, but it would be great to be able to let him have a break from them. Thank you for all your advice. I was going out of my mind and nobody else knew anything.

 

[willowcat]

Awesome