Is our axie laying / sperming / something else?? Pic attached

[Paintsplash]

HELP! URGENT!! My axolotl is really sick????

Please help! My axie hasn't eaten for about 2 days, we have had him for 3 weeks. He had 2 legs bitten off in the aquatics centre by another axie before we got him, but we were advised he was healthy anyway. We feed him a cube of bloodworm a day, was eating it all til the other day. Now has his mouth wide open. We put him in a net and got him to get air at the top of the tank as he was struggling to do this himself. We did a 20% water change on Tuesday and he has acted weird since even though water test shows no issues, however we don't have a facility to test for ammonia which I suspect may be where we have gone wrong. We are not feeding him today as this morning we found what appeared to be lots of puked up / pooed out bloodworm everywhere, was a huge mess. What shall we do?? Fridge??? Please help.

 

[Paintsplash]

?!?!?!

 

[auntiejude]

Thats a prolapse and you need to take your axie to a vet.

 

[Paintsplash]

Do you know what may have caused this??

 

[Paintsplash]

if anybody is like me and my bf and searching forums for hours for a resolution for this..

we rang a few different exotic vets in the area of Birmingham, UK and we got quotes ranging from £200-£500 for our little axie to have emergency surgery. unfortunately we can't afford this, we have been given advice;
-treat the tank with mmyxazin and see if the prolapse sorts itself out
-fix the prolapse ourselves (not a fan of this idea.. i imagine i would do more harm than good)
-get him put to sleep
-just see how it goes

so we are seeing how it goes for a day or so.. guess if he deteriorates we will have to get him put down as it's cruel i will definitely post the outcome here as i know how it feels to search google for hours and not find any sort of outcome after this problem has occurred.. it seems people have this issue, post on forums, then disappear!

 

[auntiejude]

An update would be great.
The prolapse may be worth a gentle nudge with a wet cotton bud, but there is a risk it will rupture. But they don't usually go away on their own, and even if it appears fixed it may well come back.

There is often no real reason for it, so it's nothing you have done.

If you do choose to euthanise make sure you research properly - use Orajel Extra rubbed on it's tummy is good for an axie that size.

 

[Paintsplash]

we will get him put down at the vets, already asked them about it, we just really don't want to, we love him so much i'm hoping by some crazy miracle it just heals himself but i know that probably wont happen

 

[Paintsplash]

auntiejude, as you're the only person replying (which i am grateful for, thank you).. can you please take a look at these photos of our axie when we first got him? i always thought his bum area looked a bit odd, as soon as we got him he had a white 'slit' , after going through all the photos i've ever taken of him I've started to wonder whether he was already starting to prolapse from the moment we got him...

excuse the screenshots, i forgot to crop these images before uploading



 

[auntiejude]

Yes, looks like you are right. And he's missing a leg - I would go back to the pet store and complain.

 

[Paintsplash]

We were aware of his legs and I took pity on him so I chose him instead of a (what seemed) perfectly healthy axie who bit off my axie's legs. It's like getting the runt of a litter, always risky I guess but I felt bad for him and wanted to give him a home

 

[Paintsplash]

We carefully reinserted our axie's insides back into himself after a lot of research... Eek.

 

[Ange]

Well done, you have given him the best of chances, I hope he feels better soon.

 

[Hannahlotl2987]

How has he been? You never know, Paintsplash. I've seen my share of miracles on this forum. Best of luck! I hope your sweet baby makes it

 

[Paintsplash]

Its not good guys. It prolapsed about 2 hours later, so my bf pushed it back in again. Then this morning it's completely prolapsed again so we feel like there's not much point in stressing him out and doing it for a third time... Just don't think it's gonna work

He hasn't eaten much for 5/6 days now, saw him eat a couple of bloodworms yesterday... Think we will have to take him to the vets and get him put to sleep. I worry that he's already undergoing a slow painful death

 

[Ange]

Oh that is sad news

 

[Hannahlotl2987]

Sad news but still. You did everything you could. Poor little boy. At least he won't feel pain anymore

 

[Paintsplash]

Today's the day he was booked into the vets to be put to sleep but his bum area has somehow improved without us doing anything. So we are giving it longer. He hasn't eaten a lot for a week (maybe a few bloodworms here and there) so today we are trying him on shrimp and pellets... Hoping he is just being really fussy.. Anything else you guys recommend us trying him on? I just want him to start eating again!

 

[Paintsplash]

HE IS EATING.. And his bum has gone back to normal!!! YAY!!!

 

[LSuzuki]

I had a thought, and I hope some of the experts can weigh in on if it is a good thought or not.

Is a diet that produces soft stools (like, pellets, not earth worms) advisable? I was thinking that if this were something like a prolapse, a large firm stool may make it worse. (Note, my reasoning could be backwards - perhaps large, firm stools would help keep everything where it belongs.)

 

[Paintsplash]

if anyone wonders how my axie is doing - for anybody who has similar issues weve had with ours (cloacal prolapse, legs bitten off before purchase, ulcers...) then there is hope, because his cloaca is fully healed after me and my bf pushed it back in twice, the ulcer he had from us touching him has also healed, and his legs are growing back. he's eating, pooing, and is a happy chappy. hurray!
nice photo of him attached