Illness/Sickness: My axie lost a hand.

[bingfisk]

Hi people.
2 days ago, i came home from a vacation in Sweden, and my brother was to take care of my 2 Axolotls.
We came home late at night when we got home, and when i went to see my precious aqua folk i noticed that something was wrong, my little axolotl was wounded without an explanation. (see pic.1)
not knowing what i could do, i ended up sleeping. And the very next morning i realized disaster had struck... the hand had come off. (see pic 2)
will it be okay.
ANY help/info. will be appreciated, thank you.

 

[PatchworkClocks]

That's got to be upsetting to come home to! Not to worry though, your axolotl will heal in time. Just keep an eye on the wound, make sure it doesn't get infected with fungus or anything. I believe you can do some tea baths as well. The tea will help close the wound, and stop it from getting infected as easily. Here's some instructions on this page here: Caudata Culture Articles - Illness Part 2

 

[bingfisk]

Thanks for a quick reply (didn't expect it that fast )

but I now have it's tank-mate under suspicion for part of the damage, still the problem has worsened it looks as if it's skin just falls off, it's now even on another leg.

 

[auntiejude]

Dead skin will flake off - don't worry about it. As long as your axie is cool and well nourished he should recover.

Axies only tend to injure each other that way when they are hungry - was your brother feeding them the same amount as you normally would? I would separate them if you can until your injured axie recovers.

 

[mewsie]

One of my axolotls lost an arm to a tankmate - make sure you keep the water cool and clean and keep a VERY close eye on him and his tank mate. If the wounds show signs of developing a fluffy fungus, you will need to take action quickly. Placing some catappa/almond leaves in the tank can help soothe wounds and sore skin as they have slightly antiseptic properties.

Aside from that, it seems odd that this has now happened on two legs.

I'm not sure how much I agree that hunger is the likely cause, although it's definitely worth asking your bro how much he was feeding etc, and making sure they are well fed. Axolotls are opportunistic feeders and will snap for food almost regardless of whether they've just eaten or not - have you actually noticed the tankmate having a tendency to snap at the other? I have left my axolotls on numerous occasions without food for an entire week, and have not come back to missing limbs. If they were fed a few times in 2 weeks, they should be ok... if they are generally well fed.

Also - the stones in your tank are of a size that your axies could eat and make them VERY ill, and it's worth considering that the feet of your axolotl could have become trapped or caught between them. You need to remove the stones, and perhaps replace with sand, although not every keeper likes the upkeep.

Is there anything else that could have changed to cause a shift in behaviour with your axolotls? Did your brother clean the tank while you were away? What are your water conditions like? Did the tank move at all or do you live with your bro?

 

[bingfisk]

i asked my brother, the day after we got home when he came home from work. He told me that the (first) wound wasn't there when he "nursed" them, and that he fed them regularly.

I've never had any problems with the stones but point taken they will be removed. I don't have any sand at the moment though, and both of them will be isolated separately (in case something is in the water) so they will have to make do without for a couple of days.

And BTW. no I've never seen them fight or anything in any way.

PS. my brother said that he fed them shrimps one day, could they have contained disease,bacteria,parasites or anything like that?

 

[auntiejude]

I'm not sure how much I agree that hunger is the likely cause, although it's definitely worth asking your bro how much he was feeding etc, and making sure they are well fed. Axolotls are opportunistic feeders and will snap for food almost regardless of whether they've just eaten or not - have you actually noticed the tankmate having a tendency to snap at the other?

This is only my observation, but my axies definately get snappy if I don't feed them for a day. I know not all axies do this.

What type of shrimp? Frozen or live? I doubt very much whether the shrimp carried any disease that would cause this.

The injuries definately look like injury rather than disease. If you don't think your axies was injured by fighting or biting, do you have any ornaments that your aie could have got his legs caught in? Something with a small hole or crevice? Or a sharp edge? That seems more likely if he has 2 legs affected.

 

[bingfisk]

OF COURSE THE STUPID ORNAMENTS!!!
they do have a submarine, which is completely harmless on the top. but it's hollow with a hole in the bottom, and the big one keeps knocking it over which makes the small hole accessible.

the shrimp was described as frozen on the inside.

why i didn't think of the ornament i don't know, but i believe you may just have cracked the code. thank you very much everybody.

 

[bingfisk]

there were no extra wounds on my little axie this morning

i Did however find something else that caused reason for another worry, but since i haven't seen these little fellas heal before. I wanted to know if this was fungus or just it's leg healing.

even though it has had a hard time lately, it doese'nt seem to be stressed out the slightest bit. (and i say "IT" because i don't really know if its a male or female)

 

[auntiejude]

That looks more like dead skin or slime coat peeling ff than fungus.

I wouldn't put an injured axie in a salt bath unless it's really necessary - have you ever got salt in a scratch? Hurts quite a lot.

Keep it cool and well fed, it will recover in time with a little care and attention.

 

[bingfisk]

Alright everybody thanks for everything, i believe my axie is on the right path of getting better and hopefully it will make a full recovery.