Illness/Sickness: My axolotl won't poop!

mexicola

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Hi everyone, we have a very pretty one-year-old white axolotl. He's always been very healthy and never showed any signs of distress. Except recently we moved him to a new, larger tank and he stopped pooping altogether. He looks exactly like the picture of the constipated axolotl you have in your photos section, his cloacal region is very swollen and he floats a lot. Otherwise he looks happy, he keeps on swimming and eats regularly as he has always done. Our only worry, as I said, is that he's really bloated.
Any suggestions or are we simply overworrying? Thanks for your help!
 
What kind of substrate do you have in your tank?
 
Hi, thank you for replying so quickly!
I have none, because when I got him months ago from the shop (where they kept 5 or 6 axolotl in a tank with small gravel) he pooped gravel for 3 weeks.
So that's it, the tank is empty except for a vase he uses as his cave, a fake plant and some big pebbles (like as big as 3/4 of my hand) he also used to have in the other tank...
I haven't even changed his diet or anything, i've always fed him bloodworms, then i switched to small shrimps and pellets for a while and he seemed to like that too but then I read they're not too good for him and I switched back to the bloodworms. As I said, he never stopped eating, that's probably why he's SOOO bloated!
What can I do? Thanks for your help!
 
Weird...

I would definitely try putting him in the refrigerator and see if that encourages him to poop. Most axolotls poop within a day of being put in the fridge. Here's an article that tells you just how to do it.

As for diet: shrimp and pellets are fine in addition to bloodworms. You may also want to try earthworms; they're very nutritious and make an excellent staple.
 
Ok, will do immediately!
So it's safe to keep him in water even at 40-45°F?
I've tried earthworms for a long and excruciating while, but he really didn't like them, he would eat them and then spit them out whole.
So shrimp, pellets and bloodworms it is!

Thank you so much, I'll let you know how it went!
 
40-45F is just fine.

Good luck!!
 
Yes, he did, and big time too!
Thanks for asking! I was so worried, but now he's fine and he's not floating around anymore.
I appreciate your concern!
sabrina
 
Ah, that's good to hear! Glad he's doing well :D
 
Hey,

Good that you came away from bloodworms being his unique food. Bloodworms only are not enough for the adult axolotl.
Do you read french ? If yes, have a look at my website to give you a few ideas on all that you may feed to your axolotl : Que mange-t-il ?
 
My axolotl is all gassed up and wont poop, ive done eveything i can possibly do. I just put back in the fridge for the second time to see if he'll poop this time. One thing though, he is totally floating, but he has been mostly on his side, which partially exposes his gills to the air, so when i put him in i had him flipped completely over so his head and gills are fully submerged, even though his big ol belly is still sticking out.. is there any reason why anybody would think this is a poor choice?
 
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