Our axol stopped eating

K

keith

Guest
Long time reader, first time poster.
My axol stopped eating a couple of weeks back. He usually takes axolotl pellets dropped in front of him (as many as we give him just disappear until we stop feeding him usually) but he either just ignores them now or, on occasion, catches a pellet then spits it out. We have tried a variety of alternative foods (including earthworms, mealworms, pieces of various meats etc) and the best he has done is one or two pieces of some of them and then refuses it from that point on.
His gills seem to have shrunk over the same period to the point where they now have no 'frilly bits'. He(?) doesn't seem to have lost too much weight but definitely looks a little thinner than normal.
We have checked the water quality and everything seems to be as usual.

Anyone have a suggestion for my next step?
 
Mabey some pictures would help if you had any. If that was my axies i would get a breeder or pro to look at it. I would have no idea of the next step. my axies gills have shrump a little but i heard that was becuse there was enought oxygen in the water for them to be small. but no frilly bits, man u got me stoked. I dont really know mabey a moderator could help they have really good advice.
 
As Stipe said, try and post some pictures.
First thing that comes to my mind is to check the mouth, could be an abscess or something there.
 
Keith Hawksworth - Shrinking gills and refusing to eat are both signs of illness.

If you have checked ammonia (0), nitrite (0), nitrate (under 40), ph ( >= 6.5) and water temperature (< 72) and found them all to be "good" then we should think inside the axolotl.

Is your substrate small enough to be swallowed?
When was the last time you noticed the axolotl had a bowel movement?
Is the axolotl floating or showing signs of gas buildup?

It is always a good idea to move axolotls showing signs of distress to the fridge. I would recommend putting your axolotl in a food safe container with lid and putting it in the fridge.

Keep the water clean and offer the axolotl food each day. Keep extra water in the fridge so you have clean water in the fridge to change his water with.

You can always seek the advise of a vet. And I suggest reading and taking with you the medications that are safe for axolotls on this page http://www.axolotl.org/health.htmto the vet on your visit should you decide to go that route.

Keep us posted on its condition.
 
Your problem sounds almost exactly the same as one we had in the summer. Or axolotl stopped eating for about 3 weeks, lost some weight and his gills started to degenerate. Like your axolotl, ours eats mostly pellets - he almost always refuses anything else offered. We put him in the fridge for a few days as we found that the water temperature was a little high. Eventually he just started eating again and I am pleased to say he is completely back to normal now.
It was really worrying at the time because he is very old. Hopefully yours will just make a spontaneous recovery too.
By the way the gills haven't really grown back but he takes a lot of air at the surface and always had very sparse gill filaments anyway.
 
one of my axies frill bits fell off almost completley when i first got her (i didnt know about cycling tanks) it was due to the ammonia i think
 
Sorry about not getting back to all of you helpful people... my apololgies (but my computer decided to finally give up the ghost).

Update - checked water quality a number of times and everything is in spec.
Substrate is, I believe, too big to be swallowed but maybe there were a couple of small ones in there?
Haven't noticed a bowel movement for weeks.
A couple of days ago he was floating at the surface when I got up in the morning. After I 'gently' poked him to see if he was still with us he dived to the bottom only to float up again. He took a gulp at the surface and from that point on he was fine again( not floating I mean - still not eating). Other than getting thinner there has been little change.
Have delayed putting him in the fridge as it worries my wife (due to the fact that I had to euthanase a few of our goldfish and used the freezer method).
If he doesn't take any food this weekend I will definitely give him a short holiday in the fridge (not freezer).
Unfortunately I don't have a digital camera so can't post any images of him.... basically he looks like a lot of the other photos just slimmer.
Thank you again for all of your advice.
As soon as I get a fulltime computer again I should be able to update you a little more promptly.
 
Hi I was just wondering if anyone can help me. I have one very sick axie. She wasn't eating for a 6} days I got the tank water tested and it was high in nitrate. Did 40% water change but still wouldn't eat and couldn't make it to the surface. Ended putting her in the fridge in about 3 inch of water but now seems even worse! I have since taken her out on advice of a pet shop! Arhhhh what should I do? Can you force feed them
 
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Torture!!!!!!! Withnail died! Warning don't ever do a 100% clean it kills off benificial bacteria and makes the tank prone to high nitrate levels
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Chris - You never do a full tank cleaning, that is just like staring with a brand new uncycled tank. The tank would have to be recycled to be safe.

This article http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml may help you.

If you don't have a test kit I would highly recommend you get one that will allow you to test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and ph.

When you move an axolotl to the fridge it is going to be scared so it will act differently. It has been moved from its tank to a small container and is in the dark then when you open the door the light comes on and scares the axolotl. But the cool temperatures of the fridge can help the axolotl heal. (You should always use a food safe container with a lid. )

I'm sorry your axolotl died. With more information and experience perhaps you will have better luck with your next axolotl.

This site http://www.axolotl.org has lots of information new axolotl owners need to read.
 
Keith - Sick axolotls benefit from being in the fridge. It can sometimes buy them the time they need to heal.

In this pdf version of the axolotl newsletter from the axolotl colony there is an article called "practical axolotl", please have your wife read it to calm her fears about putting axolotls in the fridge.
http://www.webpak.net/~cynorita/28large.pdf
 
I'm afraid i'm having the same problem as Keith with my little guy, it's been 3 weeks since i've brought him home and he's eaten next to nothing in that time. PH and ammonia levels are fine, temperature is ok, but he's gotten to the point that even if he does actually eat something, he'll just spit it out and now he's basically looking very frail and sickly. I've tried different sorts of food and none of them have taken his interest. I've just recently put him in the fridge hoping to isolate the problem, but it hasn't made any difference. Any suggestions? there's nothing worse than watching him waste away like this.
 
Hi Cynthia Thanks for that! I actually found a very large stone in her intestines(that she definetly wouldn't of been able to pass) I think that coupled with the high nitrate killed her
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Photo is of her coffin with the offending stone! Waaaaa
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Anyway Thanks for your advice.
Chris
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wow that stone is huge! I wonder how she got that in her mouth??? It's bad that she died
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. ITs a nice coffin for her though. The only way you could've saved her would to have probably gone to a vet to check out the insides of her. I feel bad that she died
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.
 
Chris,

I am sorry for your loss. I would take your remaining axie and just continue to keep it in a food-safe container with daily declorinated water changes and take out the gravel in your tank. Replace it with Sand Substrate.

Cycle your tank again for 30 days. test the water quality all the while.

Anywhere after the 30th day when the readings are all Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 and Nitrate 0.0 - 20 then you are good to go.

Follow up your tank with weekly tank cleaning and only do 25% water changes each week during the cleaning.

It also helps to only disturb the top layers of Sand substrate when cleaning, this way the good Bacteria isn't disturbed too much.

Also the two Axolotls pictured seem to be suffering from heat stress, note the pale patches of skin on their heads.

Best of luck to you
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Hey Sin Sister,

Can you post a picture of the little guy?

Also, do you have gravel in your tank? or did he come from a tank that had gravel in it? If this is the case, he possibly has swallowed gravel.

If your tank readings are normal, the swallowed gravel is my guess.
 
Yes if you have gravel in your tank you must check to make sure none of it was swallowed.
 
Latest update........... he went into the fridge for the last 2 weeks but still refused all food offered (and I think we tried pretty much every food suggested here).
This morning found him laying dead on the bottom of the tank...........
Didn't feel like anything hard inside him so, if he had swallowed anything, I assume it was relatively small.
Thank you sincerely everyone for the advice offered.
 
Oh Keith, I'm sorry about your loss
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Good luck to you in the future, I hope that you will have better success.
 
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