Pet's been eating gravel.

[Emmur]

The past two nights I've been away and my parents weren't sure how to feed him, and decided they'd just leave him to starve. I tried to feed him tonight, but his stomach looks full, and he's got a piece of gravel in his mouth which I can't get him to spit out.

I read in another thread that he should be put in the fridge, could someone tell me exactly how to do this? I'm scared of doing something wrong, I love him to bits.

The pieces of gravel are quite big which is worrying me, I thought they'd be too big for him to eat, turns out I was wrong :l

Thanks in advance.

 

[catherinepet1]

gravel

Hi Emmur,
axies cant be kept on gravel ,at all.
Bare bottom is best,only very very large stones ,no smaller than a adults head weight.
Have you tried to rub belly,my hagrid was full of stones and i gave her a three times daily belly rub,after 3 days she started pooing gravel,and is still doing after not being on gravel for now 5 months

You can put your axie in the fridge, but
FIRST OF ALL.
when putting axie in fridge,
Place in a tupperware or ice cream,
with aged water,cover with a lid with holes in it,
wrap in a teatowel so no light gets in.
also place in fridge next to axie ,
bottle of aged water next axies in fridge.
Please do daily water changes of water ,
Fridge is to be set at a min temp of 5 dec.
Keep in fridge as long as needed,you dont have to feed axie while in fridge,and this might help move any thing stuck in it.
Hope this helps,
You will get other advice soon,please listen and take note of all,
I am a very greenhorn to axies,
But am trying to uncover all.
I am now up up over 100 hours of reading on this site as well as uni sites and others.
So dont be scared to ask ,as all on this site are very well informed.
Catherine.​

 

[Saspotato]

Also, two days without food should be fine for an axolotl, I feed mine every three days or so. I think juveniles need more feeding but if it is an adult twice a week is fine.

But yea you need to get your axolotl off gravel asap as Catherine said. Their mouths are quite large so you would be surprised at the size of what they can fit in their mouths is. If you don't like a bare tank floor you can use sand as well. I just bought my sand at a hardware store and washed it.

Not sure what to do with the gravel, hopefully your axolotl will spit it up or pass it, as if not it can cause impaction. This can be fatal for axolotls

Good luck with your pet.

 

[Bellabelloo]

As advised by the other threads move your axolotl into a clean container with dechlorinated water somewhere cool..as our temps are cooling now it may not need to go into the fridge, see if you have anice cool spot somewhere, if not the fridge. Your axolotl will start to pass gravel and this is best re-moved as and when you see it ( i use clear sided containers so I can lift a corner of the towel to check). I however would not attempt massaging its stomach as I have concerns about their skin getting dammaged.
Once you have removed your axolotl I would remove all the gravel...if you wish replace with washed sand or leave bare. My tank ia mainly bare bottomed now and I quite like being able to see the underside of their tummies!!
What size is your axolotl, if its adult ( region of 25-30cm) you probably will be able to leave feeding for a bit, if smaller I'd offer a little food..earth worm etc.
Any further questions please don't hesitate to ask.

 

[Daniel]

I agree with what is said so far - put him in a tub with clean water; I think in GB are already low so you won't have to put him in the fridge as long as you got a cool place. I would also be careful with the belly massage - if done so it has to be done very gently so that he does not get injured, especially his intestines.
One more thing on the gravel in his mouth: This should be removed if he can't get rid of it by himself. Maybe he is not able to spit it back out because his mouth is swollen so you might have to help him. You can remove something from his mouth the following way:
Carefully take him out of his tank and wrap him in a wet towel. Try to open his mouth with a spoon handle and try to catch the gravel with a tweezer, remove it by gently twisting it. This won't be very easy so you might use a helping hand of someone.

Good luck with the little fellow!

 

[ianclick]

Hi you already have great advise so nothing to add except

Good Luck