Please help!

[Nina]

Hi,

I hope you can help me. I don't know whats wrong with mr axle.

His tank mate died last week and since then he hasn't been well.

His tank mate was a young black axol which I rescued from a pet shop (I know, but I felt sorry for him) who I only had for a month before he died on saturday. All his skin peeled and he passed many pieces of gravel (from the pet shop). This happened literally over night as when I checked him friday night he was fine (very odd for it to develop so quickly I think).

I removed mr axle from the tank straight away, completely emptied it, gave it a good clean. I filled it back up and put him back in there. I've been doing daily checks of the ph, nitrate, amonia levels (as I know your meant to cycle the water) and they are at the correct levels for him. I didn't have any where else to put him so I had to put him in straight away.

He was fine until I checked him this morning. He had regurgitated his food from the past couple of days and there was a large bit of organ lining (not sure what to call it...his insides membrane lining?). There was also two small bits of gravel which I presume he had picked up from his tank mate before I saw them and removed it. Also the underneath of his head (his throat?) is all swollen and his mouth wont close.

I cleaned up his tank this morning. I didn't want to feed him as I was scared about his throat being swollen.

He is floating at the top, gluping a lot of air, and lying in the line of the water stream from the water filter. He is also swimming up to the glass, bumping into it and rubbing his head back and forth against it as if his throat is itchy or irritating him. I just checked on him now and his gills have gone bright red (normally pink...hes an albino) and they seem a bit damaged, the fluffy bits are all sticking together and clumping up into balls, almost looking as if it is blood clots but I don't think they can be.

I'm really worried and mr axle has been through so much (he didn't eat for months with no obvious reason) and I don't want to loose him. I'm particulary worried about his throat being swollen. It's only the underside of his head but it may just be because of him being so violently sick.

Any help you can provide is much appreciated. I can't put him in the fridge, I live at my parents and my mother wont let me put him in there, especially seeing as we have guests at the moment.

Thank you,

Nina

 

[gr33neyes]

Can you get your hands on a cool box? Or a mini portable refridgerator, the type you store drinks in?
If not the best thing is a cool dark quiet place in another container if you can't move the tank.

Its possible the other axolotl has passed something nasty onto it......you may have to accept he won't make it...I hope he recovers.

 

[theplumz]

I know it might sound strange but i would chance giving Mr Axie a salt bath today and again tomorrow morning, then again on the evening (not lots of salt i have a basin which i 3/4 fill with water and i put 2 teaspoons of fine sea salt into and stir it well before adding any axies) as even though there isn't any obvious fungus showing i know when one of my girls (Dilly) is having trouble (ie the beginnings of fungus) she gets stressed and tries to bang her head on the glass and gasps for air at the top of the water. I also had a small problem with a little bit of worm stuck in her sister (Spike's) throat which made it look a bit swollen to which i held her half out of the water and gently rubbed unter her chin on the lump which seemed to realise it.
To be honest with everything it is trial and error and i hope for your sake he recovers soon.
I myself have 9 axolotls at the moment and my mum is baby sitting 60 unitl we sell them plus her own 9 so we have gone through alot of crazy situations oursleves, I hope this helps a little love Becca xxx

 

[Nina]

I have taken some pictures so that you can tell what I am talking about. He also now has bruising/bleeding on his tail and one of his back legs (pictures included) and the fuffy bits on his gills that had clumped together have now started falling off (thats the stuff on the floor of his tank as it was clear an hour ago). Sorry I've not uploaded photos before so not exactly sure how to do it so they are rather large.

 

[ferret_corner]

I think you need to get him into a fridge as soon as possible. You need to buy yourself some time to cure him or let him heal.

Ask a friend, a neighbor or teacher if you can borrow some space in their fridge.

MAYBE the swollen throat is from the pebbles irritating it? Thats pure speculation though.

I hope he gets better quick!

Sharon

 

[Nina]

I don't think he'll make it through the night. He's not looking well at all. I feel terrible as I feel it's my fault. At least he is in a cool and quiet part of the house and I've put the aircon on in the room to make sure it stays cooler. Its the most I can do for him right now. I'll update in the morning (more for my own sake as I feel writing it helps!)

 

[gr33neyes]

Personally I wouldn't bother with salt baths right now. Give him a chance to see if he makes it through the next few days. I feel that salt bathing now would cause considerable stress to an already stressed axolotl.
I recently had a sick axolotl that I thought was going to die.
She spent 4 days in my fridge and has spent the last 2 weeks in a tank on her own in the cool and dark. She is improving daily but it does take time to build them back up.

 

[Nina]

I'm afraid that he passed away last night. Thank you for your ideas and words of encouragement. If only it hadn't been so quick I might have been able to work out what was wrong. But at least he's better off if he was in pain. Thanks.

 

[kira]

I am so sorry to hear about your loss... Take care

 

[Moomin]

Sorry to here that mate.
Possibly the death of th other axie may have increased the nitrate in the tank?

 

[ferret_corner]

Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear that.

Sharon