Illness/Sickness: She is stressed now!

Shadow

Shadow

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Right so I walked in my room about 10 mins ago and found her, gills faced forward and her end sticking in the air. From reading other threads and stuff, I have put her in the bottom of my fridge with about 1 1/2 - 2 inches of water. Such a hassle because I had to move all my Insulin and stuff from the bottom.

Now the major problem is that I can't do anything till Saturday. This means getting some de-chlorinator meaning I cant changer her water daily. What else can I do as I am seriously worried?

Please, any help would be appreciated.
 
Bum up in the air usually indicates constipation or that your axolotl has swallowed a pebble or rock, is this possible with your tank conditions and feeding?
 
Rear end in the air is usually a sign of needing a poop. Juvies tend to have forward gills more than adults. I've found this to not always be a sign of stress in younger ones.
 
Shadow said:
Now the major problem is that I can't do anything till Saturday. This means getting some de-chlorinator meaning I cant changer her water daily. What else can I do as I am seriously worried?
Click to expand...

That is a bit of a worry considering you have to change the water daily.

In Australia, most of the water has chlorine and chloramine in it. I don't know if the situation is the same in the UK. You could always call your local water utility to find out if both chlorine and chloramine, or if only one is present. If (fingers crossed) chlorine is the only chemical present, then you can simply outgas the chlorine. But you will hardly find chlorine gas present in water, because it has been replaced by sodium hypochlorite, which is more stable (and safer) than chlorine gas. Therefore, there is no mystery about it, chlorine will simply be outgased because it only remains dissolved in the water in the form of sodium hypochlorite when under pressure, but when released from the faucet, chlorine is expelled. You can even smell it.

Having said all that, if you fill a jug with tap water and let it stand overnight, the chlorine will be outgased. Hoorah, you have aquarium safe water! While some remain skeptic about this methodology, it has worked for me in the past. But, I don't rely on it solely because all Australian water utilites include chloramine.

Instead of calling your local water utility, you could always test your tapwater for ammonia. This is done by using the liquid test kits- given that you have them at your disposal. Chloramine is simply formed when ammonia is added to water that contains free chlorine. Thus, if you test positive for ammonia in the tapwater, then it means that there is chloramine in it.

The main problem with chloramine is that it is more stable than sodium hypochlorite, and cannot be outgased. One method is to use a filter that is equipped with a activated charcoal. The output of the filter should be slow. I'm uncertain if this is a tried and tested method, but it's certainly better than subjecting your axolotl to the toxic effects of chloramine.

I was going to suggest that you bottle some of the tank water, but seeing as your axolotl has been gulping at the surface, this shows that the water isn't clean.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

Jay.
 
Are you really sure her gills are more forward in juvies? And they need a poo? There is no gravel in my tank, but she was kept in a tank with gravel at the shop.

Also I didn't mention her gulping at the surface?
 
Gulping at the surface is not necessarily stress unless it is happening frequently. Mine does it occassionally actually.

If it was only happening over 10 mins and your water quality is fine as well as temperature, I would move her back to the tank and keep an eye on her to make sure the symptoms don't become frequent. However, putting her in the fridge won't hurt at all. But you will need to do 100% water changes each day with dechlorinated water. So if that is hard for you to do right now, it is probably best you move her back to the tank.

Good luck! :)
 
Shadow said:
Also I didn't mention her gulping at the surface?
Click to expand...

My apologies. I misread your thread.

You can always do as Sarah has mentioned, and just leave her in the tank. If she has ingested gravel at the pet shop, she will have a swollen cloaca. This is the common symptom of constipation as a result of gravel ingestion. If the temperature in your tank is low enough, it should help her pass gravel that she might have ingested. But then again, you could be over-analysing the situation, and she just needs to poop, as Kaysie has previously pointed out :p

Jay.
 
Firstly, how old is your axie?
If you are not sure on the age, how long is she? The length will give some indication of the age.

It is normal for a younger axie (baby or juvi) to have they're gills pointing more forward. However, if your axie is an adult, then it is usually caused by stress, probably from the water current.

Regarding the gill 'flicking'; this helps the axie 'breathe' oxygen by expanding the suface area of the gills. It is normal, although if it is a constant thing (like really constant) then that can indicate a water quality issuse.

I think I got that all right (sorry I am really tired, I couldn't go to bed last night, kids).

:D
 
Flicking of the gills is the lazy axolotl's way of moving fresh water over the gills. Instead of moving to an area of fresh water when they've depleted the oxygen in the immediate area, they wave or flick their gills, in much the same manner as fish do.
 
Sorry for doing a triple post but I gave the tank a good cleaning and changed some stuff around.

DSC00437.jpg


DSC00427.jpg


DSC00428.jpg


A little cave for her:
DSC00435.jpg


Please tell me what you think! I might add some more wood and also anothe cave for her. Do you think I should.
 
Shadow said:
Sorry for doing a triple post but I gave the tank a good cleaning and changed some stuff around.

A little cave for her:

Please tell me what you think! I might add some more wood and also anothe cave for her. Do you think I should.
Click to expand...

Hi Shadow,

It looks very nice. :happy:

With that light, I would definately add more hides. Axolotls are nocturnal and don't care at all for light.

Having a tank light on to observe the axolotl is fine though, as long as there are sufficient hides so she can get right away from the light if it is bothering her. It's best to give at least two or three hides so she has a choice, and these hides should provide enough cover so she can find somewhere dark to relax, feel secure and keep a beady eye out for the next incoming worm lol.

If I may, that tank looks very small. If she is 12-15cm as you mention below, this tank will be fine in the mean time while she is very young - but axolotls grow very quickly and can grow any size from 7-14 inchs. You may need to consider getting her a larger tank when she is from six months of age as axolotls need a lot of floor space.
 
Yeah I know but I might of purchasef a new tank but sources say that a 38L is okay, and that a 60cm is okay for two so I thought halving it would be okay for one but I know I may need to get a bigger tank in the future.
 
I would remove the light. Or at least, not have it on very often as that will quite possibly stress your axie.

I think 60cm would be too small for two adults. I have a 60cm for one axie (25cm) and that is about the right space I think :)
 
Don't worry the light was rarely on while she was in there. I only put it on to make the tank look better.

It even said it on Caudata Culture. That was one of the first places I read that info.
 
Well I'e added her back into the tank and right before I did, she ate half a cube of freeze-dried brineshrimp. I plan to not have the light on really, only sometimes at night and what do you think If I left the filter off for a bit in the day? I think she would just get more stressed when it comes back on.

Also I couldn't get her another hide because are LFs doesn't sell and ornaments or wood because it's just a little shop.

I might update this thread over the next couple of days to report her progress if anyones interested that is.
 
If you move you filter (as suggested in your other thread) then you won't have to turn it off.

We love updates!
 
Oh right sorry, my computer kept messing internet pages so it that thread said it hadn't had a new reply but now I'm on my laptop.

Well it won't be like that of a nighttime because my bro won't be able to sleep, but in the day should be alright.
 
Check the temperature of your tank. Axies get stressed when the water temperature is too high.
Freeze a bottle of water and pop it in to your tank to cool axies down. The teps from 18-20 degrees Celcius are ideal.

This works with us, hope it works for you!

Chelsea
 
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