Shinking, sick and stressed

Lora

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Hi there, My axolotl has been sick for a week or two. She(?) is VERY skinny and its been worsening. Also she curls up. Now tonight she has a bib weird lump on her head and her head is misshappen with one side of her gils flat and looking bad.


the thing that changed was I strated feeding her little feeder guppies, this was for about a week. Normal diet had been worms mostly. I has also tossed some small new snails...could a snail have survived inside of her and made its way under her skin up to her head?!

ugh she was healthy for so long. Ive had her and her tank mate since they were eggs
 
Snails are a bad idea unless you know exactly what you are doing - take out any that are left. Snails can cause impaction just like gravel, and trapdoor snails can cause internal injuries. The lump on her head is not a snail, it is not possible.

Where did you get your guppies from and did you quarantine them for a full 30 days? Chances are a guppy introduced some kind of bacteria.

I would put your sick axie in the fridge (look up fridging guide) for now, and speak to a vet ASAP. You should also do a large water change, in case there is bacteria in the tank.
 
Can you add a photo please,? The lump may be an abscess, if so this will require veterinary treatment.
 
Hi I added some photos to my gallery and below I think. She is terribly skinny, she was big and healthy
 

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ugg! this is so horrible, a fantastic aquaria expert I know say abscess too and that I should get her in some antibiotics and check her mouth to see if something is stuck, but i dont know how to look inside her mouth!
 
, but i dont know how to look inside her mouth!

Look up the force feeding sticky, there is an excellent technique for opening up an axie's mouth using a wet towel to hold them and a silicone spatula to open their mouth.

I'm not an expert, but abcess seems the most likely explanation.

As I said before, fridge your axie until you can get proper treatment, it might help slow the infection and will help reduce weight loss too.
 
I am pretty sure it is an abscess now I have seen the photo's. A vet will be able to treat her, I feel this is your only option here.
 
Thank you so much. last night after I tried to look in her mouth she was thrashing around a bit which opened a tiny bubble on the abscess - this enabled the puss to release, so the bump is down. I took her to my local aquaria expert and we came to the conclusion that she swallowed something (likely a young rams horn snail) that is stuck.:(

I have her sequestered, he says all we can do is give it time and hope it passes. he also applied some Methylene Blue to her head were the abscess was, and recommends I try to get her to eat soft food to help pass the obstruction .
 
I think i read on another post recently that there is a type of worm you can feed them which provides a coating to help pass things, maybe waxworms? Maybe you could research into this a little? :D
 
Yes, wax worms work well as a way to "grease" things up. Butter worms work well for this purpose, too. Just keep in mind if you feed your axolotl with wax or butter worms, that you can't feed them more than one or two every couple of weeks. Axolotls can develop kidney problems if there is too much fat in their diet. Earth worms are a soft food which you can feed your axolotls with that will also help your axolotl to pass the snail. In fact, as long as the worm is still alive when you feed it, the slime they produce will help quite a bit.
 
I strongly advise you to see a vet to clear up the abscess. These are very tricky to treat otherwise.
 
I strongly advise you to see a vet to clear up the abscess. These are very tricky to treat otherwise.

She did see a specialist about it, read above. They treated the abscess and sent the axolotl home with her afterward. The only issue now is getting the snail to pass, which should be rather easily dealt with as long as she feeds the axolotl the right food.
 
She did see a specialist about it, read above. They treated the abscess and sent the axolotl home with her afterward. The only issue now is getting the snail to pass, which should be rather easily dealt with as long as she feeds the axolotl the right food.

Yes, I did read the full post...it is something that I always do :D

A local aquaria expert is generally not a vet. From experience an abscess is very difficult to treat, it usually needs a thorough clean out and course of antibiotics...methylene blue may not be sufficient to clear up the infection.

If indeed a snail is stuck, they are more likely to be more skilled in removing it, or even do an Xray to confirm that this is indeed the problem.
 
I appreciate that advise though I can not imagine finding a vet who could care for an axolotl. the abscess is looking great, as in cleared up. Funny last night I had the idea of feeding something "oily" to help pass, but I didnt know what. At this point, the only thing she will eat is live bloodworms.

My vet does work with small critters, in fact I have taken hamsters in before - so Ill check, thanks - though my aquaria expert friend is considered our fish clubs fish medical expert - he is very very knowledgeable on fish and aquatic ailments and cures.

I VERY MUCH appreciate this forum!

Thanks
Lora
 
Well, if you can't find a herp vet anywhere near you, the specialist is better than nothing at all. Glad to hear the abscess cleared up, now all you have to worry about is having her pass that snail. Good luck!
 
And worried I am. She seemed a "little" better before I moved her out of her tank (Isolated her) not getting her to eat now - Hoping for success with that tonight. Considering putting her back into her tank with her tank mate _ I believe all of my poking and prodding has been even harder on her.
 
I'll need someone else's approval or disapproval on this before you should try it, but you could try fridging her for an hour or so. Some people do this as a treatment for constipation, but I don't know how it would work out in your situation.

Like I said, DON'T try this unless someone else more experienced agrees with me. It was just an idea and I'm not 100% on it myself.
 
Lora, you have been advised several times to see the help of a Vet, and to fridge your axie, and you're not taking the advice.

An abcess will not clear up on it's own - the temporary 'little bit better' will be from the release of pressure where the abcess burst, but the infection is still there.
Your axie probably need an injection of antibiotics that can only be administered by someone who knows what they are doing.

While I respect the opinion of your aquaria expert on all thing aquarium, you really need to get you axie some professional help.

Do not put her back in the tank - she may infect your other axie. Put her in the fridge. If your local vet can't help he should be able to contact a specialist for advice of which drug to administer and the dosage.
 
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