Sick axolotl, a MUST READ STORY ON MY AXIE

[lokocoko]

Hey guys, i'm new here and found this site about a week ago and decided to join since there is a lot of helpful stuff here! I have two axolotls, one golden albino (Mango) and one albino (Brainz). I recently got my boyfriend interested in axolotls and finally he decided to buy one of his own, an albino male just like my Brainz. He named it Zyzz after the bodybuilders legacy, hahahaha (oh boys).
Anyway so the day he got his, he asked me to take care of him over night while he was getting his tank up and running so i put him in a very large container and everything was fine.
Until morning that is...
You can imagine how surprised i was when i woke up to a missing axolotl
There was absolutely NO sign of him, no water puddles and nobody in my family knew where he was!
My dad managed to convince me that he got out and the dogs got to him. I figured i wouldve seen blood somewhere but eventually i just gave up searching and told myself to believe the poor guy met my dog.
So after a few days i had almost forgotten about zyzz, (i bought my boyfriend a new wildtype one that we named Fuze). But last night at 1AM i heard a small scraping on my floorboards so i turned on the light and there he was! He survived out of water for five whole days!!
I mean, what the heck?!
So i currently have him back in the large container just until he gets better, the poor guy was all red and veiny when i found him, probably because of no oxygen. Since my boyfriends tank is all running now we plan to put him in straight away as soon as he gets better, we're not taking any more changes with this incredible little guy! Also i have a lid with some airholes on the top to make sure he gets enough air (although you'd think after 5 days he probably wouldnt want any, hahaha!!)
Also his skin started to flake but he DEFINITELY looks a lot better. He has one or two small scrapes and he's very skinny but I'm looking after him now, no way I'm going to let him die on me!
I was just wondering if 1.the flaking is normal? 2. Has anyone else had totally crazy stories like this? I did a google search when i first lost him about how long axies could survive out of water and people were saying that they would only last as long as a fish would! But a fish would be well on its way to fishy heaven after 5 days, no?

Speedy recovery to little Zyzz,
And tell me all, what do you think!?

 

[totallyrad]

Yes that is ridiculous that he survived out of water for 5 days. I had a similar situation with one of mine once but he was only out for a few hours and didn't make it so I'm shocked yours survived 5 days. Flaking is normal, watch him closely for fungus etc. If his gills trap any loose skin particles I would take a turkey baster and blow them off and try to remove as much dead skin as you can as often as you can.

I couldn't tell you much about Tea Baths but there is plenty of info on here about doing it safely on here. I would at least look into it and see if this would benefit him.

I think you might want to rename him something like "Miracle" lol or hercules.

Anyway, I would definitely monitor him closely for strange behavior and fungus etc. I would wish you luck but it seems you have luck on your side already ha.

 

[lokocoko]

Yeah by all means, I will keep a close eye on him. I'll have pictures for everyone afternoon! Sorry I don't have pictures of him when I found him The last thing that was on my mind at the time was to stop and take a picture hahah
All I could think was "WATER WATER WATER!!!!"

And yes! Hahaha we will consider calling him something like that.
Although Zyzz is somewhat a legend in the bodybuilding world so I think it actually fits! Haha. (I wouldn't know too much about that area though )

 

[lokocoko]

This is Zyzz hanging out with Brainz before we lost him!

And this is him after I got him back in the water. He's really stressed, flaking and he's in bad shape, but he's definitely better than before when I found him.

 

[Cheva]

Wishing the little guy a swift recovery! what a miracle you found him when you did

 

[PandaHuggaz]

This little man is crazy! The only thing that I could think of him surviving for so long is if he chilled out in the dog's waterbowl!

 

[jessicaanne]

Oh my that is a miracle. I really hope that he does pull through after surviving that long out of water! As totallyrad already mentioned, the flaking is normal because the skin has dried out but you mainly have to be on the look out for fungus, other than that just make sure the little guy is comfortable so that he can try and overcome the stress a bit quicker e.g. darkness and a nice temperature.

 

[lokocoko]

This little man is crazy! The only thing that I could think of him surviving for so long is if he chilled out in the dog's waterbowl!

I know! I don't even understand it myself! I guess he could have maybe went for a swim in the dog water but I found him in the same room that I lost him in (Which had nothing watery of the sort besides the container he was in), so I really don't think he left the room at all! He's absolutely insane!!

 

[lokocoko]

Oh my that is a miracle. I really hope that he does pull through after surviving that long out of water! As totallyrad already mentioned, the flaking is normal because the skin has dried out but you mainly have to be on the look out for fungus, other than that just make sure the little guy is comfortable so that he can try and overcome the stress a bit quicker e.g. darkness and a nice temperature.

Thanks for the advice, Jessica. I figured the flaking would be because of dry skin. I'm keeping him as cold and in dark places as much as possible!

 

[lokocoko]

Wishing the little guy a swift recovery! what a miracle you found him when you did

I know, imagine if I was already asleep and didn't hear him when I did?? I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have made it if that was the case

Just an update for everyone, He is recovering quickly!
His white colour has come back and the shedding has almost completely stopped.
You can still see quite a lot of his veins and his tail is still curled (as it would be, poor guy ) but he's moving a bit more than yesterday. I'll have some photos up later of a white patch I found on his belly that looks a bit weird. I'm pretty sure it's not a fungus though, probably just somewhere where he has scraped off a good layer of skin or something. I might just need a second opinion.
Photos will be up soon so keep posted!

 

[Smdee]

That's incredible! Wishing the little guy a speedy recovery. Sounds like you are doing a great job at getting him back to normal.

Holy cow, though...5 days...he's like a super-amphibian.

 

[shultzbaby]

That is absolutely incredible, I almost fell out of my chair when I read that! WOW!!!

 

[shultzbaby]

Curious as to whether this will cause him to morph or not

 

[PandaHuggaz]

I don't think this will cause him to morph. But maybe the fact that he jumped out of a water is a sign that he wants to morph?

Curious as to whether this will cause him to morph or not

 

[jessicaanne]

But maybe the fact that he jumped out of a water is a sign that he wants to morph

Or he could've easily been startled by something.

 

[PandaHuggaz]

Very true I read a story on here once that a lotl got so startled by turning on a light that he swam right out of his tank!

Or he could've easily been startled by something.

 

[imzunicorn]

Actually, axolotls can flake when they're extremely stressed. I see them like that at pet stores. It's probably a combination of the stress and dryness. Although, if you live in a pretty humid place, that might be why he was able to survive. I know that Siamese Fighting Fish and Gourami can live out of the water for up to a week as long as they're kept moist. This is because they have the labyrinth organ that allows them to breath air. Don't think an axolotl would be much different.

 

[Paivi]

WOW! What an amazing story! All the best to little Zyzz, you are a fighter! :happy:

 

[jessicaanne]

I was wondering how your little Zyzz is doing after his mission outside the tank?

 

[Cheva]

Any updates?