Sick Axylotl - gall stones?

[justin]

Ill start this story from the beginning.
My girlfriend and I have a black (wild type) Axolotl, named Oxy, well we did anyway.
We had sometimes purchased some small goldfish from the local pet shop as a 'treat' for Oxy, some lasted a few weeks, some werent so lucky. We thought we would try some larger fish, in the hope that they would be too big for him to chomp. No problems there, Oxy was quite happy to share his tank, and the fish kept thier distance.
A few weeks went by, and we noticed Oxy continuously swimming up to the surface, sometimes almost verticaly, and taking gulps of air. It eemed he was trying to get out.
A few days later my girlfriend came home at lunch time, only to find Oxy seemingly dead in the bottom of the tank. Pretty upset, she scouped him out of his tank with the net, and sat him in the laundry tub, so I could bury him later.
When she returned later, she was amazed to see him start moving!
Over the moon her pet of over 8 years was still with us, we put him back into his tank. He was very lazy and sluggish, and wouldnt eat. The other noticeable thing was his tounge, which seemed large and white. At first I thought he had swallowed a plastic disc.
After trying several vets in the area, the local zoo (they keep Axolotl) Lee found a vet who had experience with Axolotyl, and knew lots about them. Oxy was delivered to the surgury today, and was checked by the vet. She found him to be a healthy specimen, but after an xray, it was decided he had a stone (or pebble) lodged in his stomach. The vet seemed to think there would be minimal risk, and a very good chance of success, so carried out an opperation on Oxy, in some kind of anistetic rinse. They found (apparently) not a pebble, but gall stones! (Not sure on correct spelling, sorry).
The stones were removed, and he was sewn up (a very tidy job too), but this-afternoon I got the call from Lee to say he hadnt made it.
We brought him home, and he is sitting in his container, looking like he's about to spring up at your finger like he used to.
How can I be sure he is dead, and not just faking it like last time? He isn't floating, his eyes still look quite bright. and he hasnt gone stiff.
Has anybody ever heard of performing surgury on an Axolotl, or of an Axolotl having gall stones???

Wish we had found this site a week ago, Oxy was a really cool little guy, and we'll both miss him.

Regards, Justin

 

[nathan]

welcome to the site Justin sorry about the lose well he was reasonably aged so it could just have been his body failing, and no I have never heard of gall stones in axies before what is it caused by anyway? I know what it is, but is it a deficiency of some mineral or what. Also you should not keep fish in the tank with axolotls or feed them to axolotls.

 

[joan]

Gall stones are crystallized cholesterol which builds up in the gall bladder. The gall bladder makes bile, which breaks down fat in the stomach.

 

[anne-marie]

So if the gall stones are cholesterol, were you feeding a fairly fatty diet? 8 is not a bad age, but it's long enough to have them so that you miss 'em when they die

.

You are fortunate that you found a vet who could help with axolotls. They are pretty thin on the ground everywhere I think. BTW, contacting the zoo is a great idea, thanks for that.

If you're really not sure he's dead, just wait. Water retards rigor mortis generally, so stiffness will set in, probably after 24 hours.

 

[nathan]

The gall bladder itself doesn’t make the bile it is the liver that dose that. The gall bladder just releases the bile in proportion to how much fat you have eaten in your meal.

 

[joan]

You're right, Nathan. Sorry about that.

 

[rheann]

I had my Gal bladder removed when I was 14 or 15. I had gal stones in it the size of the end of my pinky, my gal bladder was so scarred up. The doctor said it was from stress, concidering i was so very young when I had it removed. It's not a fun thing to happen, i am sorry about your Axie though

I can't help much.

 

[justin]

Thanks for your replies. Unfortunately, yes Oxy was dead.
I was surprised to find out how long they can live, some have said up to 18 years!
We have already found someone who has several young Axolotl available for adoption, we are planning on getting a pair.
I have picked up loads of helpfull stuff looking through this site, keep up the good work, and thanks again.

Justin

 

[jess]

We have an axolotl that has become very thin, stopped eating and not moving alot. We recently changed some of the water and he was possibly a little stressed by that but ph is ok. His diet has also been slightly decreased after shop assistant advice. Until recently his diet has been beef heart and occasionally pellets. What's wrong?

 

[hayley-jane]

Hi Jess.

Are the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate all okay?

It might just be that he is constipated and so full up already. Have you seen him poo recently?

As for his diet, beef heart is okay as a treat, but generally people on here agree that it is too high in fat to be used as a staple diet. Plus they wouldnt eat it naturally in the wild. The best staple for your axie is either worms or pellets from the Indiana Uni.

Hope he gets better

 

[jacob]

hi there, i have just been given an axylotl for christmas from my sister. the petshop told her to remove the axylotl from the tank and place it in a seperate container to feed it morning and night this is very messy though, i am feeding it pellets that were recommended by the pet shop and have an information book that says i should be able to pick it up in my hand and feed it.I am only new to all of this so any information from people with alot of experience with these creatures would be greatly appreciated. thanks Jacob.

 

[joan]

Jacob, I suggest starting your own thread (way at the bottom there's a link to start your own thread). For starters, they only need to be fed two or three times a week, a large nightcrawler or other earthworm at a time. Don't put them in a different tank for feeding, and don't pick them up with your hands. Read www.axolotl.org to start out, and then if you have more questions, post them.