Swollowed Pebbles (URGENT)

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brendan

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2 of my 3 Axolotls have swollowed some small pebbles. Is this a bad thing? How do i fix it? Anything i can do?

My babies are only about 4cm long.

Any help is greatly appreicated.
 
Hi,
If the pebbles are small shouldn't be a problem, they should be passed within 2 weeks if you're really concerned then separate them into a bare tank to watch their poo and see if they pass the pebbles, keep offering food if only small amounts if they start to refuse food and still havent passed them then maybe you've got a problem but theres unfourtunatly nothing you can really do except wait. At the moment I'm lookin for information because my adult male has swallowed a huge stone and its stuck and he has swelled up to double his size its been 3 weeks and he hasn't passed a dcecent facaes but has started to eat again and quite a bit too. But the stone is still there, i know this cause its bright pink!! and i've moved him into a shallow tank with a white base. good luck
 
Hi my axie has just swallowed a big stone too but it does not seem to bother her yet but I am keeping an eye on her. Like Tara said there is not much you can do but wait.
I have read in one book that if you are concerned and it is affecting their eating habits or swimming ability you can try small amount of mineral oil by mouth twice a day.
I have not tried this myself but may do if I the gravel starts to affect Taco. Apparently gravel normally passes reasonably easily through the intestine.
If concerned I would try separation into a tank with no gravel bottom first.
Hope your babies get better.
 
ok thanks for your replies.

They are eating fine and i think they have passed the pebbles over night. I can no longer see them inside them.

Ive got small pebbles in my tank at the moment but soon ill be having bigger ones to stop them from swollowing them.
 
Hi Katherine,
Just wondering how your Axie and the large stone is going. I'm very interested to know because it has been 3 weeks since my male swallowed a huge stone and he still swollen and only eating little bits and i haven't seen him pass it yet (its bright pink) i will be putting fine sand on the bottom of my new set up. So keep me posted because I'm beginning to think this is how he'll stay!
Cheers
Tara
 
Just a point to note is that although small bits of gravel will pass. it is possible for some axies to retain the gravel in the gut for a very long time before parting company with it. Could be months or even a year.
 
Hi Mikki,
Just so know my axie passed away, he had started eating again and all but one morning he was just floating belly up, very sad as i've put so much research into the situation, we gave him a nice funeral and he has inspired me to try breeding axies!
Kind Regards
Tara
 
Sorry Tara, that is so sad. I am sorry I did not get back to you earlier about the gravel. My axie Taco seems to have a bit of lump in her belly but is eating fine and just being her normal self. She seems happy so I hope that carries on. I cant see the gravel even though she is a leucistic and it was a big black bit of gravel.
Good luck with your next axie.
 
hi

i think my axie has swollowed pebbles too. he is a white axolotl and i have blue pebbles. underneath him heis blue so i think he has swollowed pebbles.
i think the pebbles are to big to pass through. i have put him in a tank with just a filter so he dosen't eat anymore. he hasen't been eating, but just today i gave him bloodworms and he grabbed it, but he kept spitting it out and trying again. he can't swollow it .

what can i do.
 
I would think that if its too big to pass through, he would regurgitate it back up.
Try putting him in the fridge in his own container of water. I'm thinking that the lower temps may slow digestion and so encourage that pebble to come right back up again? What size pebbles do you have and how old/big is the axie.
 
Melissa - while he is out of the tank you may want to remove the blue gravel from the tank and replace it with sand or rocks that are too big for him to eat, or you can leave the floor bare.

Your axolotl may not eat until it passes or regurgitates some of the gravel. It can take a long time for all the gravel to be expelled, so you may see blue stones for months in his droppings or container.
 
my axie is 15cm long and the pebbles are a little smaller then a five cent piece.
 
hi again.

my axolotl is eating but still can't swallow it all. i think he has swallowed some though. what worries me now is that if he is eating he hasen't been pooing so dosen't that mean that he is getting all clogged up inside. Will he die?
 
I think that what he has swallowed, if it is too big to pass through, will come back up again. Put him in a container with a low water level, enough to cover him, and wait. I think that's all you can do. You could try just very gently to massage his belly - very gently - no nails please.

Axolotls don't actually poo that frequently as far as I've seen. I don't think they have regular schedules so it could maybe more than a day or so before anything happens.

(Message edited by waltona on June 27, 2005)
 
Melissa - make sure you keep the water cool in the small container. Don't let the water get over 20 C.

Be patient it takes time for rocks to work their way out.
 
i have 2 white axies one is 5.5inches and the other is 4.5inches. the smallest one i think has eaten a pebble the pebbles are about the size of a pea maybe a bit bigger. when i first noticed his belly i put him in a seperate container to see if he would pass it put he didnt he has had it in his belly for over a couple of months i dont know what else to do. he is still eating which i guess is good but his belly is going black, full of poo i think. my friend had an axie with the same problem but sadley he died. has anyone got any ideas???
 
Deanna - As axolotls grow so does the dark portion of their gut. Do not confuse the gravel with the normal part of the axolotls insides.

What color was your gravel? It is usually pretty easy to see bright colored gravel inside white axolotls.

As long as they are eating that is a good sign. Some axolotls can carry gravel and rocks around in their gut for years. Be patient.
 
my gravel is white and yellow. the thing is that my other axies belly is normal compared to the small one. the small ones back is really bent like a banana, you know how you see some horses and they have a bent back that is how my axies back looks and it doesnt look normal. i will get a camera and take a photo of it to show what i mean.
 
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