The Doctor is in ... the fridge. (Constipation, possible impaction)

[My Lottie]

What an odd thing to poop !! :blush: Hope all is well with the Doctor... I wish one of the "knowledgeable ones" had answered your question...what is it????

Keep us informed, eh !

 

[danchristopher]

Can you get a photo? It might just be good to get a visual on what you're dealing with, even if just for documentation purposes.

Hopefully it heals up fine and The Doctor makes a speedy recovery.

 

[Coldnorthtoy]

Hopefully it heals up fine and The Doctor makes a speedy recovery.

Thanks - me too.

Can you get a photo? It might just be good to get a visual on what you're dealing with, even if just for documentation purposes.

I considered that; it was hard enough to get a good look through the translucent bottom of the Rubbermaid fridge container, and that's a two-hand task - I'm not sure how I'd take a picture too.

I may set the 5.5 gallon up again and put the Doctor in there - my wife could probably take an underside picture while I hold the tank - but I'd rather just leave him in the fridge for awhile longer, since he's still not eating anything either.

 

[Coldnorthtoy]

A bit of an update:

The doctor pooped - I think - so that's good. I think I managed to pull the bum-stringy-thingy off with a cotton swab.

Also, based on these posts by Michael Shrom from 2006, 2008 and 2010, I decided to pick up some Instant Ocean Sea Salt to increase GH and get some trace minerals in the water since, as I've mentioned, my GH (and KH) are < 1 degree.

I did a little testing using 1/8 teaspoon of Instant Ocean and 2 litres of water. This raised the GH by 95 ppm (+/- 10); based on this, 1 tablespoon per 10 gallons should raise the GH by 120 ppm, bringing me up to about 7.5 degrees of hardness.

I'm phasing in the new salt-content/hardness to my fridge 'tanks' over four water changes; hopefully the extra minerals will help the Doctor feel better, and the salt content will help eliminate any fungus that might be hanging around.

Also, the Doctor's toes are going gray, so s/he is maturing; because s/he's so thin, I'm not really sure if it's a male or female, but I guess time will tell.

Thanks everyone for the insights; I will keep updating as things occur.

 

[Coldnorthtoy]

Ok, so the Doctor is looking way better - the cloacal darkening/'scab'/whatever is gone. I'm still pulling a bit of 'fluff' off the cloaca (cotton swabs rock!) each day, but that seems to be diminishing too.

I pulled out the 'big camera' and tried getting some shots, because there are still little black/green/whatever dots just above the legs...

DSC_5125

DSC_5127

You can see the cloacal bump, just behind the leg, and right above the front of it is a little black/green dot. This dot seems to accumulate fungus too, so I'm assuming it's related to whatever was going on with the cloaca - and since that issue seems to have cleared up, I'm hoping those leg spots will too.

There are also unfortunately a few red spots on the Doctor's tail, but I don't think they're anything serious:

Tail Dots

All in all, the Doctor is looking pretty good, I think - not as skinny as I felt before, but still pretty skinny, but the gills look great, and the color looks good.

I do see the tail curl here, but it's the first I've seen since being in the fridge, and I think it related more to the bright light, increasing temperature and annoying caretaker with a Q-Tip.

DSC_5119

PS: All photos have links to bigger versions, since some of the things are hard to see on these sizes.

 

[My Lottie]

Hi... Great news to see the Doctor looking better..:happy::happy:
I'm going to do an update on my Lottie, soon... so far so good...

 

[Coldnorthtoy]

Hi... Great news to see the Doctor looking better..:happy::happy:
I'm going to do an update on my Lottie, soon... so far so good...

Yup, and even better today. Virtually no fuzz, the cloaca is back to normal colors, and all that's left are the little brown spot above the right hind leg, and the little green spot above the left hind leg - which had zero fuzz tonight.

Also, my nitrates just popped today. Woooooo!

Yesterday: ~6 ppm ammonia, 0.5 ppm nitrite, 0 nitrate.
Today: ~6 ppm ammonia, >5.0 ppm nitrite (off the scale!), 5 ppm nitrate.

I bet by the time the Doctor is back to normal, the tank will be ready for him!

 

[Coldnorthtoy]

Well, the doctor is still in the fridge, but not for much longer. There is zero fungus, the cloacal 'scab' is gone, and the 'scab' behind his right hip is gone - all that's left is the weird green thing behind his left hip:

DSC_5138

DSC_5137

DSC_5139

It's still damn hard to see - I can't seem to get a shot that's both in focus and close enough - but I'm too broke to buy a macro lens so that's the best I can do.

Anyone have any suggestions? Ideas? Money for a macro lens?

Also, my tank cycled - WOOHOO! - so the Doctor's home is ready for him/her.

 

[My Lottie]

Actually think the pics are really good ..Odd spots...guess it will sort out...maybe one of "the knowledgeable ones" has seen it before...

Post a pic when the Doctor is back in his tank ,...and feed him up, eh !!!

 

[Coldnorthtoy]

Actually think the pics are really good ..Odd spots...guess it will sort out...maybe one of "the knowledgeable ones" has seen it before...

Post a pic when the Doctor is back in his tank ,...and feed him up, eh !!!

It seems to be sorting itself out - sort of - so hopefully that will continue, but I think the Doctor will be back in the 'new Universe' tonight. Sorta excited.

And ya, I know he's rather skinny, and needs to eat - hopefully he actually will.

 

[Coldnorthtoy]

Ok. The Doctor is on the counter warming up, and getting ready to go check out his revamped home. And my wife is excited to have the fridge back at normal temperatures.

I removed the glazed terra cotta plant saucer I had been using as a feeding plate - I began getting paranoid about what might be in the 'probably-not-food-safe' glaze - and replaced it with a glass dish from the Dollar Store. The edges are ...abrupt, but not sharp; hopefully it works out. I might swap it out for a Dollar Store teacup saucer or other teeny plate if I can find one.

The tank's specs are pretty much perfect:

• Temperature is 19.0 celsius
• pH is 6.8
• GH is 150 +/-10 ppm
• KH is 15 +/-5 ppm
• Ammonia is 0 ppm
• Nitrite is 0 ppm
• Nitrate is 5 ppm

The GH out of my tap is ~18 ppm, and it's being augmented by Instant Ocean Sea Salt at a concentration about equivalent to a 25% Holtfreter's Solution. This unfortunately doesn't address the KH problem.

Nitrates have dropped from 80 ppm 9 days ago to 20 ppm 4 days ago to 5 ppm today with only maybe seven 25% water changes - considering there's always been 2 to 3 pellets decaying in there (changed every few days for new ones before they grow 'clouds') since I started cycling, I really expected it to still be higher than that. I guess the plants are eating it?

Anyways, the Doctor will be in tonight; hopefully he stays healthy this time!

 

[My Lottie]

... waiting for the update...!!?? Hope all is well with the Dr, and he is eating..

My "Lottie" appears to be ok, after her drama (not eating for a month), but isn't eating on a regular basis, and refuses worms, which she previously loved .....I am going away for 2 weeks, and have left instructions for her care, SOoo I'm hoping and praying all will be ok! :happy:

 

[Coldnorthtoy]

... waiting for the update...!!?? Hope all is well with the Dr, and he is eating..

Not eating yet - still trying, and then spitting everything out. The 'fungus' or whatever it was seems to be returning, but with the combination of better light and a glass tank, I got some better photos.

Hopefully someone can identify what the problem is and suggest a course of treatment.

 

[My Lottie]

What is going on with the Doctor?? Without reading all the posts again... have you tried a salt bath? Maybe only other alternative could be a vet.. if you have one available?

 

[Kaysie]

Send these pics to Ed K. He might have an idea.

 

[Coldnorthtoy]

Send these pics to Ed K. He might have an idea.

Thanks, Kaysie. Do you mean this Ed?

 

[Kaysie]

Yes, that Ed. I trust everything he has to say about amphibians. You may also try contacting some of the vets that frequent the forum. They may not legally be able to diagnose, but maybe could lead you in the right direction.

 

[Coldnorthtoy]

Yes, that Ed. I trust everything he has to say about amphibians. You may also try contacting some of the vets that frequent the forum. They may not legally be able to diagnose, but maybe could lead you in the right direction.

Thanks again for the suggestion, Kaysie. I ended up adding salt to the tank up to the level of about 1.5 teaspoons per gallon (within the 1 to 2 tsp/gal range described as '[safe] ... indefinitely' in the article Practical Axolotl from the Indiana University's Axolotl Newsletter) and this caused whatever it was to go away. Given that it's gone now, I figured I wouldn't bug Ed with it.

There still is the weird green thing on the left hind hip, but that looks to be fading too. EDIT: I just realized that with the Doctor in the tank, I can actually get a decent picture of this; I'll try to do so tomorrow.

Despite the fungus/bacteria going away, the Doctor still isn't yet interested in eating. However, there are a clew* of blackworms wandering around the tank, and I've found a few 'carcasses' that look like they've spent some time in a stomach - not sure though whether they went the whole way through or if they left the same way they came in.

I've also added a feeding jar - an epic 3/4-litre peach jar, boiled (for a half hour - I forgot about it on the stove ), rinsed and dechlorinated - which s/he doesn't seem to have explored quite yet, but it's full of blackworms too, so hopefully the Doctor will find that buffet while adventuring.

* I looked it up - apparently it's a clew of worms.

 

[My Lottie]

So pleeeased to hear the salt has helped the Doctor .... Now all we need is to hear he/she is eating!!! Good idea with the dish too .

( A phone call to my "Lottie's" carer has confirmed she is ok, and eating her pellets and frozen bloodworms, thank goodness, so I can relax and enjoy my short holiday) :happy:

 

[Coldnorthtoy]

A phone call to my "Lottie's" carer has confirmed she is ok, and eating her pellets and frozen bloodworms, thank goodness, so I can relax and enjoy my short holiday) :happy:

That's awesome.

So pleeeased to hear the salt has helped the Doctor .... Now all we need is to hear he/she is eating!!! Good idea with the dish too .

Actually, I corralled the Doctor into the jar this morning (ya, I'm a jerk ) and after nosing around the pile of blackworms for a good 15 minutes, s/he decided to take a gulp; I now know for certain that the Doctor ate at least one blackworm today. Hopefully it stays in, and then comes out the 'right end,' but I think things are looking up.