hey everyone. i've had my axolotl, Pickel, for about 3 years now. i got him when i was really young, very depressed, and not nearly responsible enough to have him. he had a tank mate at first, i had bought two axolotls, the other being Pastel. Pastel died a month or two after we brought him home from unknown reasons. The reptile expo and the breeder i got them from all seemed sketchy, but i was so young i didn't know any better and i had waited 6 months to finally have my pets.
Pickel has been through so much because of my negligence. i'm ashamed to admit how bad how of a pet parent i've been, so much so that i'm tearing up extremely writing this. first was the issue of my cats. they terrorized him, likely near to death, because i couldn't get a job (was too young) and buy a lid for my tank and my family is far from wealthy. he has several cuts and scars all along his body from them. i've finally gotten a lid a year or two ago, and i thought he would start regenerating his tail, but he hasn't seem to gotten much better at all. i've been trying to feed him more to get him to gain weight and overall be healthier, i try so hard to keep the water clean and cool but my house is very badly insulated and my room gets insanely hot. my room is also so small that i physically can't move the tank away from the windows.
i'm at wits end. i feel horrible, like i'm torturing this poor creature. i have a 20 gallon long tank with an adjustable filter. there's very fine gravel substrate that i'm slowly siphoning out during water changes. recently, i remodeled his tank, adding an extra hiding spot, a background to keep it darker in the day, and some plastic plants. after i fill up the tank with the help of my boyfriend or family (i'm currently post surgery and am unable to do a water change by myself) and do a water test for everything, nitrates/nitrites, ammonia, pH, the whole lot, i'll post those results and likely ask for ways to fix the levels. i feed him night crawlers every 2-3 days.
i just want him to be as happy as possible, but for awhile now i've thought that perhaps i simply can't keep up with his needs. any and all advice or criticism is appreciated. i hope you all can understand my guilt and frustrations. i just want to strive to be a better parent. he deserves it.
here are pictures of him from today.
Pickel has been through so much because of my negligence. i'm ashamed to admit how bad how of a pet parent i've been, so much so that i'm tearing up extremely writing this. first was the issue of my cats. they terrorized him, likely near to death, because i couldn't get a job (was too young) and buy a lid for my tank and my family is far from wealthy. he has several cuts and scars all along his body from them. i've finally gotten a lid a year or two ago, and i thought he would start regenerating his tail, but he hasn't seem to gotten much better at all. i've been trying to feed him more to get him to gain weight and overall be healthier, i try so hard to keep the water clean and cool but my house is very badly insulated and my room gets insanely hot. my room is also so small that i physically can't move the tank away from the windows.
i'm at wits end. i feel horrible, like i'm torturing this poor creature. i have a 20 gallon long tank with an adjustable filter. there's very fine gravel substrate that i'm slowly siphoning out during water changes. recently, i remodeled his tank, adding an extra hiding spot, a background to keep it darker in the day, and some plastic plants. after i fill up the tank with the help of my boyfriend or family (i'm currently post surgery and am unable to do a water change by myself) and do a water test for everything, nitrates/nitrites, ammonia, pH, the whole lot, i'll post those results and likely ask for ways to fix the levels. i feed him night crawlers every 2-3 days.
i just want him to be as happy as possible, but for awhile now i've thought that perhaps i simply can't keep up with his needs. any and all advice or criticism is appreciated. i hope you all can understand my guilt and frustrations. i just want to strive to be a better parent. he deserves it.
here are pictures of him from today.
