Question: Very chubby female axie

[caje816]

I've had my axies for a few months. My female is in the tank with a male, and she is very fat. How do I know if I am overfeeding them, or if she just has eggs, or if she is sick? I've attached a picture (I hope I did it right). I feed each 4-8 pellets a day depending on how hungry they seem. She's still eating well and I have no substrate on the bottom of my tank.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[supergrappler]

How often does your axxie poop? Mine sometimes look that way after I feed them pellets or earthworms, but after a good pooh session the go back to normal. It does take a day or two though. How long has your axxie been "plump"?

 

[ianclick]

Hi there,

Your axolotl certainly does look Fat. An adult axolotl doesn't need to be fed every day you could reduce your feeding to every 3rd day without any problems. its hard to tell if it is gravid (egg Laden) from the photo.

Has it been having regular bowel movements? Any bloat related behaviours like excessive floating or abnormal movement?

At this size you may not have any health issues yet but you certainly will have if her size doesnt come down.

 

[caje816]

She hasn't had any unusual behaviors like floating or weird movement. But it also doesn't seem like she poops a lot. Neither of my axies seem to go a lot. I scoop out any leftover floating pellets, but now that I think about it, maybe I am mistaking the poo for leftover food? She's been pretty plump for the last few weeks, but she seems to be getting bigger...so I got worried.

 

[Wolfpretzel]

Hey there caje816,

Your axie does look a little fat. I've found that my golden albino is plumper than my melanoid - it always seems hungry. As you would know, a healthy girth is no larger than the width of the axie's head. I agree with Ianclick, you should try stepping down the frequency of feeding to every 2nd or 3rd day and try to mix up the diet. Earthworms are awesome live nutritious food and my axies enjoy the little struggle to keep them from worming out of their mouth.

If in doubt a few days in the fridge is a good option, as it helps the axie pass any blockages if it is constipated or has swallowed something it can't pass - I have recently chaged my substrate to sand after I found my golden albino had swallowed some gravel. Fridging helped my axie pass the gravel and all is well now.

For steps on fridging, check this thread out http://www.caudata.org/axolotl-sanctuary/Fridging.shtml

Hope all goes well.

-Chris

 

[blueberlin]

Hi caje816,

Her little legs look plump, too, so I would tend to think your girl is heading toward obesity. Pellets are very nutritional, which means that you should only feed her very few of them. 3-4 pellets per feeding is absolutely enough. If she is an adult (7 inches or more) then it is enough to feed her once a week. I know that will seem unsatisfying (and she will try to convince you that it is), but you need to be strong! for the health of your axolotl. :happy:

-Eva

 

[crazyfishlady]

Hello! I feed my axolotls quite a bit of pellets as well and I have never seen them as round as that picture. I am leaning more towards bloat than obesity. If you look at the overhead view of this newt it looks almost the same. The bloat doesn't seem apparent in the neck just the mid-section. http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/illness3.shtml Is there any way you can take a picture from the side? I would like to see how round she is and if the neck looks swollen.

 

[slimer]

my female gets fat like that too right before she gets ready to lay eggs. i would bet thats whats going on here.

 

[caje816]

I will try to post a better picture tomorrow. She's not in the mood to pose for pictures today! I'll try to get a side view and a clearer top view. Thanks...

 

[caje816]

Here are a few side views of her. Ignore my wild type in the front of the one picture. He's a camera hog. I tried to get as close as possible. She was just being cooperative because she wants food! I'm cutting down on what I feed her since she is so fat. Could she have eggs? She's in with a male.

 

[Darkmaverick]

Hi Caje,

I can positively confirm for you that your axie is fat. Being female, she has a rounded belly (due to eggs), that further accentuates her obesity. She still requires to be placed on a gradual diet where you SLOWLY taper down the amount or frequency of feed. Reduce the portion sizes/ types of food (avoid fatty treats like mealworms etc) first and then slowly reduce the frequency of feeding sessions. She didn't take overnight to become fat so similarly reducing her weight has to be gradual. Do not go on a sudden drastic crash course dieting plan. that can trigger metabolic, kidney or liver problems.

Cheers.

 

[caje816]

Thank you Rayson. I will follow your instructions and hope to have a slimmer picture posted in the future!