What is this?!

[HayleyK]

Whoever gave me bad rep for ammonia burn and under weight issue, before you give out bad rep please be aware of the facts. It is NOT ammonia burn, I've used 3 different brands to test ammonia nitrite and nitrate and all are 0. Yes my axolotl is underweight but if you had bothered reading through my posts you would have seen I fed her 2-3 worms every second day, which she became nice and plump and for some UNKNOWN reason she wasn't retaining her weight even though she continued to eat over 10 weeks and completely stopped for 1 week, and I contained to try feeding her. I didn't abandon her or treat her poorly. In fact I've made maybe 4-5 posts on all her little problems to see what i can do.

Don't diss my ability to care for my axolotl and give me bad rep before knowing the facts. Obviously there is something unusual about my case as no one can tell me exactly what it is so again, don't give me bad rep for trying to help my axolotl. Obviously I don't know everything and still learn things everyday from this site, but my understanding of water husbandry, common illness symptoms and diet is more than basic.


Haven't heard from the vets, xxianxx, will call tomorrow and thanks for your input, appreciate it.

 

[HayleyK]

Called my local vet and they said that they don't work in cooperation with the closest exotics vet, which is quite a while away, if she needed medication they can't provide it, I have to go to the exotics. I explain my situation and they said they can take a look but really don't know much about axolotls which is a waste of time and money.

Plus side she seems to be okay the last two days in regards to skin condition and I still eating. Still floating, but I went through her poop and it was extremely hard, like I couldn't even suck it up in my turkey baster because it wouldn't break. Any suggestions besides wax worms to soften her poop?

 

[PatchworkClocks]

There are some fattier foods you could try, like butter worms. I think you could try minnows, but we'll see if anyone else agrees with me. The point is, fattier foods will help "grease up the system", and hopefully will allow her to pass things more easily. The problem with fatty foods though, is that too much of it can and will cause kidney problems for an axolotl, so use it sparingly.

 

[Possum63]

Hi, can you post photos of your lotl from above please?

 

[HayleyK]

This is what she's looked like for 2 years ( took her 6 months to get healthy from pet shop conditions )

 

[HayleyK]

Left is her before condition. Right is about 2 weeks ago.

 

[HayleyK]

This is her skin irritation. Again it is not ammonia burn or poor water conditions. Everything is fine.

 

[HayleyK]

This is her just then.. Her gills saddens me and her face shape looks different.

 

[HayleyK]

Forgive me for all the unnecessary photos but I'm desperate for anyone's help and easier to see her problems.

This is her from above, sorry it's dark.

 

[Possum63]

Thank you for all the photos. In some photos it actually looks like she is starting to morph and the symptoms stack up - floating, gills shrinking, face shape changing, losing weight, and her dorsal fine(or whatever it is) looks rather small and start farther down the back then normal. But in other photos she looks like a normal, albeit very slim, axy.

I'm absolutely by no means any expert on morphing though and have done very little research into it as I never desire to morph any lotls. Perhaps someone with more knowledge could tell me I'm wrong (I hope!!) I know its a very far fetched idea to mention which is why I hope someone with more knowledge on the subject will say I'm wrong and help you out.

Otherwise, I can't help sorry. Your parameters are fine and so is the temp and like people have said they are the usual causes for illness in lotls.

EDIT:Also discussing this with my partner if this has been going on for a long time then it certainly can't be morphing... Hmm.

 

[xxianxx]

The reduction in the size of the dorsal crest could indicate a morphing axolotl but the eyes dont look buldgy enough, I dont think it is morphing, plus the process takes a couple weeks and your probs have been going on for quite a while. Oceanblue is the person with most experience of morphed axolotls on this site, may be an idea to ask his opinion.

 

[HayleyK]

Some days her eyes are really flat, some days they are normal. I had a post about her a while ago about a bulgy eye. Tonight one eye is super buldge. It's so strange.

Thank you all for your help ill msg oceanblue to see what they think is going on

 

[wandering]

Hmmm
Just read the whole thread.

A bulge that moves from one lower jaw to the other lower jaw and then to the eye suggests something stuck across the inside of her mouth. It was mentioned early on. Maybe it there right at the back where you can't see it? Could be the cause of difficulty eating and weight loss too.

Just a thought...


Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[HayleyK]

The jaw bumps have disappeared... I've checked it and there's nothing in there. At all she doesn't have a problem eating or opening/closing now I've been feeding her 3 times a day for like 4-5 days she just takes a long time to snap. She stopped eating for a week, started eating then this jaw thing happened but continued to eat.

 

[oceanblue]

Thanks for the message, I'd missed this thread. I've just looked at the jawline of my artificially morphed axolotl and its smoother than the one in your photos but I do recall a prominent white irregular line like yours during morphing.

The dorsal fin is reduced, the gills are reduced and maybe the jaw is changing. The skin at the base of the fin was red during morphing and the skin is often a bit red before a skin peel every couple of weeks now. While some of these features your animal shows are "stress' related they may well be morphing. Stress can be due to something you are doing wrong (such as ammonia) but can be caused by illness totally beyond your control as appears to be the case here.

I wish to emphasise I am not a vet but perhaps treating this axolotl as if it is morphing will make it more comfortable. Can you transfer it to a shallow container on a slope so it can easily rest with its head just below the water or crawl out of the water if it wishes? It will make it more comfortable instead of floating.

Late "spontaneous" morphs often do badly so do not be too upset if it does not pull through.

You appear to be doing all you can to get help-good luck and I'll keep an eye on this thread.

 

[HayleyK]

Thank you so much for replying! I am absolutely devastated there's a possibility of losing her. I don't have the space or knowledge to care for a salamander if she does pull through

I have attached a photo of her jaw just then it's very rounded.

Can you help me with the tank set up for her? How deep should the water be? Should I build a sand bar for her? Do I change the water everyday because there won't be enough water for a filter? I'm in Australia and the days are now hitting up to 29 degrees Celsius already, the tank I can manage to keep cool but I am unsure about how to keep the tank/tub cool?

 

[oceanblue]

The new photo shows a head shape which is more like a sick axolotl than a morphing one, the jawline still looks thoroughly juvenile in shape although there is a bit of red around the eyes.

If this is sickness not morphing then land access is not needed but if you can get a shallow area in the tank, possibly by a built up shelf such as a cutout inverted plastic tub so it can rest just below the water surface and gulp air, rather than have to swim to the top every time it will be more comfortable. Even axolotls with good gills have a metabolism which suggests they are predominantly air breathers. They can sometimes breathe adequately through their gills and skin at temperatures in the low teens but all need air towards the top of the temperature range. If it is in floating mode then they seem to like to have their feet on something. Because the heat is a problem trying to get a setup within your present tank for now seems sensible.

 

[HayleyK]

She's I'm pretty sure close to 2.5 years? I've had her for at least that long and I don't know how old she was when I got her so she's not a juvenile anymore, how strange.

She usually sits at the top anyway with her floating instead of swimming to the top. I have a floating log I'll put back in whilst I try and find some kind of shelving for her.

If this isn't morphing do you have an idea what all these problems are linked to? Could it be a bacterial thing or something?

Thank you so much for replying and helping. You are my axolotl god from now on.

Will keep you updated on her condition.

P.s thank you everybody for trying to help my little girl

 

[Bellabelloo]

I would take her to a vet and have them check her mouth out in case it is stomatitis. This is an infection in the mouth that may explain some of the symptoms.

 

[HayleyK]

Update on my little girl. Still is floating but she's been eating 2 or 3 worms a day and has put on a bit of weight.

Still veiny as well but now she has developed these black looking veins. Vets have been zero help with me, but she seems okay minus the floating and new symptom.

Anyone know what the darker veins/ patches mean? They don't look like pigmentation at all, and they look like their under her skin. They're smooth and don't move.