Question: What should I do? My axolotl has a bundle of worms stuck in his throat.

[bluebosnian]

I usually take a grouping of bloodworms to hold in my tweezers to feed my axolotl. he usually bites at it and eats the worms small pieces at a time. however, 2 hours ago he took the entire ball of worms from my tweezers and tried to eat it. for 2 hours now, hes been trying to gulp the worms down and wont spit it out. i tried to grab them out of his mouth with my tweezers but he refuses. i gave up and will give him a few more hours to see if they aren't stuck in his throat/mouth anymore. what should i do if it wont come out?

 

[Autistic Catholic]

I've never seen that happen before but he probably will be okay as amphibians breathe through their skin so he can't really choke. If not, a vet may be needed. Monitor the ammonia levels too. How's he doing now???

 

[axolotl nerd]

I usually take a grouping of bloodworms to hold in my tweezers to feed my axolotl. he usually bites at it and eats the worms small pieces at a time. however, 2 hours ago he took the entire ball of worms from my tweezers and tried to eat it. for 2 hours now, hes been trying to gulp the worms down and wont spit it out. i tried to grab them out of his mouth with my tweezers but he refuses. i gave up and will give him a few more hours to see if they aren't stuck in his throat/mouth anymore. what should i do if it wont come out? View attachment 93856

axolotls can't "choke" per say, but it's definitely not comfortable for them. i would suggest calling a vet for advice and following what they say, but if that's for some reason not an option, i think it would be best to wait and watch. i wouldn't attempt to manually extract the worms unless he has had them stuck for more than twelve hours.
keep us posted

 

[bluebosnian]

he ended up spitting them out luckily. there isn't an exotic vet nearby so i am glad he got them out

 

[axolotl nerd]

he ended up spitting them out luckily. there isn't an exotic vet nearby so i am glad he got them out

lovely news, i was hoping the problem wold resolve naturally