What was wrong with him?

[leandrah]

Hello,
Below is my original post

"Hey guys and girls,
I am very confused by something that my Axolotl is going through.

I sit on this forum constantly, and I know the different signs of different illnesses, but I just don't know what has gone wrong with my little boy.

I got him about a month ago, and i have been feeding him earthworms, needless to say - He has gotten a lot bigger and his gills were blooming beautifully.
On Saturday Night he got fed, and he was 100%, but on Sunday when I woke up - his mouth was VERY swollen, and he was floating badly.

I took him out, put him in clean dechlorinated water and put him into the fridge straight away. I noticed that he had spots of blood on his body, like he was literally bleeding at certain spots. He is alone in his tank, besides some shrimp and the nitrites and all are normal.

He has gotten worse and I know that he is on the verge of dying which breaks my heart. Under his chin, he has a line of what looks like blood, basically where it connects the head to the neck, his gills are very red - they look like they are blood red, He is red where his limbs connect to his body, and he is now floating on his side badly, and sometimes belly up. He has different points on his legs where he is bleeding randomly - it looks like he is hemorrhaging from the inside. His tummy looks normal, slightly red on the sides and it isnt really swollen.

I have seen what it looks like when Axolotls have renal failure, but he isnt bloated besides in his face.

Do any of you know what this is from?
I will be putting the little guy to sleep tonight because I hate seeing him like this, and I do not think that he will recover from this stage - I don't want him to be in pain"

I had to euthanize him as he was just getting worse

Does anyone know what this could be? I have attached a picture

 

[xxianxx]

Looks like septicemia. Was the redness mainly on the underside of the axolotl ?

 

[AshSeek]

oh no poor baby i'm so so sorry ;/

 

[auntiejude]

I'm sorry he didn't make it.

But I agree with Ian, it looks like septicemia.

 

[Sweetie]

What causes septicaemia in axies?

 

[kjnorman]

Septicemia is just a term for an acute bacterial infection that gets out of control, it can be caused by any number of things. Bad water quality, contamination from sick food items, stress - sometimes an unknown factor weakens the animals immune system and normal bacteria that don't usually cause a problem grow out of control and cause it.

Impossible to know what caused it in this case. Poor little guy, he did look very ill.

I'm very sorry you had to lose him so suddenly and in such an unpleasant way. Don't blame yourself - sometimes these things happen and its hard to say why.

 

[leandrah]

He was more red on his sides, It literally happened within a few hours, it was so surprising. He was perfect, and then very sick. I was so surprised that his condition got worse in the fridge.

Poor little boy.
Euthanizing him was the hardest decision I have ever made, but I don't think he would have gotten better

 

[Sweetie]

Would antibiotics have helped this little guy? Or was this infection too rampant - it does seem to have taken over very rapidly. :sad:

 

[leandrah]

Im not too sure. I have buried him though, wrapped in my best t-shirt

 

[Sweetie]

Is it possible that this was parasitic - costia?

 

[EmbryH]

I'm so sorry for your loss. For it to have happened to suddenly must be devastating

 

[leandrah]

I really have no clue, all I know is that within a few hours - everything had changed. Poor little boy

 

[Sweetie]

The reason I ask about the costia is because of the red marks under the chin. I understand under the chin is a common area for costia infestation. But I'm probably wrong - I don't have much experience, just a voracious appetite for info and hours and hours and hours of research. And that was just something I read the other day and it made me think of your photo. It must have been so heartbreaking for you. You did all you could.