Why is she doing this to herself?

[joan]

Casey, I imagine your LFS is not any more qualified to take care of your axolotl than you are. She's probably better off in your care than in a tank full of other sick axolotls. Keep offering her food. She may eat now that she's warmer.

 

[andrew]

In the mean time i would still be trying some type of medication.

If you are a little uneasy about using medication, you can put the meds in with the salt bath. That way your axie is only exposed to them for a short period.

Anything has got to be better than nothing.

 

[joan]

Andrew, that's not necessarily the case. You can definately over-medicate, and some medications are more harmful than the disease they're meant to treat. If she has no obvious symptoms, other than the wounds and the thinness, there's no need to treat with other medicines. She doesn't have fungus, just the skin lesions.

Casey, Is she eating yet?

 

[casey]

Martini is back in the tank.

She hasn't eaten yet but she appears to be trying to. I've offered her pellets and worms and I'm going to try beefheart tonight. She seems to be quite weak, like she can't really open her mouth as wide as she used to.

At least she's snapped at the food a couple of times, that's more than I used to get out of her.

She's hanging out in the plants more than she used to and her wounds don't appear to have any fungus and aren't getting any worse.

She hasn't been making any gulping sounds when she comes up for air and a couple of times she's been darting across the top of the water like a pogo stick, swimming vertically, like she's trying to get air.

My boyfriend told me that he saw her stick her head out of the water for a couple of minutes this morning and he thinks she's finding it hard to breath. Her gills have deteriorated over the past couple of months - nearly all of her fluffy stuff has gone.

Stella, on the other hand is looking very healthy and happy, she comes up to the tank divider alot, especially when I'm trying to feed Martini, like she's making sure that Matini isn't getting something that she's not.

I've caught them looking at each other through the tank divider as though they miss each other, but I'm not removing it until Martini is wound-free, fatter and has better gills.

 

[joan]

Just keep offering food. Try to make it as easy as possible for her to eat the food. You want to make sure to keep the meals small but frequent at first, until she starts putting on weight. You might also want to try an airstone to help her out because of her small gills. Good luck, Casey.

 

[alex]

im probably wrong here, but maybe shes going through metamorphis, the gills shrinking, going to the surface for air more often. is her tail shrinking and eyes getting more bulgier?. i doubt thats the case, but u can never be too sure.

 

[casey]

Martini just ate a pellet. I'm so relieved. It seemed like she was having a hard time swallowing it but I looked closely and didn't notice any sores in her mouth or anything.

Her gills look a little fluffier and she doesn't seem to have been darting around as much as she was yesterday. She has been yawning more often though.

Her tail shrank whilst she was in the fridge but seems to be growing back more now and her eyes don't seem noticeably bulgier, maybe just the tiniest bit more bulgy, but probably only because she seems to have shrunk, so they probably just look bigger on her.

She appears to be pushing the water with her gills (by flapping them) more often also. She used to go up to the air instead of moving her gills so much. It's like she's become more lazy, or figured out that she can be lazy by just flapping her gills instead of going up for air.

I hope she's not metamorphosing, I don't think she would have much chance of survival if she did. I'm hoping she's just getting better.

 

[joan]

Casey, that's fantastic. I'm very glad to hear it. I doubt she's metamorphosing, especially if her gills are growing back. Just keep offering lots of small meals. This is easier on her digestive system, and prevents refeeding syndrome, which can be a problem.

 

[casey]

Martini ate another pellet today. I also found a dark green, almost black, "present" which she left for me.

Usually my axies' presents are a light brown colour.

Has anyone ever seen a dark green one? I have no idea why it is this colour - maybe b/c she was sick?

Is this normal?

 

[joan]

Probably because she was sick. I think it's normal for them to vary in color based on what they ate. I'm glad she's eating again. Hopefully her next poo will be closer to normal.

 

[charlotte]

That's great she is showing some interest in food and passing stuff.

It'd be amazing if an axolotl metamorphosed...I know it does happen but imagine if you had one...you'd have to read up alot on how to keep it lol.

 

[casey]

I don't want an axolotl that metamorphoses - I've heard that they only live for one year and it's very stressful on them - I wouldn't want to lose one.

 

[alex]

they live longer than one year.

 

[joan]

Their lifespan is usually significantly reduced, rarely the expected 10-15 years that axolotls normally live.

 

[charlotte]

an axolotl yawning? i wonder why they do that? are they stretching their mouth or was it expelling something like gas? you should look closer next time it yawns and try an figure why it's doing that. does it do it often? i saw some at the pet shop do that and i was wondering if it was a sign of illness?

 

[sharn]

im not sure why they yawn, but mine do it sometimes, its nothing to worry about

 

[casey]

She was definately yawning. When expelling gas she only opens her mouth a little and very quickly but the yawn goes for ages and you can see right down their belly. It looks just like when we do it.

Humans yawn all the time and so do heaps of other animals, my cat spends most of her time yawning - I think it's just a way of releasing bad energy - just a theory though.

 

[casey]

Martini just gashed herself, I think she did it on the cable ties that I connected the pieces of divider together with.

She seems to be more susceptible to cutting herself open. Has anyone else had problems with this?

Should I add more stress coat to the tank or is it possible to overdose?

Stella hasn't cut herself on anything and they're in the same tank - that's why I think Martini must be extra sensitive.

What should I do?

I've removed the tank divider as I now know that Stella didn't bite Martini, she just cut herself. I will watch them closely, though, just to double check.

 

[sharn]

maybe shes just naturally more skittish than stella? try strategically placing some plants where things could hurt her.
yes it is possible to overdose on that stuff, just keep her water cool and keep and eye on her and act if problems arise. it can be very stressful for fish to be medicated when they dont need to be (i know stress coat isnt really medication but im sure it has some stuff in there you wouldnt want to OD on)

 

[casey]

Thanks for the advice Sharn.

Stella is very skittish also and has her little psycho swims where she crashes into everything. It seems more so that Martini's skin is more sensitive. I've taken out rocks, dividers and anything else I think could possibly scratch Martini, except their PVC pipes b/c they need some spots to hide in.

Hopefully I won't see anymore gashes.