Arched back and inflamed cloaca region

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APD1

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Hello,

I am very worried about my axolotl. He/she is about 5 or 6 years old and albino. For over a week he has had a very swollen and infected looking cloaca region (I did not notice for this long as he is temporarily away from my house until I make space for him).

I have attached some images of the problem (he has had the yellow spots for a long time so they are unrelated, but I'm not sure what caused them either??).

His cloaca area looked to have white stringy stuff (possibly fungus) and black areas (possibly scabs?). Just yesterday it got so swollen that his back was arched and hind legs raised uncomfortably. He has started floating around a lot and is not very active. I think his gill filaments have deteriorated slightly also. I gave him a salt bath (3tsp to 1Litre water - sea salt, non-iodised) for 7-10mins last night and then put him in his freshly cleaned tank (45L). Some of the black parts fell off throughout this process and his posture seemed a bit better when I put him back in tank (the photos were taken before this process so the area looks a bit better now). I am unsure if this is bacterial, injury, blockage, infection etc. The salt bath seemed to distress him (maybe just stinging) but I'm not sure how often I should do this or if I need antibiotics etc.

The PH of his clean tank is about 7.4 - 7.6. I'm not sure about the water temperature but I don't have a heater in there.

His tank has had some small pebbles in it for many years and some large ones (too big to fit in mouth). I have now removed the small pebbles just in case.

I would appreciate any advice. Thanks.
 

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This looks like something that needs to be seen by a vet. This looks like a prolapsed cloaca possibly. I would fridge him immediately until you can get in touch with someone. I don't think I would do any more salt baths until you know exactly what is going on, but someone out here may have experience with this particular problem.

Definitely know all the parameters of your tank including temperature before returning him to the tank.

This is the fridging procedure (Axolotl Sanctuary): FRIDGE

Here is a list of vets in Australia (from Axolotl Sanctuary) : VETS

Good luck and keep us posted.
 
hi apd
where are you in aust.......i know of a couple of vets (1 in the gold coast area and the other in brisbane).........i hope everything goes ok
lea
 
Hi,

I live in Melbourne and contacted Canterbury Veterinary Clinic. While their amphibian specialist was not available today, they were very helpful in redirecting me to other people near my area. I ended up taking my axolotl to the Lort Smith Animal Hospital where they have a few vets who specialise in amphibian and axolotl health/treatment.

Unfortunately my axolotl's prognosis is not good but he was given an injection of pain killers and antibiotics so hopefully he has a miraculous recovery. At least he will not be in as much pain.

It turns out he actually had quite a serious cut in the cloaca area (which I have no idea how he got). The cut got infected and his condition worsened, probably because his tank was not clean enough for his injured condition and best chance of recovery. Right now his condition is so bad that he ended up bleeding in many areas along his fins just from being touched by the vet.

I'll let you know the outcome. Thanks to you both for your help.
 
Just an update. My axolotl seems to be doing a bit better the last few days after his injection. He's not floating around as much (although he still has a bit of trouble keeping his back end down). His posture looks more comfortable. He still isn't eating... tried to feed him an earthworm today, but I'm hoping it's just because he hasn't recovered enough to eat. The vet told me to do 1/3 tank water changes every 2-3 days. If he shows improvement in about a week I will take him back for a second antibiotic injection. Still hoping for the best.
 
Thank you for keeping us updated and wish you the best of luck.

I wonder if fridging might still offer some relief and encourage healing. You may want to consider this in addition to the vet visit.
 
Thanks for the advice Kayne. I had looked at those pictures but I think the only common element is that they adopt that posture when in discomfort. The vet felt around the abdomen for any impaction etc. and didn't think that was the issue, given that there was definitely a really bad cut there.

So far he's still doing ok but hasn't shown drastic improvement since the first few days after the antibiotics.
 
I do hope things continue to improve for your axie. Kepp us updated to how things go
 
Latest update...

My axolotl has just been to the vet again and had another antibiotic injection. The vet thought she looked a lot better (which made it harder to give her an injection - she wriggled a lot). And it turns out it's a 'she' and not a 'he'. She has also put on some weight but we have no idea how, given she hasn't eaten at all.

She'll have to go back for about 3 more injections over the next 3 weeks if she continues to improve. She still hasn't eaten but I'm not too worried about that just yet, as it's only been a couple of weeks. And she no longer floats around awkwardly, she's been much more active.
 
Thank you for updating! Always nice to hear good news! :D Hoping for continued improvement! How fortunate she is to have such a caring keeper as you.
 
If SHE won't take earthworms, you may want to try live bloodworms. Seems my axolotls have always taken bloodworms, even if they had refused earthworms earlier in the day.
 
Oh yes, by all means follow Eric's advice about the feeding and keep us posted.

I just got all excited that she was doing better and you're doing all the follow-ups with the vet. :eek:
 
Have just taken her to the vet again for another antibiotic injection. The vet thought she looked heaps better and her wound is healing up better than expected. She might not need anymore injections.

She has been swimming around a lot more but she has lost quite a bit of weight from not eating though. The blood worms couldn't even tempt her. The vet suggested trying a thin strip of raw chicken (has anyone fed them chicken before? Is this ok?)
 
Wow! I am so amazed that your axie was able to recover from her frightening condition. She is very lucky that she has a careftaker who loves her so much. Thank you for keeping us up-to-date on her progress. It is nice to hear a happy ending to this story.
 
APD1 said:
The vet suggested trying a thin strip of raw chicken (has anyone fed them chicken before? Is this ok?)
Click to expand...


People have fed Axolotls EVERYTHING you can think of, I think I even heard someone feeding theirs Kangaroo meat.

Give it a shot, but even if she takes it, do not make this a staple diet. It will help if she takes it to get her back on food, but when she starts eating again, try and get her back to more appropriate foods. After this illness, it is key to get some weight back on, so whatever works is a step in the right direction.

Happy to hear the good news!
 
I'm very glad she's recovering and thank you for updating again!

As Eric said, use the chicken to see if you can get her eating, but be very careful about getting whatever is not eaten out immediately. Raw meat is absolutely horrid in a tank and can cause many problems. Once she's eating, please try to find some nice plump worms for her. Take care!
 
I have fed mine in the past very thin strips of raw chicken/ beef etc. But this was organic..I am a tad fussy about what they put in meat. This was for emergency purposes .
 
Apparently the raw chicken did the trick... she ate one piece today. I'll keep giving it to her for a while and then swap back to earth worms and blood worms for her regular diet.

Thanks for all the advice everyone
 
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