Illness/Sickness: Axolotl in fridge with swollen/red cloaca - advice please!

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Lanceoltl

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Hello,

We have 2 axolotls, and one of them seems to be really poorly and we could do with some advice...

About 6 days ago, I noticed that one of them (Geoff) had a really swollen cloaca. It was really huge and had gone really red. He wasn't swimming properly either. He'd been eating normally, but it's hard to tell if he has been poo-ing or not, since he shares his tank (his companion is perfectly fine).

From reading on here it sounded like he might have constipation, so we put in him the fridge. We've been doing 100% water changes every day with dechlorinated, refrigerated water. He's now been in the fridge for 5 days, and has still not had a poo. The swelling and the redness went down initially, but I noticed today that it looks a bit swollen again and is still very red. His gills are curled forward and he's can't seem to swim properly again. We did try feeding him (frozen bloodworm) but he didn't seem interested.

I'm not worried that he's getting worse again, and would love some advice. He seems very unhappy. :(

Should I leave him in the fridge? I think the chances of finding a vet nearby that could help are very slim. Any suggestions would be much appreciated! Poor Geoff... :(
 
Lanceoltl said:
Hello,

We have 2 axolotls, and one of them seems to be really poorly and we could do with some advice...

About 6 days ago, I noticed that one of them (Geoff) had a really swollen cloaca. It was really huge and had gone really red. He wasn't swimming properly either. He'd been eating normally, but it's hard to tell if he has been poo-ing or not, since he shares his tank (his companion is perfectly fine).

From reading on here it sounded like he might have constipation, so we put in him the fridge. We've been doing 100% water changes every day with dechlorinated, refrigerated water. He's now been in the fridge for 5 days, and has still not had a poo. The swelling and the redness went down initially, but I noticed today that it looks a bit swollen again and is still very red. His gills are curled forward and he's can't seem to swim properly again. We did try feeding him (frozen bloodworm) but he didn't seem interested.

I'm not worried that he's getting worse again, and would love some advice. He seems very unhappy. :(

Should I leave him in the fridge? I think the chances of finding a vet nearby that could help are very slim. Any suggestions would be much appreciated! Poor Geoff... :(
Click to expand...

Hi there, ok firstly well done for fridging him this is a good start! Can I ask what your tank set up is (do you have any piccies), do you have sand or gravel? Could he have swallowed anything thats too large to pass?
 
zoezakella said:
Hi there, ok firstly well done for fridging him this is a good start! Can I ask what your tank set up is (do you have any piccies), do you have sand or gravel? Could he have swallowed anything thats too large to pass?
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The tank is set up with sand, and there's nothing obvious that could have swallowed. He does have a habit of gulping up sand when he sucks up his food, so maybe he could have swallowed too much sand?
 
Lanceoltl said:
The tank is set up with sand, and there's nothing obvious that could have swallowed. He does have a habit of gulping up sand when he sucks up his food, so maybe he could have swallowed too much sand?
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Ummm ok thats all good then! Sand should not be a problem as they tend to spit most of it out :(

I would keep hin in the fridge for the time being certainly until he seems better in himself! What diet do you feed him on?? Also you say he struggles to swim how is that? Is he floating, struggling ti keep balance etc?? What are your water parameters??
 
zoezakella said:
Ummm ok thats all good then! Sand should not be a problem as they tend to spit most of it out :(

I would keep hin in the fridge for the time being certainly until he seems better in himself! What diet do you feed him on?? Also you say he struggles to swim how is that? Is he floating, struggling ti keep balance etc?? What are your water parameters??
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He usually eats frozen bloodworm and tubifex, although we're reducing the frequency of the tubifex since we read it wasn't very good for them. We usually feed them about twice a week, but Geoff hasn't eaten for about a week now.

With regard to the swimming, he is holding his front legs up against his sides (he did this often even before he got sick), and at the moment he is sometimes holding up his back legs too. He also curls up a lot. He doesn't really float, but seems to have difficulty keeping upright and twists quite a lot.

As he is in the fridge, we are doing 100% water changes every day, but this seems to cause him a lot of stress. We monitor the water in the tank regularly, and the ammonia is never more than .25, with virtually no nitrite.
 
Lanceoltl said:
He usually eats frozen bloodworm and tubifex, although we're reducing the frequency of the tubifex since we read it wasn't very good for them. We usually feed them about twice a week, but Geoff hasn't eaten for about a week now.

With regard to the swimming, he is holding his front legs up against his sides (he did this often even before he got sick), and at the moment he is sometimes holding up his back legs too. He also curls up a lot. He doesn't really float, but seems to have difficulty keeping upright and twists quite a lot.

As he is in the fridge, we are doing 100% water changes every day, but this seems to cause him a lot of stress. We monitor the water in the tank regularly, and the ammonia is never more than .25, with virtually no nitrite.
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Ok tubifex can be risky because they can be a source of disease. However, if taken from fish-free waters, they tend to be a lot safer (no hosts for the parasites usually means no parasites). Tubifex, although a good food, is not nutritionally balanced for axolotls, and Tubifex can also carry parasites, dangerous bacteria, and other diseases.

Can you try your axie on an earthworm from the garden??
 
maybe he was dropping spermatophores? Their cloacas practically turn inside out when they do that and they act really strangely. Males can drop them even when there are no females around!
 
Good news - Geoff has done an absolutely massive poo today! He's still looking a bit swollen so we're keeping him the fridge for a bit longer, but hopefully he's on his way to recovery and can go home soon. :)
 
Another update... Today we decided Geoff looked just about well enough to go back into his tank - his bum is still a bit swollen but nowhere near as bad as it was, but his gills are still looking a little stressed.

We've taken him out of the fridge and he's sat in his tub, waiting for the water to get to room temperature. However, he's just been sick, and has sicked up a huge lump of sand.

Should he go back in the fridge, or is the warmer temperature going to help him get unblocked? Perhaps now he's sicked up the sand he'll feel better...

I'd like to put him back in his tank really, but not if it will make him worse. Should we remove the sand from the tank? Now I'm wondering if he eats it all the time... :(
 
He should be fine to go back in the tank, but given that he's a sand-eater, you should consider other substrate, like slate tile.
 
Kaysie said:
He should be fine to go back in the tank, but given that he's a sand-eater, you should consider other substrate, like slate tile.
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Thanks for this Kaysie.

I've taken a couple of pictures just in case anyone looks at them and thinks he needs to go straight back in the fridge! He doesn't look very swollen from above, but from the side it looks a bit dodgy.

We'll look into getting some slate for the bottom of the tank.
 

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It's hard to say whether that's swollen or just 'manly'.
 
Oh my god, he's gorgeous! I love how green he is :)
 
Just a quick update...

Geoff is now right as rain. He seems to had got his appetite back and is guzzling down worms like there's no tomorrow! Given that he's obviously a sand-eater, we've taken all the sand out of the tank and have replaced it with slate tiles. We've added some new plants and a nice big rock, and the tank is looking lovely. Geoff and his companion seem to be settling in well, and I'm confident they will like their tank improvements. :)

Thanks everyone for their advice, it is much appreciated. It's nice to find such a friendly and helpful community on the net. :)
 
Hi Lanceoltl :D
So good to hear Geoff is on the way to being a"happy chappie" !!! :lol:

If your slate is just sitting on the bottom of the tank, as mine is,.... be aware that the odd worm (as in earthworm) when not eaten immediately, can get away UNDER the slate :eek: !! They will die, and foul up your water....! When I do a complete tank clean once a month, I gently lift "Lottie" out with a net (into some of the tank water set aside), and lift the slate and vaccum/wipe all debris away. ;) Hope this is of help! and Best of Luck ! :happy:
 
My Lottie said:
Hi Lanceoltl :D
So good to hear Geoff is on the way to being a"happy chappie" !!! :lol:

If your slate is just sitting on the bottom of the tank, as mine is,.... be aware that the odd worm (as in earthworm) when not eaten immediately, can get away UNDER the slate :eek: !! They will die, and foul up your water....! When I do a complete tank clean once a month, I gently lift "Lottie" out with a net (into some of the tank water set aside), and lift the slate and vaccum/wipe all debris away. ;) Hope this is of help! and Best of Luck ! :happy:
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Thanks for the tip! That sounds very sensible, the worms do seem to get everywhere...
 
Hi all. im new to keeping axalottles and new to the site.
Interesting reading about poor geoff but it turned out well in the end. i have river pebbles in my tank with gaps between them so i can vac out old food and nasties.
Mine have go used to eating from a spoon, they swim up to the spoon and take the food (chopped up prawns) so very little ends up on the bottom, well only once processed by them anyway.
I bought them both from people moving interstate and 1 is approx 11 inch long an the other about 9 inch. george and mildred are their names. however im unsure if they are a male and female as what i thought was a boy appears could be female.
Still learning about sexing them.
Cheers cadman.
 
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