Axolotl possibly dying- need to know what I’ve done wrong

[Hayleymaree]

Hi guys,
New to this site and was hoping to get some insight into how this has happened as it’s quite upsetting. I’ve had my axolotl Huxley for 7 months now and he’s probably only 10 months in age all together. Throughout this time I’ve never had any issues with his health aside from a fungal infection early on.

Around two weeks ago I was feeding him and he refused to eat. Since then he hasn’t eaten anything so I brought him to the vet yesterday to see what was wrong. He hadn’t lost any weight in this time and I just assumed it was because he’d also not pooped in this period. At the vet he’s given an X-ray and a blood test where they found he has severe septicaemia and a large build up of fluid in his body.

They gave him a powerful antibiotic as well as a lesser one that I’m to give him every three days myself ( due to the time of year). However, the vet made it pretty clear that it was unlikely for him to recover at this late stage of illness.

However, I’m stumped as aside from the lack of eating he’s shown no other signs of Illness that I’ve seen typically associated with such an infection. His skin has no red spots and he’s still been actively moving so I had no idea it could be something this serious. Also not sure where the infection came from as he only eats night crawlers I farm myself and frozen bloodworms occasionally.

Would love some insight from anyone who would know more and would also like to know if anyone else has experienced something similar and if their little one pulled through

 

[wolfen]

how was the fungal issue treated?
bacteria is quite easily introduced to an aquatic tank and under normal circumstances wouldn't cause an issue but if your axolotl was slightly unwell the bacteria can then cause problems, the bacteria can be introduced by numerous means including the water (there's a reason chlorine is added)
axolotls have also been noted as being at their most vulnerable and prone to issues when they get to sexual maturity.

 

[Autistic Catholic]

What type of morph is Huxley? Darker colored axolotls don't show as much redness. I'm sorry to hear that you're going through this with your little friend. You've done what you can though.

 

[Hayleymaree]

how was the fungal issue treated?
bacteria is quite easily introduced to an aquatic tank and under normal circumstances wouldn't cause an issue but if your axolotl was slightly unwell the bacteria can then cause problems, the bacteria can be introduced by numerous means including the water (there's a reason chlorine is added)
axolotls have also been noted as being at their most vulnerable and prone to issues when they get to sexual maturity.

I treated it with pimafix which seemed to do the trick pretty quickly. And he has seemed to reach sexual maturity recently with a clear size increase of his cloaca so that sounds right. The vet tested the water during the appointment and couldn’t find anything strange in it and his water levels are good. At this point I’m just hoping he can miraculously recover from this :/

 

[Hayleymaree]

What type of morph is Huxley? Darker colored axolotls don't show as much redness. I'm sorry to hear that you're going through this with your little friend. You've done what you can though.

He’s Leucistic so it should have been clear if any red spots appeared which they still haven’t. His tail is now red from the injection but that was expected. Thank you though, just hoping he can possibly pull through

 

[wolfen]

read this 09-16brothers.pdf the part that is mostly relevant is about the treatment of salmonella - shigella infections, also bare in mind at the point of publication all axolotls were housed in 50% holfreters + magnesium sulphate at 0.1g per litre water.

 

[Nate0]

Also not sure where the infection came from as he only eats night crawlers I farm myself and frozen bloodworms

When you say farm them do you get they from your garden? If that is the case that might be why he is sick because if you get food from the garden it can be tainted with chemicals that can seriously hurt or kill your axolotl. You should probably stick with shop bought live food. Hope your little one pulls through

 

[axolotl nerd]

Hi guys,
New to this site and was hoping to get some insight into how this has happened as it’s quite upsetting. I’ve had my axolotl Huxley for 7 months now and he’s probably only 10 months in age all together. Throughout this time I’ve never had any issues with his health aside from a fungal infection early on.

Around two weeks ago I was feeding him and he refused to eat. Since then he hasn’t eaten anything so I brought him to the vet yesterday to see what was wrong. He hadn’t lost any weight in this time and I just assumed it was because he’d also not pooped in this period. At the vet he’s given an X-ray and a blood test where they found he has severe septicaemia and a large build up of fluid in his body.

They gave him a powerful antibiotic as well as a lesser one that I’m to give him every three days myself ( due to the time of year). However, the vet made it pretty clear that it was unlikely for him to recover at this late stage of illness.

However, I’m stumped as aside from the lack of eating he’s shown no other signs of Illness that I’ve seen typically associated with such an infection. His skin has no red spots and he’s still been actively moving so I had no idea it could be something this serious. Also not sure where the infection came from as he only eats night crawlers I farm myself and frozen bloodworms occasionally.

Would love some insight from anyone who would know more and would also like to know if anyone else has experienced something similar and if their little one pulled through

truthfully, with septicemia his prognosis is not good. i don't think i've ever seen a septic axolotl pull through, but that doesn't mean you should stop trying to treat him. the vet is right in their statement that he isn't likely to recover, so posthumous plans might be in order.
i don't have any real advice, but the worms may have been a potential cause.
if you're farming the worms from your garden, there's a strong possibility that there may be toxins (pesticides, fertilizers, etc) in the worms themselves.
i'm really not sure here, especially without pictures, so i recommend listening to @wolfen and @Autistic Catholic 's advice, as they seem to have a better understanding here.