Bump on tail -- tumor?

[karl]

Hi,

My axolotl Pip has a bump on his/her tail that has been steadily growing for months. At this point it's a little more than a centimeter in diameter, centered right on the plain of the tail so that it protrudes on both sides.

Pip has been acting stressed -- floating a lot, mainly -- but this could be caused in part by recent unfortunate circumstances. I moved to an area with much higher temperatures and have not been able to keep either myself or my pets as cool as I'd like. (Just getting them into the room with the AC required me to move both axies from a 20 gallon tank to a 10 gallon one, which may have added to the stress, although I've read that two axies can share a 10 gallon tank without much problem.)

I'm wondering if this might be a tumor, and if so, is there anything I can do about it? Pip's about 8 years old at this point, so maybe it's just his/her time, but I'd like to do what I can.

I posted some pix of this on my web site:

http://www.rawbw.com/~kjh/bump1.jpg
http://www.rawbw.com/~kjh/bump1close.jpg
http://www.rawbw.com/~kjh/bump2.jpg
http://www.rawbw.com/~kjh/bump2close.jpg

Thanks for any advice,
Karl
kreniigh@yahoo.com

 

[anne-marie]

I have never seen anything like it - I know that's not very re-assuring. I would put Pip in the fridge if it is too hot in the tank.
Have you tested your water for pH, ammonia and nitrites? If you can touch the bump, does it feel hard or soft?

BTW - Your axolotl has very unusual colouring.

 

[cynthia]

It does appear to be a tumour of some sort.

http://www.axolotl.org/health.htm
says: Physical problems, such as fluid build-up (edema and ascites), and abnormal cell growth (tumours), are sometimes encountered by the hobbyist. Some of these physical problems are the result of genetic abnormalities and there is usually little that can be done aside from letting nature take its course.

You do need to keep the temperature down. Try floating frozen bottles of ice in your tanks and running a fan over the tank so it can blow across the surface of the water, or as Anne-Marie suggested put the axolotl in the fridge. Use a food safe container.