Question: Green fingers

[BethanyKate]

I'm really scared he's going to die. He was in the water with the chemicals for a few hours

 

[daniellog]

Just put him in clean dechlorinated water. Get some pictures up so we can see whats wrong with him, make sure they are good quality so we can see whats wrong quicker.

 

[BethanyKate]

I'll take some photos now. He is looking better in terms of his gill colouring. After i took him out of the chemical his gills were really pale and not fluffy looking like they origionally were. they look more normal now but i will post some photos of his fingers if i can

 

[BethanyKate]

If you look at his finger tips you should be able to see they are quite dark. I couldnt get a photo of his front feet but the front are the worst and its spread all across his palm. Also after having him in the chemical he looks pale and sickly now.

 

[dragonlady]

I'm sorry, perhaps someone with better eyesight sees something differently but I can't tell anything with those photos.

Sorry if this is repeated, but that gravel is potentially very dangerous. It can and will cause impaction.

As far as what the others said about the shop keeper, I couldn't agree more. As a child, I kept guinea pigs and was told cedar bedding was perfectly acceptable to keep them on by a pet shop owner who bred his own. I did this until my adulthood without any ill effects. However, as an adult, I learned about the dangers of cedar and immediately stopped using it. Cedar is very dangerous to rodents because of the oils in it and can be fatal. I decided that for the welfare of my pets to make the change to Aspen bedding and have never looked back. So, sometimes you see, old ways are not necessarily the best ways!

 

[BethanyKate]

Yeah i definately dont trust the pet store anymore. Its also due to my own ignorance that i put the chemical in without looking into it. Is my axolotl going to die though? i had him in the water for about 4 hours maybe a bit more. I;m really worried

 

[BethanyKate]

About the rocks i know they are dangerous and i went to change to sand today and my dad asked the pet shop and they said that small rocks like mine are fine so dad refused to let me buy anything else. However now i know the pet shop is wrong what should i use instead. I dont want the bottom of the tank bare because i heard that axolotls will stress because they wont be able to walk around properly.

 

[Bellabelloo]

Looking at the photo, it looks like normal mature axolotl toes. There may not be problem .
My axolotl do not have anything on the bottom of the tank, and they happily trundle around the tank. .

 

[BethanyKate]

I dont really want my tank to be empty though cause it just doesnt look that great. the bottom of my tank is plastic and it just looks yuck. Any suggestions what i could use instead of gravel

 

[daniellog]

Barebottom would be fine for now. When I worked at a food store, if I didn't know something I would tell the customer and then try and find someone who did. With pet shops it’s the opposite, they will just lie to try to get you to buy thing. Unfortunately a pet shop owner I trusted and is usually very knowledgeable told my friend that gravel was ok for axies, however he doesn't sell them but still it’s pretty bad.
As with your axie, I think the black tips on their toes are normal, apart from that I can’t see anything wrong.

 

[BethanyKate]

Tomorrow i'll take the gravel out then i dont want to do it now cause he's pretty stressed from being moved around. I just dont want him to die from the chemicals

 

[Mac Myers]

Take the gravel out and go with a bare bottomed tank for a while. After a while your dad will figure out that you know what you are talking about and the pet shop person is just trying to sell what he has in stock.... Then maybe he'll let you get some sand or slate. :happy:
Try some cheap play sand from a home improvement store.

 

[BethanyKate]

I'm sure dad will get some sand tomorrow for him, will the samd make his water dirty though? and how do you clean the sand before putting it in the tank?

 

[daniellog]

Get some play sand for children, its non-toxic and nicer looking. Oh and also cheap.

 

[dragonlady]

I'm sure dad will get some sand tomorrow for him, will the samd make his water dirty though? and how do you clean the sand before putting it in the tank?

I agree with Bellabelloo as the toes looked normal to me as well but I have lousy eyesight - she has the eyes of a cat!

Make sure to use playsand, not building sand (like for mixing cement). You will need to sift the sand for gravel - any small screen will do - and maybe run a magnet across the surface to check for metal. Then there are two methods mainly used out here for cleaning sand. The easiest is to put the sand in a bucket and push the end of a garden hose down into the middle of it. Turn the water on and wait for the water to run clear. The other is to put the sand in a pillowcase and put it under a faucet - this takes longer. Rinsing sand out will be a long process in either case, just know the cleaner you can get it before adding it - the less time your tank will look cloudy.

Time will tell with the health of your axie - how is he acting now? Is he eating for you? Hopefully, you are offering him some nice nightcrawlers.

A note about your water, are you using any water treatment? Aquasafe or Prime - something like that? Sorry, if I missed that info in this thread.

 

[BethanyKate]

I use water conditioner in his tank to get rod of the chlorine and when i bought the chemicals i also got some stress coat type stuff thats meant to help the water quality. I think i'll buy some play sand tomorrow. My axolotl seems fine now i think, his colour has come back and he is swimming like he usually does. He seems to be floating just a bit above the stones though but could that be due to stress from moving him around? I'm pretty sure he is going to be okay. He didnt eat today but he did have 2 feeder fish yesterday. The lady from the pet shop said that she uses the chemical on her axolotl and adds it to his water to treat skin problems but it has melachite green in it so im not using it again. Should i treat his water with something safe just incase his feet have a fungal thing?

 

[harliquinnraver]

I doubt the colour on his feet is fungal or bad. If you'd like I can get a pic of my axies feet so you can see what they look like. The colouring on the feet is pretty normal.

 

[BethanyKate]

That would be a massive help thanks. Then i can tell you wether its the same or not. I'll take his rocks out probably tomorrow afternoon when i have time and then put the sand in. How do you clean the sand when its in the tank though? with the gravel i bought a vacuum that creates suction and lifts out all the muck, how do you guys clean the sand?

 

[harliquinnraver]

That would be a massive help thanks. Then i can tell you wether its the same or not. I'll take his rocks out probably tomorrow afternoon when i have time and then put the sand in. How do you clean the sand when its in the tank though? with the gravel i bought a vacuum that creates suction and lifts out all the muck, how do you guys clean the sand?

Sand shouldnt be deeper than an inch. Cleaning should be done daily with a turkey baster, or some people (like myself) use a piece of airline tubing to siphon out waste sitting on the sand. This helps prevent large amounts of sand from being sucked up. I also stir up my sand every so often.

Here are two pics of my axies feet. I have black sand and my camera isn't the best at getting close-up shots but if you look closely you can see dark toe tips. All 4 of my axies have toes that are dark/greenish. The dark colour from their toes also spread up their palms a bit. It's perfectly fine and it's pretty common for lighter skinned axolotls. It's normal colouration.

 

[lea]

i may be completely wrong, but do you think the colouring that is spreading to his foot(apart from the darkening toes) is the colouring on the rocks wearing off and staining his foot??? it is a long shot i know.