Help! Injured axolotl (fight?)

[MD02]

Hi there,

I've had my axies for about a year now and they'd been doing fine together and are a good breeding pair.

I've come back this evening to find one of them very injured (pictures attached - note: there is no hole in the tail [I've triple checked], it's just a very strange camera glare), which I can only assume happened from the two of them fighting??

The other axie is in perfect condition (not sure which is the male and which is the female).

I have separated them now but have no idea what to do next to help this one out.

I understand now from reading some other posts that they probably should have been separated to prevent this from happening, but any advice as to what my next steps should be in terms of helping this one's recovery would be much appreciated.

Thanks

 

[axolotl nerd]

Hi there,

I've had my axies for about a year now and they'd been doing fine together and are a good breeding pair.

I've come back this evening to find one of them very injured (pictures attached - note: there is no hole in the tail [I've triple checked], it's just a very strange camera glare), which I can only assume happened from the two of them fighting??

The other axie is in perfect condition (not sure which is the male and which is the female).

I have separated them now but have no idea what to do next to help this one out.

I understand now from reading some other posts that they probably should have been separated to prevent this from happening, but any advice as to what my next steps should be in terms of helping this one's recovery would be much appreciated.

Thanks

this is likely caused by a bite, but it's not aggression. they have poor eyesight and may mistake movement for food and strike, which can cause injuries.
the bites are pretty gnarly, at least the one on the front leg is. i suggest using tea baths to start, and then salt baths if need be. it appears that there is fungus on both of the wounds, which is treatable but not ideal. if you have methelyene blue or IAL, those may be helpful as well. i believe @wolfen has the recipies for holtfreter's solution, which from what i know is massively useful.
keeping them tubbed and in clean fresh water is very important to help with preventing future infection.
you will want to invest in either a divider or a separate tank to prevent further issues

 

[Ya_Boi_Eon]

this is likely caused by a bite, but it's not aggression. they have poor eyesight and may mistake movement for food and strike, which can cause injuries.
the bites are pretty gnarly, at least the one on the front leg is. i suggest using tea baths to start, and then salt baths if need be. it appears that there is fungus on both of the wounds, which is treatable but not ideal. if you have methelyene blue or IAL, those may be helpful as well. i believe @wolfen has the recipies for holtfreter's solution, which from what i know is massively useful.
keeping them tubbed and in clean fresh water is very important to help with preventing future infection.
you will want to invest in either a divider or a separate tank to prevent further issues

another alternative is to tea bath your lotl with decaf black tea. Brew some of it in a tub (make sure the leafs are the only ingredients) wait till it cools to tank water temp, then carefully place the lotl into the tub. Wait 15 minutes and then place him into another tub that is the same water as the tank water but more clean. Repeat everything for at least 3 days.

 

[axolotl nerd]

another alternative is to tea bath your lotl with decaf black tea. Brew some of it in a tub (make sure the leafs are the only ingredients) wait till it cools to tank water temp, then carefully place the lotl into the tub. Wait 15 minutes and then place him into another tub that is the same water as the tank water but more clean. Repeat everything for at least 3 days.

thats what a tea bath is

 

[DogLady0142]

I saw a few other things in the photo. The tip of the gill on the left looks like it has a cotton like ball. And around the mouth, what is the white stuff

 

[DogLady0142]

Sorry my phone went crazy there for a sec. I'm not sure if those things are, just strange camera glitches or, could your axie have some bacterial infection or something?? Mine we just sick last month and I vaguely remember reading something about white stuff around the mouth being bacterial infection? Like I say, maybe I am seeing things that aren't really there .....

 

[axolotl nerd]

I saw a few other things in the photo. The tip of the gill on the left looks like it has a cotton like ball. And around the mouth, what is the white stuff

i hadn't even noticed that! good spot. it might just be a glare from the camera, but it also might be a fungal infection. the mouth looks like it has issues as well, possibly a bacterial infection. i suggest vet intervention immediately, as antibiotics may be needed

 

[Autistic Catholic]

You should move him to a hospital tank or tub him. If he's infected, your other little one could get sick too.

 

[MD02]

Hi everyone,

Thank you for your replies. I will do the black tea bath this morning and for the next few days and see how that goes.

I will also give him a good look over once I get him out of the tank but I think most likely those white spots are from the outside of the tank not being the cleanest. Fingers crossed it isn't a bacterial infection.

 

[Ya_Boi_Eon]

Hi everyone,

Thank you for your replies. I will do the black tea bath this morning and for the next few days and see how that goes.

I will also give him a good look over once I get him out of the tank but I think most likely those white spots are from the outside of the tank not being the cleanest. Fingers crossed it isn't a bacterial infection.

No no no, fingers crossed x1000
much better

 

[DogLady0142]

Good luck, they can go down hill pretty fast. If it wasn't for the help I received from this group my axolotls would be dead. My guys are doing great now.

 

[MD02]

Hi guys,

Here are some updated photos continuing with the tea baths.

Axie seems to be in okay spirits but still isn't eating, so I'm hoping that's normal for them while they're recovering.

Sorry again for the poor quality photos. The big white specs are its normal colouring/pattern, and the tiny ones are grains of sand.

 

[DogLady0142]

Looks a lot better than it did. May I suggest you try different foods? Just in my experience when they stop eating things can go downhill quite fast. I don't know if it's because mine weren't getting the proper treatment, or the not eating made it worse; or a combination of the two. What my guys finally ate was frozen brine, but I honestly tried everything!!!!