I think my axolotl is sick!

[Cosmic18]

I have 2 gorgeous axolotls my wild type has not eaten for over a week, he looks very swollen on his back end Im not sure whether i should try frud9ging him or not, my fridge seems to be -5 degrees and i believe this us too cold,any advice?

 

[Otterwoman]

Can you post a picture so we can assess him better?

 

[Cosmic18]

Enclosed some pictures of him

 

[Cosmic18]

Heres a better one i think

 

[Hayleyy]

Is the back end of the axolotl floating like that a lot, like in the last picture you have? It could be constipation in which case you want to fridge. -5 is too cold, are you able to put it up to around 5-10 degrees for at least a day? Or do you have a different fridge you can use? The food, etc, in your fridge should be fine at 10 degrees (I just checked my fridge and it is 10 degrees, we have a separate section that is set to -5 for freezing things).
What temperature is the tank? Have you noticed if he has pooped in the last week?

 

[Cosmic18]

My fridge does not get any warmer than -5! I really dont know what to-do !

 

[Hayleyy]

You don't happen to have an aquarium chiller do you?
What you could do is tub the axolotl in something relatively deep (only so it can't jump out) with enough water to cover the axolotl + a few cm, then place a fan over the water to keep it cool. I don't know if it would cool it enough but it's worth a try. In a tub the water would have to be changed every day.

 

[Cosmic18]

Yes his back end is floating up would that indicate constipation? How long can they go without food for?
Thanks for advice!

 

[Cosmic18]

Yes his back end is floating up would that indicate constipation? How long can they go without food for?
Thanks for advice!

 

[Hayleyy]

Yes it sounds like constipation. They can go a good while without food, probably a couple of weeks at worst, but you want to keep an eye on their body condition. Body should be as wide as their head, from a top view.
Once this issue passes the axolotl should go back to normal feeding pretty quickly.