Re: Im positive my axolotl is dying - how to stop it!
Hi there,
De-chlorinated water is tap water that has been treated with a de-chlorinator (can be purchased from most petstores/aquariums) to remove chlorine (used by most waterboards to make our water safe for human consumption) from the water. Chlorine is very dangerous to the axolotls, and can kill them.
Adding the frozen water bottle to Rexx's water may be changing the water temperature too dramatically for him to handle, this fluctuation in temperature (from warmish, to cold, to warmish, to cold, etc) may be stressing him further; while stressed, he won't eat.
As Julia (Bellabelloo) suggested, it would be best to move Rexx into a container (an icecream tub, tupperware container, bucket, etc) of shallow de-chlorinated water (enough water to cover Rexx's back), and put this tub in a cool place in the house (the lower to the ground, the better, as lower ground is cooler than higher ground). Keeping Rexx in a small tub of water will enable you to keep tabs on him, and monitor his feeding. Is there anywhere cool, dark, and quiet in the house that you can keep Rexx's container?
While being kept in the tub, Rex will need a full water change each day with fresh de-chlorinated water. When changing his water out, just scoop him up in a net, empty the soiled water out, pour fresh dechlorinated water into the now empty tub, and quickly (but gently) put Rexx back into the tub. He'll be a little put out by this, but should recover, if left well alone after the water change, put in a nice dark and cool place, and left with a nice juicy worm to enjoy in the privacy of his tub.
Rexx needs to eat, so I agree that putting him in the fridge will be counterproductive, as although the cold water is a great help when it comes to relaxing and de-stressing an axolotl, it will also slow Rexx's metabolism which causes in-appetance (this is okay if the axolotl is in the prime of health and can go without food for a time...but Rexx really needs to eat - he is very thin).
Keeping him in a consistent environment that is still (no water movement), "cool" (not too cold), with clean water (fresh dechlorinated water each day), will hopefully help Rexx relax, de-stress, and encourage his appetite to return.
Please keep us posted, and if you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask.