Injured/Ill Axolotl

[braddo84]

Good evening to you all.

This is my first post and I'm hoping you can be of assistance.

Last Wednesday I came into my office in the morning to find my axolotl lying on the floor (carpet) having jumped out of his tank and fallen approx 3-4ft. To be honest, I assumed the worst but he was slightly moving so I scooped him up and put him back into his tank.

Other than what seemed like a damaged front leg, he seemed to recover quite well. He got his colour back and wasn't moving too bad, other than an arch in his back which I read on here was relatively normal for an 'injured' axolotl.

However, since then he has eaten very little (if anything at all) and developed what looks like a very painful rash on his belly. I assume this was caused by either his skin drying out when it was against the carpet or any chemicals/dirt that may have been there. I have attached two pictures to show it as best as possible. The first is what it was like last night and the second what it was like this morning, where it seems as if it is starting to fall off.

I have given him a tea bath and since cleaned out his tank so it is back to normal water. He seems slightly more active and happy now the water is clear, but he still isn't eating and (logically), won't put his belly down on the tank floor.

I suppose my question is, is there anything else that I need to be doing or does it appear to be clearing up on it's own? And then, in turn, will he start eating again when he is ready?

Sorry for the long opening post, I am just stuck as to what to do next! Thanks in advance for any advice you can give.

 

[keiko]

Just make sure the water is cool and clean and keep him stress-free. Axolotls usually heal very well. Just keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't get infected. You can add a couple of indian almond leaves in the tank, they help soothe the skin and are mildly antibacterial and antifungal.

He will most likely eat once it gets a little better and he isn't so "shocked" anymore. Just keep offering food once or twice a day. If he has a favorite food, you could try that to wake up his appetite.

 

[auntiejude]

The main danger now is that he'll get an infection - bacterial or fungal - where his skin is damaged on his belly. You need to keep his water perfect, add indian almond leaves if you have them, or Melafix if you haven't.

If he's not eating it will make it hard to heal, so you can feed him anything he'll take. If he has a favourite try that first, but if he won't take it try scallops or waxworms.

And do I need to add - get a lid for your tank?!