Question: My Axel the Axolotl

[Morrison]

It always amazes me how an axie can sometimes eat so much worm. :lol:

 

[tK]

ah okay... it worried me and my gf as she thought the worms were too long for him to handle. =)

and now, i just realised something, it seems that axel has something like a skin like substance on his body, it covers him from his head till his body. I'm not sure if it's the water conditioner i use that caused this. I'm using Seachem Prime. Seachem. Prime but yeah, it looks as thou it's losing it's skin and when he swims fast, some of it comes off.

 

[freya]

can you post a close pic maybe??
this sounds weird in my ears tbh...

 

[happyhawaiiaxo]

Maybe its the slimy coating of the axolotl? That is my guess, im still learning about axolotls myself. Hope your little buddy is ok!

 

[tK]

hmmm. axel looks like he doesn't like the earthworms... somehow today he eats it, but before he gets to swallow, he spits it back out.

how do u guys wash your earthworms when taking it out of the farm? wash it with water? do i wash it and feed it immediately or is it okay to wash it and leave it and feed in later?

 

[freya]

i wash them under water for a copple of secs and mine are eating them!
but every axolotl need to adjust to new food. it can be he never ate it before so just try a copple of days without giving something else.
my white girl also made problems and she didnt want to eat them for over 2 weeks... stobbern girl... now shes like a shark on them XD after a few days i just gave some red worms if she wasnt eating them so she wouldnt get underfed.
you can also chop 1 in little pieces to let it get used to it and put it between the red worms in the hope he'll eat it.
my girl was still spitting it out when i put it between the other worms so dont keep your hopes high they can be very stobbern sometimes but 1 will win ^^
most of the time they taste the soil where the worms are breed in and they just need to adjust to it.

 

[tK]

good to hear. =) and just wondering how often does axolotl pass out poop? i've only seen one ball of poop, and it's quite easy to spot as it sticks to the sand, so just wondering if that's how axolotl's poop or axel is constipating as i had him for more than 2 weeks, only seen one ball of poop...

 

[mewsie]

After swapping to worms mine didn't poop for quite a while, I just think worms take longer to digest. Keep an eye on him though.

Re: spitting out the worms, occasionally mine will do that if they lose grip on the worm and it wriggles free. I usually just pick it back up and hold it in front of their noses again!

So have you put in loads of hidey places for Axel now?

 

[tK]

hey guys, the slime on axel got worst. Urgh! anyone know why it happens?

not really worried about the poop now, just worried about the skin like thingy dangling under all over his body.

and i've attached a photo of his new home too... =)

 

[mewsie]

His new home has far more hidey places - great!

When did the skin thing start, could you have added any chemicals by accident when you did the tank makeover?

Also, have you checked the water parameters... ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH? This information could hold the answer.