My new axolotl might be sick?

[roseg]

I am a new axolotl owner as of yesterday. But I noticed when I got him from the pet store his stomach was enlarged so by the time I got him home he kept on floating to the top of the dish I took him home in. No matter how hard he tries to swim to the bottom of it he keeps on floating to the top. Should I be concerned and what can I do to help him?

 

[Wild TONY appeared!]

Axolotls will often float from being gassy, however the fact that the stomach is enlarged is quite alarming. Would you be able to post a picture? Also, what conditions was the axolotl in at the pet store? Such as their choice of substrate?

~Anthony

 

[roseg]

the pictures wont post but the stomach area stick out on both sides. and at the store they had him in with gravel.

 

[roseg]

he is sstill floating at the top but is starting to go to the bottom. i dont know if i should still be worried though.

 

[Kaysie]

That's a tiny little guy!

Honestly, I would recommend putting it in a much smaller container and offering lots of tiny, live food. Daphnia, blackworms, whiteworms, even brine shrimp. I suspect the floating is because it's not got enough food.

 

[roseg]

yeah he is only a month old

 

[AxieMama]

Only one month old! Wow! I didn't realize Pet stores would sell them so young. Just out of curiosity, how much did they charge for him? I would have thought he was too small to be sold just yet.

I'd have him in a plastic container until he was a bit bigger as Kaysie said

 

[roseg]

they charged $25 for him but i had to pay $100 for a package. they did not want to sell me him without buying the tank ,filter, and decorations.

 

[AxieMama]

OUCH! $25!!!

In future, you should always seek out breeders rather than purchase from pet stores. They rarely care for their animals adequately and are only after a quick buck. Plus, an Axie his size most breeders would sell for n more than $5 - $10. Personally, I would never sell mine this small!

Do make sure he has a nice small space to hide in as he's probably feeling quite insecure especially in a big tank. What are you feeding him?

 

[EbonySparkles]

My babies are three months and have been eating bloodworm for less than a month, try hatching some brine shrimp or finely chopping the bloodworms. Good luck, he's very cute!

 

[SapphireTigress]

In future, you should always seek out breeders rather than purchase from pet stores.

This is true for almost any species or breed... pet store employees, while some may be well meaning, others are not...and many many MANY of them are FORCED to lie to you in order to make a sale, or get fired. Others don't know and don't care...and a tiny number actually know AND care about the proper care and needed items, but can usually not tell you unless their manager is awesome.

Most large chain pet stores will have a very strict set of guidelines for the "proper care" and setups that a species will receive, and only promote that set of guidelines in their "care sheets", and only allow THAT SET of guidelines to be enacted in their stores, even if its totally inappropriate.

Sometimes you can get really lucky in a smaller non chain pet store and get both employees that know about proper care and can actually share it with you, but even that is hard, since its hard for most people to know how to care for ALL the species that they sell.


I wish you luck with your new acquisition, and hope he recovers from the pet store treatment, please keep us updated with how hes doing!