Not sure what's going on...

[Sparkovich]

Hopefully you guys can help! One of my sons axolotl's recently showed signs of being sick. We checked the water and everything was within tolerance. This particular axolotl started shedding his slime, and the tip of his tail turned pure white and has since fallen off. He also developed a white fuzzy slime on the underside of his tail, which has since fallen off. We have him in quarantine, and we change the water every other day. Now he's not eating. We've also noticed that the line running down his back has gotten much more red, and theres one on the underside as well.


The other axolotl has shown no signs of sickness and eats just fine. I've attached pictures to hopefully help.

Please ignore the crumbs from the salmon pellets my son decided to dump in to see if he'd eat them.... *forehead slap*

 

[axolotl nerd]

Hopefully you guys can help! One of my sons axolotl's recently showed signs of being sick. We checked the water and everything was within tolerance. This particular axolotl started shedding his slime, and the tip of his tail turned pure white and has since fallen off. He also developed a white fuzzy slime on the underside of his tail, which has since fallen off. We have him in quarantine, and we change the water every other day. Now he's not eating. We've also noticed that the line running down his back has gotten much more red, and theres one on the underside as well.


The other axolotl has shown no signs of sickness and eats just fine. I've attached pictures to hopefully help.

Please ignore the crumbs from the salmon pellets my son decided to dump in to see if he'd eat them.... *forehead slap*

either way, he needs to see a vet. wether it be ammonia burn or septicemia, both are serious illnesses that can and will cause death in axolotls.

* apologies for the terrible organization and formatting, i wrote this as quickly as i could

two options
this seems to be either
1) a nasty case of ammonia burn (not to say there are good cases of ammonia burn, but i digress)
a few questions and a bit of advice related to that;
- what are you using to test your water?
- please list your parameters as well
- i would tub with cold, dechlorinated water, and change it 100% every day.
- he also sounds like he may have a fungal infection going on, which is also unfortunate - to both soothe the burned skin and treat the fungus, i recommend tea baths or IAL as treatment.


now to the more grim side of things.
2. its entirely possible this is a case of septicemia. i’m not a veterinarian by any means but i equally suspect septicemia and ammonia burn. it’s anyone’s guess as to which it might be, but considering you said your parameters were all fine, i fear septicemia and thought i’d give my advice;
- veterinarian, immediately. if it’s septicemia, there is no “at home” or “do it yourself” treatment. he needs professional treatment with antibiotics and possibly steroids.


and lastly, a final word of advice, more of an emotional kind
- prepare your son for the worst. either way, there is a chance this animal is going to die. even with immediate vet attention, there isn’t a lot of hope for septicemia. however, this does not mean the animal is not entitled to treatment. let your son know, please. don’t pull the “they swam away” thing- its damaging to the child in the long run when they find out you lied to them (not saying you’d do this, but thought i’d make the point)
- do not blame yourself. sometimes things happen, and animals get sick. unless you’ve neglected or intentionally harmed the animal, (which i dont believe you have, as you wouldn’t have posted if you didn’t care for the animals well-being) you are not to blame at all.

once again, apologies for the rambling and unorganized format,
i sincerely hope your little one gets better and beats whatever this may be
sent with love,
-ren

 

[Sparkovich]

either way, he needs to see a vet. wether it be ammonia burn or septicemia, both are serious illnesses that can and will cause death in axolotls.

* apologies for the terrible organization and formatting, i wrote this as quickly as i could

two options
this seems to be either
1) a nasty case of ammonia burn (not to say there are good cases of ammonia burn, but i digress)
a few questions and a bit of advice related to that;
- what are you using to test your water?
- please list your parameters as well
- i would tub with cold, dechlorinated water, and change it 100% every day.
- he also sounds like he may have a fungal infection going on, which is also unfortunate - to both soothe the burned skin and treat the fungus, i recommend tea baths or IAL as treatment.


now to the more grim side of things.
2. its entirely possible this is a case of septicemia. i’m not a veterinarian by any means but i equally suspect septicemia and ammonia burn. it’s anyone’s guess as to which it might be, but considering you said your parameters were all fine, i fear septicemia and thought i’d give my advice;
- veterinarian, immediately. if it’s septicemia, there is no “at home” or “do it yourself” treatment. he needs professional treatment with antibiotics and possibly steroids.


and lastly, a final word of advice, more of an emotional kind
- prepare your son for the worst. either way, there is a chance this animal is going to die. even with immediate vet attention, there isn’t a lot of hope for septicemia. however, this does not mean the animal is not entitled to treatment. let your son know, please. don’t pull the “they swam away” thing- its damaging to the child in the long run when they find out you lied to them (not saying you’d do this, but thought i’d make the point)
- do not blame yourself. sometimes things happen, and animals get sick. unless you’ve neglected or intentionally harmed the animal, (which i dont believe you have, as you wouldn’t have posted if you didn’t care for the animals well-being) you are not to blame at all.

once again, apologies for the rambling and unorganized format,
i sincerely hope your little one gets better and beats whatever this may be
sent with love,
-ren

We used the API freshwater testing kit. The PH was a 7.4, and 0 on the ammonia, the nitrates and nitrile. We had just changed out all of the water in the tank (we buy filtered distilled water from the grocery store because our water is hard, even with a water softener.) I cleaned the entire tank out, replaced the filter, charcoal and substrates and we cycled the water. The only thing that has changed is 1 plant that we replaced with a plant that looks kind of like a mangrove tree, which both of them love to lay on top of.

As far as the bacterial infection goes, he's had one before, but only around his gills, and it was much different than what was on the underside of his tail. I didnt think to take a picture of it, but it was only on there for a day before it fell off.

 

[axolotl nerd]

We used the API freshwater testing kit. The PH was a 7.4, and 0 on the ammonia, the nitrates and nitrile. We had just changed out all of the water in the tank (we buy filtered distilled water from the grocery store because our water is hard, even with a water softener.) I cleaned the entire tank out, replaced the filter, charcoal and substrates and we cycled the water. The only thing that has changed is 1 plant that we replaced with a plant that looks kind of like a mangrove tree, which both of them love to lay on top of.

As far as the bacterial infection goes, he's had one before, but only around his gills, and it was much different than what was on the underside of his tail. I didnt think to take a picture of it, but it was only on there for a day before it fell off.

i think he needs vet attention immediately

 

[MnGuy]

When you say "cycled the water" what do you mean? You don't cycle water. You cycle tanks and the beneficial bacteria is in the substrate and filter. Do you dechlorinate the water with dechlorinator? Asking because sometimes people confuse all the other junk water additives sold at pet store for dechlorinator when they aren't.

Personally, I think the issue is your distilled water. I have no personal experience, but there is a lot of information out there about how bad distilled water is for amphibians:

Here is an article posted on this very forum/website about how bad it is (and an excerpt): Caudata Culture Articles - Bottled Water for Amphibians

Other kinds of bottled water

Do NOT use water that is labeled as "distilled" or "drinking water". Distilled water (or Reverse Osmosis water) has virtually no ions in it, so it causes more work for the amphibian's kidneys. It may be used to replace water lost to evaporation, but an animal should not be kept in pure distilled or RO water. Bottled "drinking water" is usually just filtered tap water and probably no better than your own tap water.

And another article on the issue: Herps And Distilled Water - Reptiles Magazine