Please Help! My Axolotl Jumped Out Of Her Tank!

I am all over the place with this whole situation. I have a bunch of more updates but not much time to type just yet. She's alive, she's been in the fridge since Wednesday night now and seems to be very happy in there vs. her tank as she's showing no sign of stress at all.

I just need one question answered so if anyone could help me as soon as possible, that would be amazing! I need a step by step basically on how to try and feed her while fridging her. I hear so many things about this. Some people say don't feed them at all while fridging because they won't digest the food and it'll kill them. You say I should try, but by taking her out and I'm wondering how to do that? Do I put her in a separate water thing? Will she even eat if it's too cold? I need help lol.

I also have a surgery scheduled on Monday for an amputation.
 
Generally, when in the fridge axolotls wont eat because it is colder than their tank. In fact,when you fridge them, its cold enough that they start going into hibernation, which makes them throw up all the contents in their stomach, so I don't think you'll get her to eat in their, or if you do, she will probably wind up throwing up. You dont want to keep her in the fridge too long either. I hope she feels better soon :(
 
I would say since she hasn't eaten for so long, try giving her one or two worms. If she eats them then put her back in her tank. If she doesn't eat that is normal because her metabolism is slowed.
 
She's doing better, in a way! I kept up with what my doctor said when it came down to her treatment. I kept her in the fridge, gave her a 15 minute low dose salt bath each day, kept up with her antibiotics, and tried to feed her each day. She went in last Wednesday, and was in until very early Monday morning.
In the fridge she doesn't show any form of stress, and her stomach wound has finally started healing up well after I put her in. She still hasn't eaten on her own though.
Monday morning, I took her to the vet at 8 in the morning to get her arm amputated. I even asked the vet if force feeding her is an option, she said she could try. Because at this point it hit the three week mark.

She came out of the surgery perfectly fine. The vet force fed her while she was there, however the doctor said she did regurgitate some of the food while she was waiting to be picked up. The vet doesn't believe she threw up all of it, only 1/4 to 1/2 of what she gave her. And I do know that after I got home and changed her water, she hadn't thrown up since that water change. However, I'm not sure if she threw up the rest in the car or what. I have a feeling she didn't throw up exactly all of it, but probably a lot.

When we came home later in the day on Monday, I went and did the water change. Little Falkcor was being the most active she's been since the fall. I am assuming it's because she finally feels less pain and finally has some form of food in her belly. But she showed no signs of stress whatsoever, but was still swimming all around and being kind of interactive again (which, if you remember, is the main part that made Falkcor, well, Falkcor). I was told to keep her in the fridge, in the 50s. At the moment my house has no air conditioning, so I struggle to keep the actual tank at a good temperature. I try, but it fluctuates so much. So the vet suggested the fridge since it's helped her this far.

TLDR; Hand/wrist got amputated, came out of anesthesia fine. Had to force feed her during surgery because she was at the three week mark. Back in the fridge at home. She's acting more herself than she has since the fall. However, she still won't eat when I try and feed her.
 
It sounds like she might be doing a little better! It sounds like the amputation went well. At least she isn't stressed while she's in the fridge. Have you been rotating frozen water bottles? If it doesn't lower the temperature enough you can even put two or three in the tank at a time.
 
Dolphinlover55 said:
It sounds like she might be doing a little better! It sounds like the amputation went well. At least she isn't stressed while she's in the fridge. Have you been rotating frozen water bottles? If it doesn't lower the temperature enough you can even put two or three in the tank at a time.
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Yeah she actually seems to really like the fridge lol. But yeah I've been doing that, it doesn't do all that much but I could try putting more in. And it's still that fluctuating temp though when they melt, and especially overnight when I can't change them, or if I'm at work and I can't.
 
Another thing you can do is put a fan over the surface of the water. It will help keep your tank cool while your gone at work and at night :) you can either buy an aquarium fan or use a desktop fan.
 
A fan + no lid or mesh lid will lower the temps a few degrees. I'm using it in my temp tank while setting up a larger one and it's keeping it stable at 17 degrees (62-63ish). I got my fan on ebay a few years ago for super cheap and it's great.
Living in Australia I find a chiller is a necessity (especially in summer) and it just makes life sooooo much easier. I recommend getting one, you won't regret it!
Glad to hear she is doing better. There is a force feeding guide on here in case you need it, but I wouldn't try it unless she is out of the fridge and still not eating https://www.caudata.org/forum/showthread.php?t=70199
I'll keep checking for updates! :)
 
I just wanted to drop in to say that Falkcor is still alive and kicking. She is currently back in the tank after a very long time of being in the fridge advised by the vet. There is a homemade divider of mine put in the tank so Cilantro doesn't bother her. She is now off any antibiotics because it seems to me she's healing better without them. Her arm seems to be growing back very slowly. She ate once, last Saturday she ate one chunk of worm since her fall and it was all she was willing to take. She hasn't eaten since then but I am trying everyday. She is being very active and interactive as she used to be which is good too! She's only been back in the tank for maybe two weeks now, and everything seems to be doing better!
 
Thats wonderful news! I'm so glad Falkcor is alive and doing well! I hope she continues to recover and hopefully she will eat something soon :)
 
Great to hear! Let us know how she goes over the next few weeks :)
 
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