Sea salt & salt baths

[joan]

Does anyone know the effectiveness of using sea-salt instead of a holtfreters solution or non-iodized table salt as a salt bath? I've got an axolotl with a wound on front leg but no availablity to holtfreters at the current time.

 

[cynthia]

Joan - You can use Sea Salt.

Adding salt to the water is an excellent thing to do for animals with skin problems.You can use any of the commercial aquarium-salt products, sea salt, or even just non-iodized table salt.

taken from the Axolotl News Letter
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:3rgPFLFvquYJ:www.indiana.edu/~axolotl/pdf/28small.pdf+%22axolotl%22+%2B+%22Sea+salt%22&hl=en

 

[joan]

Great! Thanks... Now do you know about how much I should add? Preferably in a good tablespoons/gallon type, as I can't seem to be able to convert anything, nor do I have a scale that measures in grams.

 

[cynthia]

Mix 2 teaspoons of salt to 1 litre of water (
Use water from your tank) and soak the axolotl in it for 10 min twice a day.

(1 litre = 1.056 US quarts)


Be careful not to mix the salt too strong it can burn the gills.

Make sure your salt water is mixed up well and the salt is completely dissolved before putting your axolotl in it.

Do not soak him for more than 10 min.

 

[joan]

Got it. Although checking on him this morning, he's already starting to heal over. But I think I'll add some as an isotonic solution in their tank water anyway. We've got soft water, and it can't hurt to harden it up.

 

[paula]

silly question. why can't you just add alittle salt to the tank?

 

[joan]

You can, and this makes the water harder. But adding a little salt to the water is not the same as a salt bath. The concentrations are very different.