Stella's gone a bit red!

C

casey

Guest
Before I took Stella out of her tank to put her in the fridge, because she ate some gravel, I noticed that she'd developed a red tinge, especially on her tail.

I'm not sure, maybe I'm just being a bit paranoid, but does this look like some sort of disease to anyone? Maybe red-leg?

I thought that the fridge would help, but, although it hasn't gotten any worse, it doesn't seem to have gotten any better.

I gave Stella a salt bath last night and this morning, for 10-15 minutes each time, using the water from the bowl I keep her in, in the fridge, so there wouldn't be a temperature change. I used 2 teaspoons of table salt in 2 litres of water.

Is there anything else that I can do for her?

She is still eating, not as fast as she usually does, but I'm feeding her one worm a day and she's still moving, although not as much, but she does a few quick circles of the bowl when I take her out of the fridge.
 
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Notice how her back legs are quite red and she looks a little red down the ridge of her back, and very red on her tail?
 
Casey - My axolotls turn red in the tail when they are getting too hot, getting mad, stressed, being mean to each other.

I have never seen back legs turn red like Stellas are.

I wouldn't give her salt baths unless she has fungus or a skin problem. Salt baths can be stressful too.

It is good she is still eating, has she passed any gravel yet?
 
She's passed 6 pieces of gravel whilst in the fridge.

I think the temperature was too high in her small tank, which is why I got a new one and put her in the fridge. It got up to about 24c and I could only get it down to about 21c.

She's been in the fridge for 2 days already, this is her third day. Do you think she will lose the redness?

She's gone a bit skinnier too, is this just because her metabolism has slowed down?
 
Casey -Good to hear she is passing the gravel. That can't feel too good that could be adding to her stress and redness.

I am not sure about the fridge making her look skinnier.

She may settle down more as she gets used to being in the fridge, that is a big change for her.

Keep us posted.
 
Thanks Cynthia - I feel a bit more relieved now.

I guess she was probably stressed after eating the gravel, and that may have turned her red, in addition to the warm temperatures, and then having to pass it, she must be pretty stressed.

Her tail isn't bent or anything, I've been keeping an eye on that, but I'll stop giving her salt baths and just see if she gets better.

Thanks for settling my nerves! I'll let you know if there's any improvements.
 
Her colour seems to have improved slightly.

How much should I be feeding her whilst she's in the fridge? I just fed her a worm and she grabbed it really quickly, so I thought she must be hungry, so I fed her a small piece of frozen whitebait. Is this too much?

She looks skinny, so I'm feeling a maternal instinct to fatten her up a bit.

When she's settled into her tank, do you think I could put another axolotl in there? I've found some that are probably about 15cm. Stella's about 17cm, I think - it's hard to measure her. Would she attack it, if it's smaller than her or do you think it would be okay if I give them plenty of hiding places?

(Message edited by caseyb on October 13, 2005)
 
Its hard to say if she would attack it or not. If you do try to put another axie in,It is a good idea to give them plenty of hiding places so they can get away from each other. My 2 female axies seem to love each other but when my male is in the tank he causes fights and injures them, i guess it depends on the aixe.
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I thought you could. Maybe i was wrong. I just assumed that when people said 2 teaspoons of salt, they meant normal table salt. I've stopped giving her baths now, anyway.

She seems to be doing a bit better this afternoon.
 
its better not to just because it isnt as 'pure' as you can get. it also contains other chemicals that stop it from clumping etc, i use sea/rock salt.
my axies have never shown any aggression towards each other even when i had a 23cm and 10cm in together, but my tank is large and they can easily get away.
my leucys get red tails sometimes, i dont think its anything to worry about unless its red from burst blood vessels at the surface. like cynthia said its when theyre stressed that it happens
 
hey Casey, if you get another axolotl, make sure you quarantine it for 30 days or so before you put it in with your other Axolotl. you want to make sure it doesn't have anything that can pass to Stella
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Nathan - Yes you can use normal table salt, as long as it isn't low sodium.

from http://www.axolotl.org/health.htm
A salt bath is prepared using 2-3 teaspoons of salt (table salt, cooking salt, or iodized salt, but not "low" or "low-sodium" salt) per litre/two pints.
 
Casey - Normally axolotls don't eat as much when they are in the fridge. If she does eat too much she will puke it back up. So just keep that in mind when you are feeding her and try not to let her over do it.

She does look a bit thin so it is good she is eating so well while in the fridge. It takes time to "fatten" them up so slow and steady as she goes.

(Message edited by cynorita on October 13, 2005)
 
Most people say their white axolotls get redder while in the fridge, so maybe the outside-fridge redness has gone away, but she's still red because of being cold.

Also keep in mind that in the fridge, she won't be digesting fast, so I wouldn't feed as often.
 
Stella's colour seems to have returned to normal - thank god!

She's still quite active, despite being in the fridge - or maybe she's still, until I open the door and she gets a fright, so she swims around a bit.

Should I feed her every second or third day whilst she's in the fridge?

And how long do they usually take to pass gravel?

I've seen 6 pieces, but I only caught her eating it about 3 or 4 days before she passed it. Do you think this might have been gravel she ate a while ago and maybe there's more to come? Or do they digest pretty quickly after they've eaten?

I guess, if it takes a month or so, she'll pass it whilst she's in the new tank and purple gravel will be quite easy to spot against the sand!
 
I just went to change Stella's water and I noticed her colour was completely back to normal.

I've been thinking about getting another axie and quarantining it whilst Stella settles into her new tank. But I want to be sure that I don't have a male and a female, because I'm not ready to raise young axies yet.

So while I was changing her water, I gently held her and turned her over (all underwater, of course) to make sure that she was a female - I'm still worried that one day her cloaca (sp?) region will suddenly grow and I will have to change her name back to Wally!

Anyway, I turned her over and she was still female - but, her tail turned red again!

So I've now come to the conclusion that when Stella is upset about something she turns red!

You were all spot on! Good to know I can trust the forum users to give great, accurate advice!

Thanks, guys!
 
I had an amazing, sex changing axolotl. I didn't know it was male, as the other two had gotten rather well-developed cloacas. Then I came home one day to a tank full of spermatophores, and was worried (I also don't want to be a grandma). But I guess the other one decided that was a good a time as any to show the other two that he really wasn't a girl. So now I have 3 males.

I'd feed every 3 days while in the fridge, but if her color's back to normal, she should be coming out soon, right?
 
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