Struggling to swallow and vomiting

[KOsika]

Within the last month or so, my old man axolotl has been struggling a bit with swallowing worms. Any size. He gets it in his mouth, and then keeps swallowing repeatedly as the worm pops in and out of his mouth. Eventually it does go in though and he’s pooping normally. His appetite is very good despite the difficulty swallowing.

Now for the last two days he’s been vomiting up partially digested worms. Yesterday was tank cleaning day anyway so I fridged him while I investigated. I gave him a very small worm before bed. This morning he had about 1ppm of ammonia so I moved him to a clean tub (tested it, so definitely 0ppm of ammonia). This evening, I checked on him and he had vomited up some stringy stuff and a few chunks of a small worm.

Should I feed him again after he vomits or should I put him back in the fridge again for a bit before trying? Even chilled, he’s got a great appetite. He just struggles to get it down and keep it down.

I just want to make sure I’m doing the best I can since this is my first time fridging an axie for longer than a few hours on a hot day while I cool the tank down.

I have no exotic pet vets near me.

 

[JM29]

What kind of worms do you feed him ?
Where do they come from ?

 

[KOsika]

What kind of worms do you feed him ?
Where do they come from ?

European nightcrawlers. I originally bought them from Jim’s Worm farm but I’ve had the colony in my compost for a few years now.

I used to feed him 4-5in worms every 2-3 days depending on how hungry he was. Now I’m feeding him smaller 1in worms to try to help him swallow better.

Sortve related: I tested his water just now and theres about .5ppm ammonia in his tub despite that I don’t see any debris or poop? Is that normal for fridging? Is it possible that he pooped and then ate it? I moved him to a new tub with 0ppm ammonia and will continue monitoring.

 

[JM29]

Try canadian nightcrawlers instead (a small one or cut in pieces).
European nightcrawlers are vermicompost worms and are not always very palatable for axolotls.

Having ammonia without poop is normal since aquatic animals like fishes and axolotls excrete ammonia by their kidneys.

 

[AxieFrankie]

Have you tried feeding him axolotl pallets? I’m not sure if they will help, but it might be worth a shot. The brand I recommend is BluePlanet and you can buy axolotl pallets at most fish stores. Perhaps your axolotl is just sick of worms? If not, perhaps he is stressed. My axolotl, Frankie, doesn’t eat when she is stressed (which is weird, because when Frankie is stressed, she stops eating. But when I am stressed, I stress eat! Lol.) Perhaps give her some plants If you haven’t already. They tend to give axolotl’s a sense of security. If none of that works, I’m not sure how else to help. But I am sure you’ll figure something out. And if your struggling, contact me and we can work something out.
I hope your axolotl is alright.

 

[KOsika]

Thank you both! I didn’t know they give off ammonia from their livers. That makes me feel much better.

I can see if I can get different worms. He’s always eaten the european night crawlers with no problem but it can’t not hurt to try something different. I can also try pellets; I have some on hand but I was told they’re not as nutritional as the worms so I try to give him worms over pellets.

He’s still fridged, he ate a small worm yesterday morning and had a little difficulty swallowing it. But he did get it down, and hasn’t thrown it up yet so I think that’s a good sign. I tried to give him another just now and he snapped it up right away but then immediately spit it out, so I think he’s not as interested as he’s acting haha. I’m keeping him fridged until he poops and then I’ll decide what I wanna do. He is old (9-10years).

Thanks so much for the advice! I’ll keep you posted

 

[KOsika]

Update: We needed fridge space for Christmas so I put Steve back in his tank (after all the appropriate warming up and such). And wouldn’t you know it, he poops right after I put him in his nice clean tank guess he must be feeling better.

He’s over all swallowing pellets more easily than worms so I’m going to try them for a bit. He is a bit more confused about catching them cuz he’s used to the worms wiggling around but he gets there eventually haha

Thanks for all the advice and info! We appreciate it