Sunken in Eye/Bump Along Jawline?

[Kinn]

Hi, I'm really stressed out about this situation.
I've done tons of research and everything I've read suggests my axie is probably fine, but I'd love to hear some opinions from people, to (hopefully) ease my mind.

Here is an image of Ambrose without the bump (this pic is when she as younger, so she is smaller as well):

And here is a picture taken today:

The bump is right there under the left eye. Her eye is slightly more sunken in than the other one too, I assume as a result of the bump. When she eats, the eye pulls in deeper than the other eye as well.


Here is some background:
About 3ish weeks ago, my axolotl has a couple bruises on her face (not in the same location as the bump). They have since healed up fine (about a week after noticing them), and after the bump appeared. I felt that the bump was a 'goose egg' from the same incident as the bruises, but it hasn't dissipated yet.

It will however fluctuate a little on a day to day basis. One day I will barely be able to see it, if at all, I will only notice the slightly sunken in eye, and other days it will look like the picture above. That is the worst it's ever looked however, it's not growing. When the bump is bad like this, her mouth is slightly agape, when normally she keeps her mouth closed.

She is acting normal, and doesn't seem in pain or bothered, I will touch around the area and she doesn't flinch or anything. She is eating normally, same huge appetite, and is behaving her normal self. She isn't showing any signs of stress either. It's her normal skin colour as well, no pinkness or veins or anything.

She's in a 20 gallon long with no decorations with sharp edges or anything, so I'm not sure how she got the bruises in the first place. She's got a sponge filter, gets a 20-25% water change weekly, and eats earth worms and the occasional carnivore pellet or two.

I will provide water perimeters in the morning, it's pretty late.

I have read sometimes axolotl just develop bumps that may or may not disappear but are harmless, do you guys think this is the case? Anyone have experience with this?

 

[herpvet]

Hi, I'm really stressed out about this situation.
I've done tons of research and everything I've read suggests my axie is probably fine, but I'd love to hear some opinions from people, to (hopefully) ease my mind.

Here is an image of Ambrose without the bump (this pic is when she as younger, so she is smaller as well):

And here is a picture taken today:

The bump is right there under the left eye. Her eye is slightly more sunken in than the other one too, I assume as a result of the bump. When she eats, the eye pulls in deeper than the other eye as well.


Here is some background:
About 3ish weeks ago, my axolotl has a couple bruises on her face (not in the same location as the bump). They have since healed up fine (about a week after noticing them), and after the bump appeared. I felt that the bump was a 'goose egg' from the same incident as the bruises, but it hasn't dissipated yet.

It will however fluctuate a little on a day to day basis. One day I will barely be able to see it, if at all, I will only notice the slightly sunken in eye, and other days it will look like the picture above. That is the worst it's ever looked however, it's not growing. When the bump is bad like this, her mouth is slightly agape, when normally she keeps her mouth closed.

She is acting normal, and doesn't seem in pain or bothered, I will touch around the area and she doesn't flinch or anything. She is eating normally, same huge appetite, and is behaving her normal self. She isn't showing any signs of stress either. It's her normal skin colour as well, no pinkness or veins or anything.

She's in a 20 gallon long with no decorations with sharp edges or anything, so I'm not sure how she got the bruises in the first place. She's got a sponge filter, gets a 20-25% water change weekly, and eats earth worms and the occasional carnivore pellet or two.

I will provide water perimeters in the morning, it's pretty late.

I have read sometimes axolotl just develop bumps that may or may not disappear but are harmless, do you guys think this is the case? Anyone have experience with this?

Hi,

It's possible that it isn't a problem, especially as it isn't sensitive and she seems fine otherwise, but I would have a couple of concerns that make me think it should be checked out more thoroughly.

- The original "bruises" could be internal infection or even neoplasia, especially since you say there is little chance for trauma - although a narrow gap between ornaments or similar, even with no sharp surfaces, could be a source.
- The fluctuating nature of the swelling could be a cyst or even abscess that fills up then drains into the mouth.

If it was on the body I wouldn't be too worried, but I would be concerned about things happening out of sight in the mouth. So I would recommend getting a good look inside the mouth to try to be sure that there's nothing sinister going on. If you can get a good look inside and monitor that way then just keep an eye on it, but if you can't see what's going on inside the mouth (or there's any visible lesions inside) it would probably be best to get it checked out by a vet if possible. It wouldn't take much swelling of an abscess or other growth there to become a real problem very fast.

Hope it isn't anything significant though!

 

[Kinn]

Thank you for the advice, this is very helpful.

What is the best way to try and examine inside of her mouth? I don't want to just try and pry it open. She tends to bite at my fingers thinking they are food, should I get her to do that then open her mouth from there?
I just don't want to hurt her.

Also what kinds of things would be concerning if I saw them in her mouth?
I'm guessing cuts, swelling/bumps inside the mouth, or discolouration? Am I missing anything?


Also do you happen to know the address to that website that will tell you exotic vets in your area? I have an exotic vet but I'm not sure if she deals with aquatic animals/amphibians so I would love to have a back up.

 

[Kinn]

I've been keeping a close eye on the bump, and upon closer investigation, I'm not sure it's a bump at all.

I originally thought that it was a bump that was causing the eye to sink into her face a bit because of swelling, but I think it's the other way around.
The area of face around her eye almost looks collapsed in a little, which creates the effect that her jaw line is more protruded out than normal.

When I look at her from different angles, there is no visible bump that is different from the right side of her face, and looking at her from a lower angle, I can see that the area behind and around her left eye is indeed sunken in.

I would still love to peek in her mouth to make sure, so if anyone has advice on how to examine inside her mouth safely that would be appreciated,
but does anyone know what this might be?? I'm really worried, but she really does seem her normal self otherwise. Maybe whatever bump she took that may have caused the bruises pushed her face in?

 

[herpvet]

Also do you happen to know the address to that website that will tell you exotic vets in your area? I have an exotic vet but I'm not sure if she deals with aquatic animals/amphibians so I would love to have a back up.

Hi,
You can look on arav.org (association of reptile and amphibian vets), the find a vet section link is at the top of the page.

Opening her mouth, the least stressful way for her is probably as you describe, get her to open for food etc near the glass so you can look inside. It's likely to be a limited look unfortunately, but with patience you may be able to see if there's anything significant in that area (or generally).

Failing that it will require gentle prising - an experienced person may be able to do this adequately conscious (e.g. a vet using a tool with illumination) but for a really good look anaesthesia may be required (which although it does carry generally small risks, means less stress than struggling with your axolotl for a look, and ensures a much better examination).

I would tend to say that as long as she is absolutely fine otherwise and it's not getting worse, anaesthesia may not be justified, but if there's any hint of it getting worse (either the area or her general health then I would definitely get her checked out.