Help with Axolotl... Hope im in the right thread

F

FionaJill

AC Members
Oct 27, 2008
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Blue Mts, NSW Australia
Hi there,
Hoping I can get some help with our Axolotl. I have had him/her (lol not sure of its sex) for about hmmmm 5 or so months.
He was doing really well, eating really well, learning to come to the top of the water for food etc.
Then I changed the rocks in his tank as he was eating them (got really bad advice from shop I bought him....). When I did this I also blew up the heater I had in the tank.
Were I live it gets pretty cold & stays cold during the days in winter so I had the heater in there to keep the water at around 18 degree c. But when I changed the rocks & blew up the heater it was starting to warm up & the water wasn't feeling like Ice so I hadn't bothered replacing the heater.
Now over time (say the last 8 weeks tops) he has become very lazy. I know the cooler the water the slower they become, eat less etc. But I have trouble getting him to take the food (meal worms). I would be lucky to get 1 in to him every 3 or 4 days.
He will seem keen & come up & then snap at the food but miss (another thing, he was good at getting it but now seems to just snap at random) & then I sit there for 5 minutes with in his face & he wont take it.

How do I get him to start eating properly again? Should I heat the water back up? change his food (what else do I feed him?)
He isn't looking thin but he is white with the red hairs, & his red isn't as bright as it was. its looking pretty dull.

He is becoming a boring pet that's a hassle to feed. I don't want to get rid of him but I don't want him to be such a hassle to feed etc.

Please help!:help:
 
Reptiles and amphibians naturally slow down during a colder period, as you said. Part of this slowing down is their metabolism. He may not be eating because of how slow his metabolism has become, or simply needs food less often.

I would get another heater. If that doesn't work, then you might want to start worrying.
 
if he was eating the rocks from his tank i think yall might have a sick pet on your hand but i dont know much about these lifeforms but i dont think rocks pass that good through the intestines
 
If you upped the size of you rock thats a good thing, They can develop an impacted intestinal tract if the rocks don't pass. This can cause them to slow down and shut down their metabolism. Hopefully this isn't what happened.

If you blew up the heater and it had chemicals of any kind inside of it did you change the water and wash the substrate? If not I recommend it, however be carefull not to wash with water with chlorine or that is too hot or cold as this will kill the helpfull bacteria just like in a fishtank.

The other thing is get a new heater, the colder the slower you animal will move. He has a better chance of overcoming any diseases and parasites the warmer he is. Just don't cook him, you 18c sounds like a good temp for him, try to get it back up there.

Good luck with you little guy.
 
Thanks heaps for the replies.

It was some time ago that he ate the smaller rocks & I did notice that he had passed the ones he ate. I now have lge rocks in the tank that would be twice the size of his head so I know he can't eat them now LOL.

The heater, yes the water was changed when that happened. I was in the process of filling the tank again & stupidly put that in & turned it on, added the cold water & of course, cold hitting the hot made the glass crack. Typical blonde moment that was!

I will get a new heater & try warming his tank back up. Not sure what the water temp would be now, but it would be pretty cool, probably around 12ish.

We are on tank water so there is no chlorine in the water we use.

Food wise, is he ok on just meal worms? Or should I try & vary his diet more.I have blood worms here too but they are so messy & he doesn't eat them, I just end up with lot of little floaty things in the tanks LOL. I have them in the freezer & break off a little but as soon as it hits the water they just defrost & spread.

Oh, also, I keep forgetting to my mealies in the fridge & the buggers keep changing into beetles! LOL I need to get more again!
 
You might try feeding earthworms and live bloodworms, the hard shell on mealworms can be hard for smaller amphibians to digest and are better suited for nutirtional snacks.

Also I don't know what you tank is set up like but try adding some live plants and see if that changes his mood.
 
I suggest things like hornwort then an possibly some duckweed for the top. This wouldn't get uprooted obviously because its never attached to anything.

I don't know about digging up worms thats not my area. I suggest going to the terrarium section and posting a new thread about getting worms. I'm sure they will have more answers.
 
axolotls said:
It is Very Imporant to Keep Axolotls Below 67 F to 50. Give your Axie some cold and he will be happy.

If you have any questions email me at pvena@hotmail.com

Axolotls
Click to expand...
the cold is the problem...it is causing its metabolism to slow to the extent where its body is in a near-hibernation state.
 
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