Axolotl Health, Illness, Symptoms and action needed

Owning a pet can be both a joyous and a scary experience. Just as humans, animals get ill and axolotls are no exception to that rule. This is why it is so important that you check your water regularly, along with doing health checks on you axolotl to look out for signs of illness. You can prevent or limit a lot of health issues related to axolotls by simply maintaining good water quality. Sometimes no matter how great your husbandry is animals become unwell. We have created this guide so that you know the symptoms to look out for and the way in which you can treat mild ailments at home.

Please bear in mind that we are not veterinarians and have no medical training. The information provided within this document is what we have learned from owning and rescuing axolotls, and from the help of fellow breeders and rescues. If you believe your animal to be sick, then we strongly urge you to contact your local exotic vet, this guide will help you to treat your axolotl whilst waiting to see a Vet.

Symptoms to look out for

Your Axolotl is being sick after eating.

Whilst axolotls are meant to know when they are full and stop eating, some like to be a little rebellious and eat as much as you put in front of them. This, as with humans, causes them to become sick. If your axolotl has overindulged, either the day of the sickness or the previous day, sickness shouldn’t be a concern. If however your axolotl is continuously being sick, or the sickness lasts more than a day, you should contact your local exotic vet.

Another reason that your axolotl may be getting sick, is the quality of the food you are offering, or the worm has let off a sour white substance and your axolotl didn’t like it. Persevere though as they will get used to the taste.

Not eating.

Whilst growing from a baby to an adult, axolotls need daily, maybe even twice daily feeds. Adult axolotls however will refuse food if they are still full from their last meal. They can even go through stages where they will just refuse one form of food in a bid to get you to offer the yummy treat they are longing for. If you have a particularly fussy axolotl who hasn’t eaten for a few days, try offering repashy grub pie. This food is high in nutrients and the proteins axolotls need to thrive. They love it, even if it does stink. Adults can go up to 4 weeks before not eating becomes a real issue, so keep an eye on the water and have a variety of foods at hand.

Baby axolotls should not be refusing food, new hatchlings MUST eat live foods, this is because their sense of smell isn’t developed properly until their legs grow in. So babies find their food by touch alone. If there isn’t a food source swimming around them, they will find it incredibly hard to get a good amount of food inside them. If you have a youngster not eating then test your water parameters. So many things can be “cured” by simply changing your water. Again switch back to live foods, live blood worm or black worm is great for juveniles who have not yet gotten to the point of eating earthworms.

Gills curled forward or curled tail.

Either of these is an indication that your axolotl is stressed. The exception to this rule is when an axolotl is born with curled gills, so knowing your axie will help you to determine what is normal behaviour for them and what is not.

Stress can be caused by a number of factors. Poor water quality or water outside of the recommended temperatures will cause stress to your animal. Illness and infections will also cause the axolotl to show signs of stress. In order to treat the animal, you need to determine the reasons why your axolotl is stressed. Test the water parameters along with the temperature. If this is all ok, check your axolotl over for any signs of injury or fungus ( we will discuss fungus later in this guide”). Have you moved things around in the tank prior to the axolotl showing signs of stress? Yes, they will be mad about it. Keep an eye on any tank mates to ensure there is no bullying happening. Water flow can also cause axolotl stress if it is too strong. Please see our care sheet for husbandry requirements.

Slime coat Peeling

As with most amphibians, axolotls have a protective slime coat. This peels in minuscule amounts naturally and you won’t even notice it happening, however, if you can see that your axolotl’s slime coat is peeling then you need to check your water parameters immediately, as a peeling slime coat is often an indicator that your water levels have reached a harmful level. Axolotls are also sensitive to products containing Aloe vera or Iodine, these substances are present in most aquarium products so be sure to check that your water conditioner does not contain either of these. Axolotls should not be held unless absolutely necessary. Allowing your axolotl to sit in your hand or a gentle pat on the head isn’t going to cause a problem providing you have washed your hands thoroughly with only water before you put them into the tank. If you have recently handled your axolotl or removed them from the tank with a net, there is a chance that this has caused the slime coat damage. The best course of action is to tub your axolotl with clean cool dechlorinated water changed daily until the slime coat has healed and the tank parameters are back to safe levels.

A Floating Axolotl

Axolotls float for fun, whilst it scares the life out of us when we see them floating around the tank with no signs of life because they are sleeping, providing they can happily swim back down to the bottom of the tank then there is no reason to be alarmed, they just like to keep us on our toes.

If your axolotls front legs are on the bottom of the tank but his or her bum is floating, they need a poop.

If your axolotl is having trouble getting down to the bottom of the tank, then chances are they have a trapped air bubble. You can often see this when looking at their belly, one side often seems more bloated than the other. You can help your axolotl out by lowering the water levels so that they feel more comfortable. Cooler water temperatures will really help your axolotl to release the air bubble.

Frantic obscure swimming.

If your axolotl is acting really strange, swimming in unusual ways, struggling to get to the bottom of the tank and generally not itself, this is often down to a bacterial infection and your axolotl needs immediate medical attention. Whilst waiting to see the vet you can make your axolotl more comfortable by popping them in a tub of cold dechlorinated water and performing daily water changes. Bacterial infections can be fatal without the proper treatment so it is imperative that you see a vet. Also, bare in mind that your vet will no doubt want to administer antibiotics, axolotls should never be injected with antibiotics!!! EVER. So if your vet says that this is the course of action they are going to take, refuse it. Antibiotics should be administered to an axolotl through the water. So the antibiotic should be added to the water your axolotl will be kept in. They should then stay in the water with the antibiotic for around 8 hours a day until the course is finished. Knowledge is power don’t be afraid to tell them how you want your animal cared for.

Fungus

Fungus appears, like white cotton wool like balls attached to the back of your axolotls gills. Fungus can appear anywhere on your axolotl but the most common first stage is the gills. Quick intervention will prevent your axolotl from becoming really unwell. Fungus whilst a common ailment in axolotls, if left untreated can become fatal.

The best cause of action for Fungus is to give you axolotl regular tea baths until the fungus has completely gone.

Tea Bath

In order to administer a tea bath, you are going to need a black tea bag. The ingredients should only include black tea. PG tips, typhoo, Yorkshire tea etc are all examples of black tea. Boil some water and add the boiling water along with one or two tea bags to a 10L tub. The axolotl should not be in the tub at this stage. Top up the water level with cold water so that there is enough to cover the axolotl. Leave the tea to stew and cool to room temperature, you can pop the tub in the fridge to speed up this process. When the water is cool enough, remove the tea bag/s and add a water dechlorinater. You then want to add your axolotl to the bath. Axolotls should spend no longer than 10-15 minutes a day in a tea bath, and treatment shouldn’t last longer than 5-7 days.

After the tea bath you may find that your axolotl is darting around their tank more than usual and that their gills look less fluffy, this is a reaction to the caffeine and will wear off in a matter of hours

Fungus still present after 7 days of tea baths

So the tea baths haven’t quite been strong enough to get rid of this stubborn fungus. The next course of action is to treat the tank by either adding 1 or 2 IAL’s (Indian almond leaves) or cattapa X, both of these have antiseptic properties and should eradicate any lingering bacteria within the tank. You will also need to administer a Methylene Blue bath, This needs to be done very carefully so please contact us so we can go through this process with you.

If your axolotl regularly gets fungus, using cattapa x or IAL’s after each water change can help, as well as adding holfreta salts to the water.

Injuries and missing limbs

Whether you have a single Axolotl or more than one, as with many animal there is the potential for them to injure themselves. There are some preventative measures you can take to reduce the risk of injury:

• NO GRAVEL we can’t stress this enough, this will cause impactation and in serious cases death!

• NO FISH axolotls are species only animals and should be kept either alone or in same-sex groups. Your fish will eventually disappear but they will also nip at the axolotl’s gills and slime coat which can cause serious infections. Also if the axolotl eats your fish, their digestive tract isn’t designed to cope with fish with a hard skeleton so again they can become impacted.

• Check your ornaments, if there are any sharp edges that your axolotl could rub against and cut itself you need to sand it down. It takes 2 minutes to do and will help prevent injury.

• Anything that can fit in an axolotl’s mouth will be eaten! so bare this in mind when choosing your ornaments, and if you want to use rocks as a substrate you need to make sure that it’s much larger than a fully grown adults mouth and they have big mouths!

• Only house axolotls in same-sex groups. They must also be around the same size otherwise they can, and do, eat each other if the size difference is too much. More than an inch or 2 smaller is a no-no.

So you’ve taken all the preventative measures and your axolotl has still gotten injured

• If your axolotl is cut or has a limb missing, they need to be removed from the tank and put into a large tub with cool dechlorinated water ( this needs to be seachem prime as it is the only water conditioner that is safe for 100% water changes). Adding an IAL to the water and giving your axolotl daily tea baths for a week will help prevent infection. You will need to change the tub water twice daily it is imperative that the water stays as clean as possible.

• Infections, just as with humans infections look red and angry. If your axolotls wound looks to be infected you need to seek out help from your local exotic vet, as your axolotl may need antibiotics to cure the infection. AXOLOTLS SHOULD NEVER BE INJECTED WITH ANTIBIOTICS, the antibiotic should be administered to the axolotl’s tub water and they should stay in the tub with the antibiotics for 8 hours a day for however long the course is.

• If your axolotl has eaten or swallowed something it shouldn’t have, you need to consult your local vet, in the meantime remove the axolotl from the tank and place it in a tub with cold dechlorinated water.

Essential First aid items to keep in case of emergency

• A net with very fine mesh

• Two or more shoe sized tubs in order to administer treatments

• A 32l tub incase you axolotl needs to be tubbed for a prolonged period of time

• Indian Almond Leaves

• Cattapa X

• Holfretas Salt

• Methalyne blue

Fridging ( putting your axolotl in the fridge)

A quick google search will bring up many articles stating that putting a sick axolotl into the fridge will cure any ailments. This is incorrect. FRIDGING IS VERY DANGEROUS and we do not condone it as a treatment method. The only way in which this is ever a valid treatment option is when it is done by or requested by an exotic vet.

This is not a complete guide, axolotls can and do suffer from other ailments, we have included in this guide the most common ones and ones that can mostly be treated at home with some basic water tests and over the counter products.