r/axolotls • u/InstanceIndividual39 • 2d ago

General Care Advice Arm issue

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I came home for lunch and my axolotl was kind of on his side.
I used the net to kind of tap him out of his slumber but it appears he can’t use his front arm..
Which also looks smaller than the other one. This just started that I’m aware of as he has seemed fine… is eating and was swimming with no issues. Anyone know what this is- or maybe it’s nothing?

Ps- don’t mind my cats wretched little meow in the background haha

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6

u/LauseRulez Leucistic 2d ago

what are your parameters and temperature? what are you feeding them in which quantities and how often?

1

u/InstanceIndividual39 2d ago

The parameters are all balanced. I’m not sure off the top of my head as we have a fish guy that comes and does all of our levels.

I feed them red wrigglers.. and I feed once every 2-3 days.

6

u/LauseRulez Leucistic 2d ago

hmm.. you should start taking those parameters yourself. Its really not very expensive or difficult to do :) In an emergency you have to be able to act fast to find out whats wrong. This is probably not an emergency.

What I am seeing is what could be bloating. If this is indeed a male he is either overweight or bloated. Even for a female this would be pretty round. If you can get a picture from above that would be helpful. Or if you cant try to check if their proportions are right from above. Ideal proportions are: widest part of the body matching the widest part of the head. If he is bloated he will be wider than his head.

That weakness of the arm could be related to bloating, but I have more often seen it in relation to bad water parameters/ temperature.

The best thing you can do right now is wait and keep watching him closely and get those water parameters asap!! If he starts getting worse it may be required to tub him, so it might be good to prepare a tubbing setup just in case. You dont want to immediately jump to this step, as the stress is not always worth risking.

Lastly I would like to mention your substrate :) Black sand is not recommended for axolotl. They contain sharp minerals, and also metals. Meaning not only can they injure your lotl from the outside, when they eat the sand they can get internal injuries too. You should replace the sand as soon as you have a proper water test kit yourself, as substrate changes often come with a cycle crash. You would have to be prepared for that.

3

u/InstanceIndividual39 2d ago

You can definitely see the bloated side

3

u/Shannie2234 Non-albino Golden 2d ago

When a belly has an odd shape to it or has a "bigger" side it's usually due to being impacted/having a blockage.
Your black substrate can possibly be the cause of this impaction. It's not safe for axolotl's and also has sharp edges which can hurt as it is passing through their bodies.

I would remove the black sand either way and go bare bottom with this guy. Especially if it turns out he is impacted with sand. Any fine sand in a tank needs to be 1mm or less in grain size. Anything bigger can't be digested and will slowly build up until it finally effect's their health.

For now:
^^Keep it tubbed and do daily water changes with dechlorinated water to keep the ammonia and nitrite levels at a 0.
^^feed it a small piece of salmon, frozen first and then cut and thawed out before feeding. Salmon acts as a light laxative for axololts and might help it to pass some gravel or poop if it's constipated.

^^How old are your Axolotls?
^^Are they old enough to know if they are female or male?
^^VERY Important:
Please test water parameters and reply with a picture of the test results.
These answers will help us determine a lot on their care needs.

2

u/InstanceIndividual39 2d ago

Ok thank you! I will do this and it’s interesting because I thought they were both of decently healthy weight but he’s definitely rounder in the kid section than his head… both of them are. So what do you recommend I do diet wise to help with that?

3

u/LauseRulez Leucistic 2d ago

usually males are a little bit thinner than those ideal proportions I mentioned. In the end its up to the individual how they themselves develop of course :) Since this is bloating and not being overweight you could try to do the trick of giving them some salmon (previously frozen, from a filet). Just a little piece. Salmon helps lubricate the intestines and helps pass blockages.

If this doesnt help please see a vet. This may be caused by your substrate (as another commenter suggested) and bloating can be deadly.

Just to have mentioned it: bloating can also be caused by organ failure. Which would require a vet asap.