FAQ: How do we rehab axolotls?
When we take in an axolotl here at LLA, it's our responsibility to help them become as healthy as possible before they join their new forever homes.
So, how do we do this, and what does the process look like?
𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲
When we take in an axolotl, we do our best to get as much information about their physical health—both current and past—as possible; as well as any behavioral challenges their owner has notice and details about their living environment (were they ever kept on gravel, for example).
Knowing what an axolotl has been fed, the temperature their tank was kept at, whether they were kept with any other inhabitants, how often their water was changed, what was used to treat their water, whether they were ever kept on gravel... these are all key details that we work to uncover about each intake.
Why?
Having an axolotl’s complete history at the time of intake allows us to create and start them on a customized treatment program sooner than if we treated based on our evaluations alone. Some issues can take time to present themselves, so the sooner we know what we’re dealing with, the better!
𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝟏: 𝐄𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
🚑 𝘗𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩
Once an axolotl is surrendered to us, they receive an intake evaluation conducted by one of our volunteers. In addition to the information our team receives from the person surrendering, we evaluate the overall physical health of each axolotl, looking in particular for the following:
Lumps and bumps that could indicate internal blockages due to gravel ingestion, tumors, or other internal health issues
Gill frond, gill stalk, slime coat, skin or hand/foot issues that indicate poor water conditions or possible parasitic/bacterial infections
Physical signs indicative of gender, such as an enlarged cloaca and a longer, thinner body in males, and shorter, more rounded bodies in females
Genetic anomalies, such as extra or missing limbs, hands, or feet; blindness; stunted growth or dwarfism, etc.
🚑 𝘉𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩
Our team takes a minimum of two weeks to evaluate each new axolotl for possible behavioral issues or special needs that their new forever families will want to know about and be prepared to handle. During this period, we also deworm them (assuming they are healthy/strong enough to handle the deworming process; those that are not receive care first, then deworming later). Some of the key things we watch for during the intake period include:
Failure to eat, aversion to tong feeding, frequent regurgitation, or other food-related issues
Aggression towards other axolotls
Inability to stay on the bottom of the tank (usually due to prolonged tubbing) or swimming issues
𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝟐: 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭
Based on all of the information we have, we develop a treatment program for each axolotl in our care. Each program consists of three key areas: food, water, and medication.
🪱 Food
Too many of the axolotls we take in have not been fed a proper diet prior to coming to LLA. The most frequent mistakes we see when it comes to axolotl feeding include:
BLOODWORMS: Feeding nothing but frozen or freeze-dried bloodworms, which provide virtually no nutritional value to an axolotl, but will be readily eaten because it’s ‘tasty’;
FEEDER FISH: Feeding large or otherwise inappropriate fish that can lead to a number of health issues, ranging from fish bone impaction to vitamin deficiencies;
CARNIVORE PELLETS: Don’t let the package fool you; even though Hikari puts pictures of axolotls on their carnivore pellets, these are not appropriate for axolotls. They are extremely hard and take a long time to break down, meaning that your axolotl is likely to throw them up because it cannot digest them, or could become impacted by the hard food.
Once an axolotl arrives at LLA, we provide them with the appropriate diet based on their individual needs; for example, we feed fatty salmon belly to those axolotls at risk of or with known gravel impaction to help lubricate their innards and (hopefully) expel the stones they’ve ingested.
For those only fed bloodworms, we provide a wide array of foods. From safely sourced earthworms and red wigglers to raw (previously frozen) shrimp and moist salmon pellets, we do our best to ensure that each axolotl is getting the nutrition they need to continue to grow and to recover from any illness or injuries they’ve experienced. Sometimes it can take time for an axolotl to be interested in nutritional foods, particularly if they’ve never been fed live foods before, or if they are used to only eating treats like frozen bloodworms. (Think about it - if you were fed nothing but candy, would you have any interest in eating your vegetables?)
💧 Water
We cannot overstate the importance of cool, clean, dechlorinated water when it comes to keeping an axolotl healthy and happy!
Many of the axolotls that arrive at LLA show signs of poor husbandry—in other words, it is clear upon arrival that their basic needs were not being met. In particular, we see ammonia burns, nitrate poisoning, sloughing or peeling slime coat, severe fungal or bacterial infections, and many other indications that they experienced poor water quality in their former lives.
Due to their often delicate condition, most axolotls are tubbed upon arrival at LLA, meaning that they are kept in food-grade plastic storage containers large enough for them to swim around in, but small enough to make application of medications, feeding, and observation manageable. They are provided with air stones and hides to help minimize stress during tubbing as well.
Depending on the axolotl’s condition, their tub water may be changed as frequently as every 12 hours (or whenever it becomes soiled, if sooner), or every 24 hours for those in stable condition. We use cool, clean, Seachem Prime-treated water free of ammonia, chlorine, and other potentially harmful substances when tubbing, and our tubs are disinfected regularly with an extremely diluted solution of hydrogen peroxide and water—we never use soap or any other harsh cleansers, just very hot water, soft sponges, and the hydrogen peroxide solution.
🌿 Medication
There are a variety of medications that we use to treat common health issues in axolotls on a regular basis here at LLA, including:
Indian Almond Leaves (IAL): IAL have natural antimicrobial and antibacterial properties that can help treat common axolotl health issues like fungus; they can be purchased through most fish stores or online retailers like Amazon
Caffeinated black tea: Another natural remedy for health issues like fungal infections, the caffeine in black tea will also restrict the blood vessels, which can help stop the bleeding in the event that your axolotl is injured
NOTE: Some axolotls are very sensitive to caffeine, so be sure to monitor your axolotl closely while giving black tea baths in case they have a bad reaction; always limit soaking time to no more than 15 minutes
PraziPro: A commercially-available parasite treatment that treats and prevents parasites such as flukes, tapeworms, flatworms, and turbellarians in fish and axolotls; can be used regularly for preventative deworming (see how we deworm here).
Methylene Blue (meth blue): A salt-based, commercially-available medication used to treat more severe cases of bacterial or fungal infections when natural remedies like IAL and black tea baths aren’t strong enough.
KanaPlex: A broad spectrum antibiotic kanamycin-based medication that treats several fungal and bacterial diseases, both internal and external; this is another option available when natural remedies like IAL and black tea baths are not strong enough.
Live blackworms: Though not traditionally considered a “medication,” live blackworms are one of the most nutritious foods you can feed an axolotl—and one that’s hard for even the pickiest eaters to turn down; we use live blackworms to help entice axolotls with eating issues or illness into eating, an important part of the healing process.
Here at LLA, we try our hardest to catch and treat each and every health issue an incoming axolotl may have, but we don't always catch everything. That's why we're also dedicated to educating our adopters and providing them with all of the resources they need to be successful with their new water puppy!
