Axoltol with broken arm

[gianlucabinetti]

Hey guys I have two Axoltols one of them came in with a broken arm. I hoped that it would continue to grow and correct itself, but has not and is continuing to grow in the wrong direction. Any advice on what I should do?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hey guys I have two Axoltols one of them came in with a broken arm. I hoped that it would continue to grow and correct itself, but has not and is continuing to grow in the wrong direction. Any advice on what I should do?

Poor guy. This guy will go through stages before becoming a salamander and if it doesnt grow correctly now, it likely wont as it transitions. It will however function normally without the leg.
Feeding is easy and getting foods often from bait shop such as mealworms, earthworms, blackworms, brine shrimp, and small mystery snails.

 

[littlefoxx]

Oh no these guys are super cool! I hope he recovers

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hey guys I have two Axoltols one of them came in with a broken arm. I hoped that it would continue to grow and correct itself, but has not and is continuing to grow in the wrong direction. Any advice on what I should do?

I haven’t worked with these for many years. Are you keeping them together? They often bite each others legs. What temperature are you housing them at? Many people keep them too warm. Does their diet have enough calcium in it?

Jay

 

[DanyL]

Poor guy.

Shouldn’t they have the ability to regenerate complete limbs?

I don’t know what would be the trigger for doing it - but maybe the existence of the current one prevents it from growing a new one from scratch? I’m sure there’s some info about it.

Note that I’ve never kept one of these, but I’ve read about them in the past just from curiosity.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Poor guy.

Shouldn’t they have the ability to regenerate complete limbs?

I don’t know what would be the trigger for doing it - but maybe the existence of the current one prevents it from growing a new one from scratch? I’m sure there’s some info about it.

Note that I’ve never kept one of these, but I’ve read about them in the past just from curiosity.

They do have that ability, (mostly for toes that I’ve seen) but I hesitated suggesting that because of infection risk and if the diet isn’t really good, it will regrow worse than it already is.

 

[DanyL]

They do have that ability, (mostly for toes that I’ve seen) but I hesitated suggesting that because of infection risk and if the diet isn’t really good, it will regrow worse than it already is.

Good point, thank you for clarifying it.

 

[gianlucabinetti]

I haven’t worked with these for many years. Are you keeping them together? They often bite each others legs. What temperature are you housing them at? Many people keep them too warm. Does their diet have enough calcium in it?

Jay

I Have two babies together one of them bit the tail of the other when I first put them together, but then they never bit eachother again. I house them at 68 degrees in ro water so the water is more acidic since most breeders keep them at that ph. Diet I feed them blood worms since they are not big enough to feed frozen fish yet. It seemed like he got injured in transport I just didn’t know if there was anyway to help him as in continue to let it grow, or even cut it off since they regenerate body parts

 

[gianlucabinetti]

Poor guy.

Shouldn’t they have the ability to regenerate complete limbs?

I don’t know what would be the trigger for doing it - but maybe the existence of the current one prevents it from growing a new one from scratch? I’m sure there’s some info about it.

Note that I’ve never kept one of these, but I’ve read about them in the past just from curiosity.

They regenerate body parts and I have surgical scissors to perform it my question is how should I approach this to minimize infection and aid recovery. Hospital tank? Fridge him?

 

[gianlucabinetti]

They do have that ability, (mostly for toes that I’ve seen) but I hesitated suggesting that because of infection risk and if the diet isn’t really good, it will regrow worse than it already is.

That’s what I assumed so you think that I should leave it be he has been eating and swimming fine for a while now

 

[nereefpat]

Poor guy. This guy will go through stages before becoming a salamander and if it doesnt grow correctly now, it likely wont as it transitions.

Axolotls don't become a salamander or transition into anything else.

 

[DanyL]

Axolotls don't become a salamander or transition into anything else.

I would let this adult Axolotl respond to your statement:

P.S: Just a random pic from google, not mine.

 

[nereefpat]

I would let this adult Axolotl respond to your statement:

P.S: Just a random pic from google, not mine.

Then it was either given hormones, or that's a tiger salamander rather than an Axolotl.

 

[DanyL]

They regenerate body parts and I have surgical scissors to perform it my question is how should I approach this to minimize infection and aid recovery. Hospital tank? Fridge him?

I’m sorry, I wish I knew better and could help more.
My knowledge about them is pretty much limited to what I’ve read about them online.

I’m sure you’ll find experienced people over here that might know what’s the best course to help him heal better.

 

[Tired]

Poor guy. This guy will go through stages before becoming a salamander and if it doesnt grow correctly now, it likely wont as it transitions. It will however function normally without the leg.
Feeding is easy and getting foods often from bait shop such as mealworms, earthworms, blackworms, brine shrimp, and small mystery snails.

Axolotls normally don't morph into terrestrial form. They're neotenous, and typically stay in this baby form, including breeding.

Axolotls don't become a salamander or transition into anything else.

They /can/ morph into a terrestrial form, but it's very unusual, and often not good for their health- their skin stays quite fragile, as they're a species that's evolved to normally stay in what is essentially tadpole form. Hormones are a common way of triggering the change, but it can, rarely, happen on its own- likely due to a hormone issue caused by the axolotl's own body rather than an artificially induced one.

OP, please do not cut the leg off a live, conscious animal with scissors, or anything else.. Also, you may want to find a forum with people who are experts in axolotls, as this is a forum mainly for saltwater aquaria. Though I suspect you're mostly just going to be told "there's not much to be done about that and he'll be fine anyway".

 

[DanyL]

Then it was either given hormones, or that's a tiger salamander rather than an Axolotl.

Admittedly I don’t know if this particular one was injected or not.

But there are more than a few documented cases where they did spontaneously transform in captivity.

Regardless if it is natural or not - they do have an adult form and can transition to it.

 

[nereefpat]

Hormones are a common way of triggering the change, but it can, rarely, happen on its own- likely due to a hormone issue caused by the axolotl's own body rather than an artificially induced one.

Regardless if it is natural or not - they do have an adult form and can transition to it.

Sure, and there's a stuffed calf in my local museum with 2 heads. Happened naturally.

 

[DanyL]

Sure, and there's a stuffed calf in my local museum with 2 heads. Happened naturally.

Your first comment seemed like you genuinely didn't know an adult form exist, so I tried to let you know in what I thought was a funny way to pass it through.
I apologize if it seemed like I'm trying to make fun of you, it wasn't my intention.

 

[Tired]

Right, but that /is/ possible. It doesn't happen commonly enough that any lotl keeper should expect it to happen, but it's not impossible.

 

[nereefpat]

Your first comment seemed like you genuinely didn't know an adult form exist, so I tried to let you know in what I thought was a funny way to pass it through.
I apologize if it seemed like I'm trying to make fun of you, it wasn't my intention.

No worries. It's a cute pic for sure. And my last response was pretty snarky.

Right, but that /is/ possible. It doesn't happen commonly enough that any lotl keeper should expect it to happen, but it's not impossible.

I don't think an axolotl keeper should be under the impression that his/her pet will transition. If it did, it would be a 'standard' species of salamander. This is what makes an axolotl an axolotl. They reach adulthood without undergoing metamorphosis, keeping their gills.