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A couple of weeks ago, i came home from a week away to find my axy, Sam nearly dead. He was barely moving and had a white-ish slime or fungus on him. He hadnt eaten for about 4 days before i left and Mum said he hadnt eaten much while i was away. I gave his tank a really good clean and fed him a bit, and within a couple of days he was fine again. Does anyone know what might have been wrong with him?

Also, i got some beef heart to feed him and he loved it for the first week or so, but now he won't eat it at all. When i wave it in front of his face, he backs away from it. Is he just being fussy? What are some other things i could feed him for a bit of a variety? At the moment i'm just feeding him on pellets.

Hey Amy

Beef heart really isnt the best food for axies (or any critter) as its vitamin ratio is all out of whack, and can cause health problems long term.

Is your tank cycled?
When you clean it, what do you do?

It could have been a water quality issue.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

I clean the tank about every 2 weeks, using a gravel cleaner. I take out about a quarter of the dirty water and replace it with clean de-chlorinated water. I also clean the filter sponge in water from the tank.

Would it be okay to feed him beef hear occasionally, if he'll eat it? I've got a whole packet in my freezer i don't want to waste.

Oh certainly as a treat, its fine, its just not a great balanced food for the little guy

will he take frozen bloodworms or small slices of fish?
Mine tend to like algae pellets too, and shrimp pellets.

It doesn't sound water quality related, you are doing all the right things.... i dont know.

Have a look on http://www.caudata.org and see what you come up with

check back in and let me know i'm curious now!

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett