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Last week I wrote about signs that your axolotl might be sick. I mentioned that I was planning on writing some more in depth articles about how to identify and treat illness in axolotls. It's hard to write about how to identify certain illnesses without pictures to share, which I (thankfully, because my axolotls are healthy) do not have currently. Instead, I decided that this week I'm going to write about a common treatment for minor ailments in axolotls - tea baths. So, first thing first, I guess before I delve into how to give your axolotl a black tea bath, you probably should know... https://wildheartswildlife.com/signs-that-your-axolotl-might-be-sick/ Why Would You Give Your Axolotl a Tea Bath? What Do Tea Baths Treat? Tea baths can be used to treat minor illness and injuries in axolotls. The black tea used contains tannins, which has mild antifungal and antibacterial properties. Tea baths can also be soothing and may help comfort axolotls dealing with conditions such as a peeling slime coat or minor injuries. Tea baths may help prevent the development of infections in instances where your axolotl has been injured. Tea baths are a common first step treatment against illness such as fungal and bacterial infections. Please keep in mind that tea baths usually have the most impact against minor conditions. If your axolotl is suffering from an advanced fungal or bacterial infection, there's a chance tea baths will not be enough. In advanced cases, your best bet is to find a veterinarian experienced with axolotls for a more targeted treatment plan. As I mentioned in my post last week, illnesses in axolotls are much easier to treat when they are caught early. If caught early enough, some fungal and bacterial infections may be treated by tubbing your axolotl in cool, clean water, and giving them tea baths daily. https://wildheartswildlife.com/tubbing-101-tubbing-axolotl This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you make a purchase using one of our Amazon links, we will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. What You Need to Prepare a Tea Bath For Your Axolotl Black Tea Bags. Make sure the only ingredient listed is black tea! I like to use organic black tea, but you don't have too. A bucket or container that can hold up to 10 liters of water. A clean tub you can use to bathe your axolotl in. Water A standard size, 8oz mug. Some way to boil water for tea. Your axolotl. A timer so you don't bathe your axolotl for too long. How to Give Your Axolotl a Tea Bath Brew a cup of black tea basically the same way you would if you were making plain black tea for yourself. Use pure black tea only! When making tea for my axolotls, I typically use two tea bags in a standard sized mug and let the tea bags steep for 15 minutes before removing them from the cup. Give the tea time to cool back down to room temperature, or cooler. You can stick the mug of tea in the fridge to cool it faster. In a clean bucket or some other type of clean container, mix 10 liters of cool, clean, dechlorinated water with your mug of cooled black tea. I try to match my water temperature with the water temp in my axolotl's tank as closely as possible. If you can't match it, remember that axolotls need cool water, so aim for temperatures between 58*F and 68*F. You can cool water in your refrigerator if you need too. Get your axolotl's tub ready. You can use the bucket you used to make your tea in, but I usually select a smaller, plastic container. I typically use smaller Tupperware containers to bathe my axolotls in. Doing tea baths this way makes your tea mixture last longer, so you don't have to make it as often. Pour some of your prepared tea/water into your axolotl's tub. Gently move your axolotl into their tea bath and let them soak in the tea for up to 15 minutes. I always set a timer so I know when to remove my axolotl from their bath. After 15 minutes has passed, gently remove your axolotl from the tea bath and return them to their aquarium, or else move them into a clean tub that contains only clean, cool, dechlorinated water if you are keeping your axolotl tubbed. Always discard the tea water after your axolotl has soaked in it. Pieces of fungus and bacteria can fall off your axolotl during their tea bath and will contaminate the water, so it should not be reused. How Often To Give Your Axolotl Tea Baths & Precautions Tea baths should be done once a day, for up to 15 minutes at a time only. Black tea contains caffeine. Caffeine, in small doses, is safe for axolotls. However, you may notice some effects of the caffeine such as increased activity. It's important not to exceed 15 minutes per tea bath. Extended exposure to the caffeine in black tea can potentially cause in increase in heart and breathing rate and has, in some axolotls, caused gill filaments to shrink. These risks can easily be avoided by closely monitoring the duration and frequency of your axolotl's tea baths. For very minor issues, and as a preventative such as after an injury, I typically recommend you give your axolotl tea baths once a day for 3 days total. If your axolotl is battling a visual illness such as fungus, complete tea baths daily until the fungus is gone and then for an additional 2 - 3 days after all signs of fungus are gone. If, after a week of daily tea baths, your axolotl is still sick then tea baths alone will probably not be enough to cure them. You may need to consult with an exotics vet and move on to more potent treatment options. Tea Baths For The Win! Tea baths are a gentle, easy way to treat your axolotl for minor injuries and illness. In my experience, tea baths are pretty effective against things like minor fungal infections and, if done correctly, do not cause any negative side effects in axolotls. Tubbing your axolotl and using once a day tea baths is typically my first, go-to treatment for disease in axolotl, especially for fungus. It may also be effective against very minor bacterial infections and to help prevent infections and encourage healing in minor wounds. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me! However, remember that I am not a veterinarian and if your axolotl is suffering from an illness your best bet is to consult with an exotics vet who has experience dealing with axolotls. You can search for a vet with experience dealing with reptiles and amphibians on the Association of Reptile and Amphibian Veterinarians website. If you have more common pets, such as a cat or dog, sometimes their vet may be able to refer you to a local exotics vet as well. ——————— Unfortunately, Wild Hearts Wild Life has been dealing with content scrappers stealing our content and posting it to other websites without permission. If you’re seeing this article posted anywhere besides wildheartswildlife.com it means you are seeing it on a content scalper’s site. Please consider contacting us to let us know, and stopping by to visit on our actual site! Thank you!

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