Buoyancy disorders in pet axolotls Ambystoma mexicanum: three cases

As far as we are aware, there are no previous reports on the pathologic conditions of buoyancy disorders in Ambystoma mexicanum. Herein, we describe various clinical test results, clinical outcomes, and the pathological findings of an experimental pneumonectomy procedure in 3 A. mexicanum exhibiting abnormal buoyancy. The 3 pet A. mexicanum were adults, and their respective ages and body weights were 1, 5, and 6 yr and 48, 55, and 56 g. Two of these cases were confirmed via radiographic examination to have free air within the body cavity, and all 3 cases were found via ultrasonography to have an acoustic shadow within the body cavity and were diagnosed with pneumocoelom. Lung perforations were detected macroscopically in 2 of the cases, and all 3 cases had fibrosis in the caudal ends of the lungs. Removal of the lung lesions eliminated the abnormal buoyancy in all 3 cases. We concluded that air had leaked into the body cavity from the lungs, and we propose that lung lesions are an important cause of buoyancy disorders in A. mexicanum.