Abstract

A 3-yr-old, female, captive Mexican axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) presented with a significant Lernaea infestation. The animal had a history of poor husbandry prior to being rescued by the current owner. The axolotl was anesthetized using a buffered 0.15% tricaine methanesulfonate (MS-222) immersion bath and then moved to a buffered 0.1% MS-222 bath for maintenance. The adult anchor worms were removed manually under anesthesia. Following recovery, the axolotl enclosure was treated with 0.1 mg/L lufenuron, which was added to the water once a week for five treatments. Six months following treatment there has been no recurrence of the Lernaea infestation. This is the first documentation of successful treatment of Lernaea in the Mexican axolotl using lufenuron.