Axie not eating..

[ikeyballz]

Hey guys,

First post here. I've been reading the threads for about a week, since I got my axolotls.

I currently have two axolotls, a wildtype and a yellow albino. The wildtype is around 4.5" and the yellow is a little smaller, maybe 4". I have been chopstick-feeding them shrimp and bloodworms, but for the past 2 days or so, Its been mainly baby shrimp "sun dried gammarus". Both have eaten their fair share, but now the yellow albino has stopped eating. Its still fat around the stomach so I'm wondering if its having a hard time passing the shrimp. Should I go back to bloodworms? They seem to really love the shrimp..

They're currently housed in Hawaii, the tank temperature is pretty stable at 75F (luckily I have a really weak AC system blowing), so their metabolism is pretty high. I feed them about twice daily, maybe 5-8 shrimps each. Is this too much?

Thanks!
Ike

 

[lea]

Welcome
Shrimp isnt the best thing for your axies to be eating. Earthworms are the best diet for them.
I would think that once a day is enough for that size axie but I could be wrong so please wait until someone else who has had experience with little ones.
As long as their tummys are no bigger than their heads when you look down on them is the general rule. I guest this is the same for i little ones.

 

[ikeyballz]

Hey leanne, thanks for the quick reply!
Their stomachs are definitely smaller than their heads, but their stomach does have some little ripples in them - probably from the shrimp shells(?). Should I just buy them frozen bloodworms instead of the shrimp?

 

[lea]

They are big enough to eat small earthworms now so I would give that a go first. You might have to soak the worms first because some worms give off a nasty taste.
If the worms fail give them some bloodworms so they are eating something at least.

MIne wont eat worms at all .....I have try on a number of times and they just refuse so I feed mine bloodworms and axie pellets.

 

[celticcrow77]

Oh no! I'm sorry to hear that! I was thinking you could try him on other foods, mentioned above. Sometimes the shrimp exoskeletons can create discomfort or even blockage since axolotls (along with most animals) can't digest the chitin. Hopefully given a little time and maybe a tweaked diet, he'll get back to feeling better! Good luck!

 

[Kaysie]

Both bloodworms and shrimp are deficient in calcium. And freeze-dried/dried food is pretty much nutritionally void.

Axolotls need a nice balanced diet. Most people achieve that with earthworms, pellets, and other foods sparingly, like waxworms, pinkie mice, etc.

 

[ikeyballz]

Thanks guys. I'll definitely pick up some bloodworm cubes tomorrow or so. The freeze-dried bloodworms claim to have a lot of protein, so i thought it was ok. The shrimp, I wasnt so sure of but they seemed to love them so I was feeding them those. Guess I better stop feeding that until they pass all the shells. I did read though, that its good for digestion, true?

Its so strange since there is so much info on axolotls, and the are SO different! :lol:

I don't even listen to pet store owners anymore since a friend of mine got bad advice that ended up making his axie sick.

Oh, and the axie that wasnt eating just started devouring food again, so thats a good sign. I fed them a lot of bloodworms for now. I'll look into the earthworms, but any reason why I should pick those instead of bloodworms? Cheaper?

 

[siona]

It's not that they're cheaper (although that's an added bonus!) but that earthworms are the best staple as they have all the nutrition your axie needs. Bloodworms are fine to mix up the diet a bit, but earthworms seem to be the highest recommended food I've found. i found some in my garden to start with then went to my local tackle shop

 

[Kaysie]

Earthworms are better than bloodworms because bloodworms have no calcium in them. Your axolotls need calcium in their diet.

 

[ikeyballz]

Ah, I see. I'll look into getting a good earthworm supplier..