Food for Axolotls

[Godzilla2090]

I have a food question....other than earthworms can I feed my Axolotl "BUTTERWORMS, CRICKETS AND MEALWORMS"?

She doesn't like bloodworms or shrimp pellets that much anymore so I thought a good substitue would be what I mentioen above?!

Any info would be great...

Thank you

 

[NeekaLovesYou]

You can feed them all of the above if you want your axolotls to suffer from constipation and risk getting impacted, but I'm sure you don't want that to happen. I wouldn't say they'll do much harm as the very occasional treat but not as a staple. It's best to stick with earthworms, in my opinion.

 

[DeCypher]

Pellets are always good too. Rangen salmon pellets particularly. I find HBH Newt & Salamander Bites to be effective too.

 

[Olivia97]

Crickets are probably the best out of that selection as their outer is a lot easier to digest, personally the meal worms I believe are a lot of work for not much nutrition, I've not had much experience with
Butter worms.

 

[SapphireTigress]

roaches are much more nutritious than mealies or crickets (i HATE crix, but then again they are a huge cause of reptile parasites, mainly pinworms)

 

[JessKB]

Here is an excellent article on the nutritional value of many foods: Caudata Culture Articles - Food Items for Captive Caudates

 

[Minniechild]

If you're up to the costs, perhaps try blackworms- Dark chocolate strawberries for axolotls . Other than that, I'm in agreement- None of the ones on that list are good "all the time" foods (apart from the earthworms). You might want to try a few different varieties of earthworms, as some are WAY more appealing than other kinds. Also, pellets are the same- different varieties appeal to different axies- Six of mine were raised on a floating pellet, but as soon as I introduced them to bloodworms and earthworms they wouldn't touch them, however they DO like a pellet we get over here, and very happily gobble them. (As I've still got a kg of the floating ones left, I'm going to try them again soon ) Another good one I've seen recommended among the forums is the Hikari carnivore sinking pellets- May look at trying them with my bunch when the current tub runs out!
Same thing again with the bloodworms- the brand may be unappealing. Over here, we have Orca and Hikari brand, and Hikari tend to be a much tastier product (didn't stop all mine descending on the Orca like a pack of vultures this morning!!).
As an alternative, you could also try setting live foods such as guppies, minnows, and freshwater shrimp such as glass and cherry. The trick is to ensure you've established a backup population where your axies can't get their paws on them- I have an outdoor pond with a whole heap of guppies (which I have kinda become really attached to, so not sure how the heck I'm going to be able to sacrifice them when the population hits the point I'm looking for ) and shrimp which are a little bit more smart than the guppies, so no problems letting them loose!
Hope this helps and you find something that works for you