Fussy eaters

[larn]

I've been giving my juvenile axolotls bloodworms since i've had them, so today i went to a pet shop to see what else i can give them, it was a reptile shop so they had loads of different live foods. they didn't have any earthworms, but the shop keeper recommended mealworms, i came home and offered a few to them but none of them were interested.

they are about 6 months old, so maybe they are too young to like them or something.

the shop keeper said they will eat any of the live food that lizards eat. is this really true??

 

[Star]

They will eat mealworms but you need to cut their pincers off and the axies can't digest the chitin. For the odd treat they are OK but not as a staple. They will eat anything possible in all honesty but just because they will doesn't mean they should Your best bet is to order earthworms online (check the testimonials part, there's a couple of link there for UK sellers) or give them live or frozen bloodworms.

 

[Kaysie]

You can feed freshly-molted and decapitated mealworms to smaller axolotls. But like Star said, they can't digest the chitinous shell. So by feeding mealworms, you run the real risk of impaction.

On top of that, they're not all that great nutritionally.

 

[larn]

thanks for the info, i took them back to the shop for a refund then on the way home I went to a fishing shop and bought a tub of earthworms, the guy in the shop said they are from a chemical free breeding environment so they are safe. He also gave me a free pot of maggots, but they didn't like them either, well one of them did...

the worms are quite big, so i've had to cut them which isn't much fun, what's really cool is watching them hunt the worms, when they get one they shake around like crazy

 

[memojo1979]

A few tips here - Axolotls - Feeding

I've fed hoppers (black crickets?) to my axies in the past, on the recommendation of my local rep shop owner, who used to have axies himself, but although the axies absolutely loved them, they didn't 1/2 clog up the filter, so not recommended except for very occasionally. I have posted an eBay link in the recommedations section - I get my earthworms from eBay + the seller is very accomodating.
I tried waxworms as a treat for my guys, but none of them liked them. Waiting for something else, though I can't remember what (the online store had run out, as their cultures crashed + since it was only as an occasional treat for my guys, I said I'd happily wait while they gave priority to customers who pets need whatever food it was as a part of their regular diet).
And, since I have corn snakes too, my axies get a pinkie (baby mouse) once a month or every 2 months - they absolutely love them, are big enough to swallow the pinkies whole + are really entertaining when trying to swallow them

 

[larn]

I have put the worms into a container with peat, i hope they will multiply in there, I think i will just give them the earthworms and blood worms, but was considering soft salmon pellets.

Pinkies LOL the guy in the reptile shop recommended them, but the axolotls are too small at the moment.. i've never seen a mouse swim for it's life, but it would be interesting to see haha

 

[digger]

Earth worms really are the way to go if you can, remember to feed the worms though if you want them to multiply. Most vegetables or weeds, grass cuttings and even newspaper are fine. I will just say though that i no longer provide mine with potatoe peelings !! for some reason my axolotls refused to eat the worms for weeks after the peelings where put in so I had to remove them and wait until it had left their system.Dont know why this was but they have eaten them all, again since so it had to be the potatoes.