SamAxolotl
Member
So let me start by saying that I, in no way, consider myself to be an experienced or professional axolotl owner. I'm learning as I go and hopefully some of my experiences can help other axolotl owners, just like everyone on here has helped me.
I had noticed that my young axolotl (about 7 months old) was very lethargic, not eating, and had curled gills and tail--all signs of sickness/stress. He is usually very active, great and willing eater and excited to see people, so this behavior terrified me. I panicked, knowing how difficult it can be to get sick axies better, especially when there was nothing apparently wrong with them. But, upon further investigation and a bit of experimentation, I discovered that it was my axolotl's food that was stressing him out. I was feeding him "Invert Aquatics Soft Pellets for Axolotls, newts, salamanders and other small amphibians". After feeding him these recently, I noticed that within hours he was lethargic and overall not looking healthy. I then noticed his bowels and the fact that he had 5 full sized poops within 8 hours of being fed about confirmed that the food was upsetting him. (note: he doesn't have this kind of sick behavior when he is fed blood worms or earthworms....Also the amount of pellets was not too much for his size). Thankfully, after pooping everything out he was healthy and active again and both tail and gills uncurled soon after. He's back to normal now and is loving life and enjoying lots of yummy worms.
All this to say that, in my opinion, these pellets should definitely be avoided based on what they did to my axie. I'm guessing that if I had continued feeding him these, he would have died soon after. Maybe these pellets will work for other axolotls, but I just wanted this information to be out there in case someone needs it. I wasn't sure where else to put this so I'm just going to leave it here and hopefully it helps someone else!
I had noticed that my young axolotl (about 7 months old) was very lethargic, not eating, and had curled gills and tail--all signs of sickness/stress. He is usually very active, great and willing eater and excited to see people, so this behavior terrified me. I panicked, knowing how difficult it can be to get sick axies better, especially when there was nothing apparently wrong with them. But, upon further investigation and a bit of experimentation, I discovered that it was my axolotl's food that was stressing him out. I was feeding him "Invert Aquatics Soft Pellets for Axolotls, newts, salamanders and other small amphibians". After feeding him these recently, I noticed that within hours he was lethargic and overall not looking healthy. I then noticed his bowels and the fact that he had 5 full sized poops within 8 hours of being fed about confirmed that the food was upsetting him. (note: he doesn't have this kind of sick behavior when he is fed blood worms or earthworms....Also the amount of pellets was not too much for his size). Thankfully, after pooping everything out he was healthy and active again and both tail and gills uncurled soon after. He's back to normal now and is loving life and enjoying lots of yummy worms.
All this to say that, in my opinion, these pellets should definitely be avoided based on what they did to my axie. I'm guessing that if I had continued feeding him these, he would have died soon after. Maybe these pellets will work for other axolotls, but I just wanted this information to be out there in case someone needs it. I wasn't sure where else to put this so I'm just going to leave it here and hopefully it helps someone else!