My Tiger Is Being A Picky Eater. Need Advice

[Dkober101]

I’m having a bit of a problem getting my Tiger salamander to eat any type of worm. I have tried trout worms as well as night crawlers, both of which he shows now interest in. He will follow them all over his house as they craw around the substrate but he will not eat them. I have had some luck feeding him dragon flies though. He has eaten 3 of them so far, being allowed one a day. With the dragon flies, he has no hesitation at all; as soon as they try to fly around he pounces on them and eats them quickly. During this time of the year (South Louisiana) there are tons of dragon flies to catch, but they will soon end their life cycle and be no more.

So my questions are: Is there any way I can get him to eat the worms? Are they naturally picky eaters? Is there any other suitable food source I can try? Feel free to add any addition information that might help.

Edit: I would like to add that I have also tried cutting up the worms into smaller pieces with the same results, he just shows no intrest in them.

-Dkober101

 

[nwmnnaturalist]

If he seems to like his food 'crunchy', perhaps getting some crickets for him might work?

 

[Dkober101]

If he seems to like his food 'crunchy', perhaps getting some crickets for him might work?

Others have suggested that crickets should not be used a primary food source for Tigers. They require the use of calcium dust, or my salamander will start to dissolved the calcium in his bones.

 

[Linus]

Just wiggle the worm around in front of his face with tongs until he responds by snapping. This may take a few days but once he gets it you're all set.

 

[nwmnnaturalist]

Of course I forgot about that. Crickets can be fed if dusted or 'gut-loaded' for extra nutrition, though it may still be a little lacking.

Trying to tempt the Tiger by wiggling or brushing the worm up against it's head might encourage it to eat it. Even salamanders get bored once in a while and need some excitement to their diet!

 

[Kaysie]

Play tug-o-war with the worm. Sometimes that entices my picky eaters.

 

[merk199]

Do not feed the tiger anything except worms. Eating dragon flies is keeping him full. So he is not really super hungry so why eat the worm. May take 2-3 weeks but eventually you will win. The tiger is not going to starve to death in 2-3 weeks. This has worked for me with my fire sals, & picky fire sals always works.

Don't cave in and feed the dragonflies because you feel bad.

 

[Kaysie]

Some members have tigers that just refuse to eat worms. They've developed a variety of ways to get worms into the animal, including skewering a worm with a cricket so they ate them in one bite.

If it comes down it and he just likes crunchy food, start a dubia roach culture. They're excellent in terms of nutrition.