Sand Eating

[fishcakey]

My baby has been eating small bits of sand, some of the sand is less fine grain, but I still think it is ok for him to pass through. He's been on the sand for almost half a year and he doesn't seem impacted or his belly hasn't really changed. He only eats a little bit at a time, so I've just assumed he's able to pass it. Is that an ok assumption to make or should I be worried? I've read a bit about this but i just wanted to be sure that you can depend on checking on impacted behaviors.

looks pretty normal to me, his belly might be a little big because he just ate!

 

[daedae]

Is he eating sand on accident when he chomps on food, or is he randomly taking gulps of the substrate? His belly doesn't looked impacted, even the larger bits of sand should be save for him to pass.

 

[FX1C]

Is that the black quartz sand that feels a little sharp when you rub it between your fingers? Some black sands can be dangerous to axies



<3 >o_o< <3

 

[fishcakey]

He just likes to eat it randomly. Maybe he needs a feeding dish too that would maybe deter him from eating sand. I'm pretty sure the sand itself isn't dangerous for him, I spend a lot of time trying to find good black sand I could use, and it felt perfectly smooth when I washed it. It came from an aquarium store and it's sand meant for aquariums.

 

[Cheva]

Ive seen similar threads on sand eating with mixed outcomes, some do get impacted but some pass without issue.. Some just eat sand... No explaination why .. If your Axie isnt showing signs of distress and is still eating / pooping I wouldnt worry about it.. But like Nikki said if its not just "Sand" but a coarser substrate the concern would be about sharp bits shredding their gut.

 

[NeekaLovesYou]

As said, its hit and miss. As far as I can see it looks really fine so hopefully he's able to pass it. Have you ever noticed him "sniffing" around the substrate during or before he eats it? If so he's looking for food, which is probably the reason he's ingesting it. Any substrate is edible unless it's much larger than the axolotls head. It's not uncommon for them to eat it.