They won't eat and I'm stressing!!

[kirty]

My new axolotyls don't want to eat. I am getting really stressed out and starting to regret getting them! The white one seems OK, he won't take food from my hand but he will eat defrosted blood worms from a dish. But I'm not sure how much he gets because there are always worms all around the dish afterwards. And the black one doesn't seem to eat at all. The first day it took half a frozen bloodworm block from my hand, the third day it ate two small earthworms and thats it. It won't take anything by hand anymore and it I haven't seen it eat from the dish. I have tried earthworms, bloodworms and frozen blocks. I'm going to try and get pellets tomorrow. What else can I try? I am a major stress head and I'm so worried about them.

 

[jane1187]

How long have they been without food for now? You said they ate the first, second and third days. if they have been without food for more than 7 days then you do have a problem that could have an underlying cause. and it is more likely an illness.

What did the person/ shop you purchased them from feed them? It is best to start off with something familiar and then change their diet to suit you. If they were fed pellets for example then use pellets first and then change to something else.

I don't know if anyone else can confirm this but they probably need a little while to settle in and I wouldn't be worried if they don't eat much for the first week while they settle in. They're smarter creatures than they look and will need to learn the layout of their new environment.

Wait a few days and try again but I wouldn't expect them to take from your hand. Try using tweasers or just dropping the food in-front of them. They may need time to get used to you using your hands. You'll need to watch them for about 30 minutes after feeding and whatever they don't eat remove immediately. This is the only way you can be sure if they've eaten anything.

Give us updates when you can and post pictures if possible of the axies and your tank.