Where to find axolotl pellets?

[rnocera]

I was just wondering if anyone could point out a good place to find axolotl pellets in the US. I've seen a couple places in the UK, but the only place I've found in the US is Ed's Fly Meat. Are there any other suppliers out there? Any better prices or better products?

thanks,
Ronnie Nocera

 

[Kaysie]

Rangen sells them in bulk. Micheal Shrom and AGSC sells them in more manageable sizes.

 

[John]

Honest question: I'm curious as to why you're searching if you already knew Edsflymeat sells them? Nothing wrong with getting more options but I'm curious as to what prompted it. Thanks.

 

[Jennewt]

"Comparison shopping" I would guess. I don't know of any better pellet food. All 3 of the sources mentioned are reliable.

 

[rnocera]

Yeah, comparison shopping. Ed's is the only place I've seen, so I don't have any clue what they SHOULD cost. I didn't know if Ed is charging 3x what other people are, or if his are the lowest grade on the market or anything.

I've read that "axolotl pellets" are really just soft sinking salmon pellets. Does anyone know what brand it is Ed's sells? Anyone know any comparable brands? I'm about to add a few new animals to my own collection, and one of my friends is getting a few as well, so it may be cheaper for us to go in & split a whole bag of salmon pellets than for us to both buy smaller amounts as "axolotl food."

Thanks again,
Ronnie

 

[John]

All of the above, as far as I'm aware, sell Rangen pellets. You should be able to buy these yourself but I'm pretty sure they come in a minimum of a 50 lb bag.

 

[geosheets]

You can buy them direct from Rangen if you really have a need but they come in a 45 or 50 pound box... that's a lot of salmon pellets. I know for sure Ed's come from Rangen and I'd bet the others do also. I bought 1 pound a while back and it's probably going to last me a long time.

 

[Celeste]

Hi everyone!!!!

Geosheets, could you tell me how do you store them?? I read in Rangen that the pellets are good for about 90 days. Do you put them on the fridge???

 

[John]

I put them in a "biscuit tin".

 

[Jennewt]

I keep them in jars with tight-fitting lids. I hadn't thought about storing them in the fridge, but that's a good idea. I never use them up in 90 days, I generally get fresh ones once/year.

 

[Celeste]

Thanks for the advice!!!! I guess any hermetic jar will do then!!!

 

[geosheets]

Actually, I must have skipped over that part. I didn't know the pellets were only supposed to be good for 90 days. I actually removed about a handful for a few weeks of feeding so I didn't have to keep opening the bigger bag. The rest are in a ziploc bag that I pushed the air out of and then put that bag into a tupperware container. I don't know exactly why I did all of that as most of the time I can't even find the lids for my fish food jars. I'll probably do as Jennewt has suggested and replace them once a year.

 

[rnocera]

I would imagine if you'd freeze them they'd last much longer. Split it up into a few ziploc baggies, and put them in the freezer so you can just pull one out & you're good to go. I do this with other foods for my animals, and it works great for everything.

 

[John]

I would imagine if you'd freeze them they'd last much longer. Split it up into a few ziploc baggies, and put them in the freezer so you can just pull one out & you're good to go. I do this with other foods for my animals, and it works great for everything.

Given the nature of these pellets, I would have thought this would do more harm than good unless they were not frozen in air. However I have heard of others recommending freezing them, I've never done so myself.

 

[michael]

Actually, I must have skipped over that part. I didn't know the pellets were only supposed to be good for 90 days.

Rangen recommends a shelf life of 90 days for all of its foods. I try to use mine up in about 6 months but it seems like they would be o.k. a little longer than that. If they get much older than 9 or 10 months I use them for worm food.

 

[pixiegriff]

I ordered some from the Kentucky University (AGSC) I got some small bags and they were something in the range of $5 for the small bags. To put the shipping cost to good use, I made sure I picked up enough to go the 6 months suggested in the email one of the people there sent back. I live in Canada and wasn't sure about shipping that sort of thing over the border, NO PROBLEM! Took a while to get here, but I was so excited when they did come.
Unfortunately to this day, the little spoiled buggers won't touch them. Too bad, they smell like they should be delicious to Axies! Guess they get used to what they get used to.
P.
I was instructed to keep them in the fridge to ensure freshness...

 

[rnocera]

I'm trying a little bottle of HBH sinking newt & salamander pellets that I've had lying around for a while. I'm gonna see if any of my guys will eat those before I spend more money on pellets.


Also, for any of you trying and having a hard time with pellets- I haven't tried with my little pellets, but in general aquatic animals LOVE the smell/taste of garlic. I soak all of the pellets and frozen foods I feed in garlic juice, and my fish just go wild for it. I waste a lot less food because they actually get more of it, and don't miss as much. And at least with my adult axie, he finds & eats both worms and frozen foods a lot faster if I put a couple drops of garlic on them.

 

[rnocera]

I know this is an old thread I'm bringing up, but since it's useful information, I hope no one minds-

I've been feeding my axies mostly red wrigglers, but I haven't been able to get any for a while, so they've been getting HBH newt/salamander pellets and HBH frog pellets (the same ones I feed my clawed frogs). The newt/salamander pellets aren't such a hit, but since switching to the frog pellets, they've all been going wild for them. All four of my younger ones took to them within a few days of trying- I went 3-4 days without feeding them, then started giving them pellets. Since starting on the pellets, my little guys all have super full, plump bellies permanently, and they now swim to the same corner of the tank to feed as soon as pellets touch the water. I still haven't tried any of the other brands because the HBH pellets are cheap for me, and they're generally a supplement to worms. I hope my guys like Rangen pellets as much as these ones!


Oh, I do have one more question on the subject:

How many pellets do your axolotls normally go through? I don't know how many bags of pellets, or what size, to buy. I have 5 axolotls- one is about 18 months old and a hair less than 6". The other 4 are from this year and are around 5" and growing FAST. How many half pound bags would you recommend?

Thanks!

 

[benh]

Any more tips on getting Axies to eat pellets?

At first my little guy found them no problem, did the Axolotl equivalent of a cat getting ready to pounce, then sucked 'em up. But more recently he seems to ignore them unless I drop them right near his head and he snaps at them as they fall. He doesn't always manage to get them in his mouth - and I'm having to fish out a lot of pellets which he ignores...
Cheers!

 

[NightWolf]

I ordered some from the Kentucky University (AGSC) I got some small bags and they were something in the range of $5 for the small bags. To put the shipping cost to good use, I made sure I picked up enough to go the 6 months suggested in the email one of the people there sent back. I live in Canada and wasn't sure about shipping that sort of thing over the border, NO PROBLEM! Took a while to get here, but I was so excited when they did come.
Unfortunately to this day, the little spoiled buggers won't touch them. Too bad, they smell like they should be delicious to Axies! Guess they get used to what they get used to.
P.
I was instructed to keep them in the fridge to ensure freshness...

I know this is a rather old thread, but I have found that is is still useful. pixiegriff, could you possibly explain the process you went through to get those pellets succesfully shipped over the border? I have been trying hard to find an axolotl dealer, and I am tempted to order from this university, however, I am daunted by the thought of trying to convince them to agree to selling me an axolotl.