Woodlice

[ali000]

I have read some threads where these are listed as a good food for axolotls. I' concerned about their hard casing, has this been known to cause any digestive problems?

Also, how long do they survive once in water?

In Kent we call them cheesy bugs (we are a simple folk), I have never tasted a woodlouse but I very much doubt they taste of cheese

Thanks

 

[TristanH]

Re: woodlice

Why not feed your axolotls water slaters (Asellus) - also known as water hog lice? They are basically a sort of aquatic woodlouse and are very common in ponds in the UK. I expect you may be able to buy them from stockists of live food for the aquarium trade.

Tristan

 

[ali000]

Re: woodlice

I have never heard of those, I was actually looking for things I could feed out of the garden (other than worms) I don't really fancy de-shelling snails and the slugs we have are HUGE. So I had read somewhere about woodlice (we have millions). I was also hoping that woodlice would NOT survive underwater, as my axies are pretty slow predators and the woodlice would disappear under a rock before they got eaten.

Does anyone know about woodlice then?

 

[blueberlin]

Re: woodlice

Hi Alison!

Woodlice are a good food supplement for axolotls. They do live "a long time" (whatever that means) underwater, but wouldn't that be better for slow hunters than something that dies quickly? When the woodlice die in the water, they also aren't as messy as, say, worms, either. And if you're into it, they are also easy (but slow) to breed in a box or a jar.

-Eva

 

[Daniel]

Re: woodlice

I feed woodlice quite regularly to my Axolotls. They love the hunting once they are attracted by these moving "bugs". So far everything has been digested without any problem.

 

[Nathan050793]

Re: woodlice

I too have heard of them as being a good source of nutrition. As for living underwater for a while, that's quite possible. Woodlice are crustaceans and have gills, so they do fairly well underwater (they will die eventually though if they don't crawl out).

 

[ali000]

Re: woodlice

Thanks everyone
I'm cheesy bug hunting tonight

 

[Bellabelloo]

Re: woodlice

Well on the strength of this post my axolotl all dined on woodlice . Jeffrey ( my adult) looked as suprised as an axolotl can, Bruce ( his juvenile son) loved them so much he completely destroyed his tank and then proceeded to beg for more. The outside rogue ( really must name him)also was impressed and it was good to see it in hunt mode. :crazy:

 

[ali000]

Re: woodlice

glad the post was of some use

I'll find out tonight how my two cope. Lily eats everything put in front of her (including fingers) and Inky runs away from everything put in front of him (including tiny earthworms ) so it should be interesting