Question: Feeding

[vladimere]

Just a quick question I'm seem to be having some diffilcity in feeding some of our lil clan because they tend to be a lil fussy I've tried black worms blood worms feeder fish fedder shrimp. it gets a lil tidius at feeding time cause they all have diff taste so we ordered some night crwalers from kookaburra worm farms and i was wandering how do we gut feed thm to make sure our axies are geting the right diet needs(was thinking of trying to use the axolotl pellets to gut feed the worms with(we fed our other axies these and there so big with the best gills i've seen in a very long timeAll except one fussy lil bugger who keeps changeing wat he likes every day my lil girl is geting very upset by this n turns to me looking for answers n i'm pulling my hair out over it as well as i hve no clue as to why he is geting so damn fussy HELP please

[Shannon]

I thought you had disappeared, Vlad!

Are you still feeding these daily, that's what it sounds like in your post. If so, they should be large enough to cut back to every other day or even every two days - if I remember right, you have some adults and sub-adults, right? Sorry, if I have this wrong.

The reason may simply be that he is not hungry. My adult male will go for nearly a week sometimes before he eats, then will eat for several (regularly scheduled) days in a row, and stop again. He has me trained pretty well now, but he had me worried for a time.

Is your picky eater losing weight or anything? I'm sure you've ruled out water parameters as a possible issue, so if he's looking okay, no worries. If he's acting fine otherwise, explain to your little girl (I know, I have kids too) that axolotls don't need to eat every day like us. Warn her against her pet becoming overweight and what that could do to him if it happened.

Night crawlers should definitely peak their interests though and maybe even provoke your picky eater. If he still refuses and size doesn't seem to be the issue, try soaking them first. As far as gut loading, them - I feed my worms crushed bits of the pellets, crushed egg shells, and leftover veggie bits. They also like fruit - but no citrus - axolotls don't like citrus.

Hope this helps.

[Eva]

Hi Vlad,

You and your daughter seem to be very kind-hearted people. In Germany we say "Hunger is the best cook" - let your axolotls wait for their food and they will discover that they like whatever you offer them.

-Eva

[vladimere]

lol..... no haven't disappeared draonlady just been trying to settle the girl down our fussy eater well he has lost weight we checked the water n it seems to be ok the girl is pretty spot on with the water checks(mum taught her well)n yes she was feeding them every day but she has stopped doing that .She's gone as far as to take the black wild(abel the fussy one) out put him in a separate container to feed him n he does chase feeders around it n eats if he wants feeders that day black worms he eats once in a blue moon (don't think he likes the movement in his mouth) n the axie pellets he only takes one n thats when he feels like it with any luck I'll try n get some snaps of there sizes today but it proves a lil hard as there in the spa bath n all shots of them have to be directly above

[vladimere]

hey blue.... lol i have tried explaining that to her and she does so well (then you hear the ohno sorta thing going on after sitting her down(well mum did....her mum says im too straight with ppl...lol)she explained to her that if she over feeds them then they would be really sick and in poor health of which she understood so her mum drew up a feeding chart for her n which one eats wat n she's sticking to it

[vladimere]

Well the worm farm got here n we set it up already geting some massive worms out of it Even tho we cut them up small enough n soak them in tank water for like 30 mins our fussy eater takes them but still spits them out ???????

[Leanne]

maybe if you mix the cut up earthworms in with some bloodworms your axie might eat them......i had to do this with abby when we first got him because he had never eaten an earthworm...he only was fed beefheart.....hope this helps
lea

[vladimere]

thanks lea I'll give that a shot but not really hopeful he has just decided whn offered feeder shrimp if the heads not pulled off then he wont touch it which we cant understand it may be the movement in his mouth he doesn't like and yet feeder fish are no problem However he used to like frozen blood worm so I'm going to give that another try as you suggested

[A. Macxicanum]

Try to stick with the Earthworms if you can. It's better for them.... and for you! they are one of the most "all around" complete foods you can offer.
There are many different types available but most often here I can find Eisenia foetida (Red Wigglers), or Lumbricus terrestris (Night Crawlers). The Eisenia foetida release a noxious flavor when fed that turns many animals off. It's supposed to. They are available mostly because they are easy to breed and small enough to feed. Lumbricus terrestris grows large... but you can often ask that they pull "small" ones when you order them or you have to resort to the slice and dice and I hate that.
Lumbricus rubellus is similar to the red wiggler, but doesn't emit the bad taste which makes them great..... but almost impossible for me to find around here.
I can also buy Eudrilus eugeniae eggs pretty cheap so I'm playing with those just for fun.
Right now I only have Eisenia foetida for feeding... but I found 3 eggs in the little container I got from a pet store on the fly. I was happy. I am such a geek.