Hungry Lil Babies!

E

eraserheaded

New member
Joined
Mar 23, 2016
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Washington
Country
United States
Display Name
Aartdina
Hi everyone! My name is Aartdina, I'm new to the Caudata community and just got my first two axolotls (as juveniles) in March. Their names are Tulip (leucistic) and Jesse (wildtype), they're about 5.5" already!

IMG_1215.jpg

Anyway, I need a little bit of experienced advice on how much & how often to feed them. I've been giving them 1/2 to 1 whole cube (each) of thawed frozen bloodworms per day. Typically they don't eat the full amount because they're quite messy and scatter the worms everywhere. I saw that many people feed their axies far less frequently! I just worry about them, they follow me across the room, swim right up to the inside of the glass, and act as if they're starved every time I feed them. Much like how a dog gives you those sad eyes even though you just gave them a whole bowl of kibble not 20 minutes before!

Thanks all for your time and wisdom. xoxo
 
What cuties! At this size, it's a great idea to shift them over to European Nightcrawlers. You can buy them off of Amazon and create an easy worm tub at home to store them in. Not much work at all, and it is much more nutritionally complete for them than bloodworms. As for your inquiry about how often you should be feeding them, that's something that's more or less up to you. I feed my axolotls every 2-3 days. Some people feed even less. It's something you feel out based on your animals and your experience with them. I also gradually introduced them to the idea of not getting food every day. I, too, had axies that stared me down every time I came home. I could practically here a Molly Weasley, "where HAVE you been?!" in regards to their food every time I went over to do something with their tanks. So, in short, get some European Nightcrawlers instead of bloodworms and gradually introduce a less frequent feeding habit. The gap days will benefit their digestion, as I find my axies get a lil stuffed up if I feed too often :uhoh:
 
I will admit to feeding my juvenile axolotls twice a day. They usually have a small earthworm each, or a small prawn, this week they tried raw fish (from a supermarket) for the first time. They are also ok with axolotl pellets, which they have in a little dish at the front of the tank.
My mature axolotls usually eat every day, slightly larger quantities of the same foods as the juveniles, but I struggle to get them to eat pellets.
I asked about feeding juveniles when mine were younger, and the advice was that it is quite difficult to overfeed a juvenile because they are still growing. I can safely say that the 2 coppers are a good example of this as they will stop eating when they have had enough. The wild type, however, has been known to be sick from eating too much. I limit the amount that he has, but he has still grown much faster than the others.
So, I go with feeding my axolotls as much as they will eat in a couple of minutes, twice a day. As my 3 older ones only matured last month they are still being fed daily, but this will be reduced over time. Even now there are days when some of them don't eat, and it just means they are a bit more hungry the following day.
 
Zobug said:
What cuties! At this size, it's a great idea to shift them over to European Nightcrawlers. You can buy them off of Amazon and create an easy worm tub at home to store them in. Not much work at all, and it is much more nutritionally complete for them than bloodworms. As for your inquiry about how often you should be feeding them, that's something that's more or less up to you. I feed my axolotls every 2-3 days. Some people feed even less. It's something you feel out based on your animals and your experience with them. I also gradually introduced them to the idea of not getting food every day. I, too, had axies that stared me down every time I came home. I could practically here a Molly Weasley, "where HAVE you been?!" in regards to their food every time I went over to do something with their tanks. So, in short, get some European Nightcrawlers instead of bloodworms and gradually introduce a less frequent feeding habit. The gap days will benefit their digestion, as I find my axies get a lil stuffed up if I feed too often :uhoh:
Click to expand...

Thank you so much Zobug!! I am going to look into switching them over to nightcrawlers...maybe they won't be as messy as the bloodworms. At least I hope so, those things seem to get scattered everywhere!
 
Donna001 said:
I will admit to feeding my juvenile axolotls twice a day. They usually have a small earthworm each, or a small prawn, this week they tried raw fish (from a supermarket) for the first time. They are also ok with axolotl pellets, which they have in a little dish at the front of the tank.
My mature axolotls usually eat every day, slightly larger quantities of the same foods as the juveniles, but I struggle to get them to eat pellets.
I asked about feeding juveniles when mine were younger, and the advice was that it is quite difficult to overfeed a juvenile because they are still growing. I can safely say that the 2 coppers are a good example of this as they will stop eating when they have had enough. The wild type, however, has been known to be sick from eating too much. I limit the amount that he has, but he has still grown much faster than the others.
So, I go with feeding my axolotls as much as they will eat in a couple of minutes, twice a day. As my 3 older ones only matured last month they are still being fed daily, but this will be reduced over time. Even now there are days when some of them don't eat, and it just means they are a bit more hungry the following day.
Click to expand...

Hello Donna! Mine don't like the pellets, which is unfortunate because they're so convenient. :( I'm going to try with the earthworms next (instead of bloodworms). May I ask what type of fish you fed them? I'm quite curious!

As you mentioned, I have also noticed that Jesse (my wildtype) has a much more voracious appetite than Tulip (leucistic)! He's definitely the more dominant/outgoing/inquisitive of the two in general. I will keep an eye on him to see that he doesn't overeat...he's also been known to try to steal food from the much more sweet and shy Tulip!

Thanks for replying! You all are so helpful. <3
 
I bought plaice fillets and cut some into thin strips, around and inch long, so that they would be easy to hand feed. Earthworms/nightcrawlers are the best basic diet for an axolotl, I just use things like prawn, mussel and fish for a bit of variety. I have recently taken to hiding a pellet in some prawn when feeding the mature axolotls.
The nutritional values for different foods is listed in the link. This is food for all caudata, so not all foods are suitable for axolotls, but you can see how good worms are compared to other foods.
Caudata Culture Articles - Nutritional Values
Please keep us posted on your progress. :happy:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
  • Shane douglas:
    with axolotls would I basically have to keep buying and buying new axolotls to prevent inbred breeding which costs a lot of money??
     +1
    Unlike
  • Thorninmyside:
    Not necessarily but if you’re wanting to continue to grow your breeding capacity then yes. Breeding axolotls isn’t a cheap hobby nor is it a get rich quick scheme. It costs a lot of money and time and deditcation
     +1
    Unlike
  • stanleyc:
    @Thorninmyside, I Lauren chen
     +1
    Unlike
  • Clareclare:
    Would Chinese fire belly newts be more or less inclined towards an aquatic eft set up versus Japanese . I'm raising them and have abandoned the terrarium at about 5 months old and switched to the aquatic setups you describe. I'm wondering if I could do this as soon as they morph?
     +1
    Unlike
    Clareclare: Would Chinese fire belly newts be more or less inclined towards an aquatic eft set up versus... +1
    Back
    Top