Question: How to transition into pellets?

So.. After battling gill issues, my axis are on the mend and are getting along beautifully. The Goldie is still a tad thin after his recent 'I don't want to eat and you can't make me' fit, but he's getting chubby again =) at about 5 inches long, they're both doing beautifully!

That said..

I'm going to a collage seminar in August, and nobody will be home to feed these little buggers. I've bought an automatic feeder, set to feed once a day (theres only 24 hours and 12 hours) and I'll be doing some customization on the lid to make it fit, but golly I'll do what I can lol.

Now, reguarding my babies!!

I dropped some pellets in for the first time, and one ate them, the other was completely uninterested. I sucked up the softened pellet with a turkey baster (what I used to feed them bloodworms when they where 3-4 inchers) and he ate the pellet, chewed, then spat it out and won't so much as look at them. I'm at a loss. How can I entice these guys to eat pellets? I have until August to get it sorted out, and I don't know where to start! They've tried red wiggers, but when that failed I got night crawlers.. Won't lie, I'm afraid of the night crawlers and have yet to feed any to them.

The pellets I've bought are Hikari sinking carnivore pellets, and I have another type coming from Japan as a backup , but God knows when that'll get here..

So...any ideas?

I'd say that persistence is the key factor here!
My Axies all took to pellets right away and really enjoy them, but I've seen several people on this forum say they've had to try to get them on them for months!
Like they say, hunger is the best cook!
Once they get to be the size yours are, a combination of nightcrawlers and pellets is the best diet for them! I know the worms are huge and a little bit scary, but the best way to do it in my opinion is to run the worm under some hot tap water and let it sit for a minute, then it's much easier to chop into small pieces for your Axie.
Even if they never like the pellets, the nightcrawlers are the best staple food for them!

Yes but I'll be gone for over a week, so I need them eating only pellets by August =(

I'm worried they'll starve by the time I get back!

Mewtwo said:

Yes but I'll be gone for over a week, so I need them eating only pellets by August =(



I'm worried they'll starve by the time I get back!

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Why can't you have them eating both while you're gone? A diet of only pellets isn't healthy for an Axie.

Because like I said above, Nobody will be home. I'm well aware just staple pellets aren't good for long term. But this isn't going to BE PERMANENT. It's just because I'll be gone for well over a week, and I obviously can't feed them while I'm in New York, like I've said above. My grandmother will be home but she is weak and can't go up and down the stairs to the tank, and she won't touch worms anyway. Thus I have the automatic feeder, but they won't eat the pellets.

Mewtwo said:

Because like I said above, Nobody will be home. I'm well aware just staple pellets aren't good for long term. But this isn't going to BE PERMANENT. It's just because I'll be gone for well over a week, and I obviously can't feed them while I'm in New York, like I've said above. My grandmother will be home but she is weak and can't go up and down the stairs to the tank, and she won't touch worms anyway. Thus I have the automatic feeder, but they won't eat the pellets.

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Okay, understood! No need to be touchy, hahaa.
Like I said above as well, they aren't just going to decide to like them unless you keep trying to feed them the pellets.
Try it every single day, even multiple times a day until they eventually accept it.
There's no 100% guarantee that they'll like them or ever accept them though, some lotls just don't enjoy them so you might have to think of a Plan B for when you're gone.

Won't your feeder take salmon pellets?

Salmon pellets??

These are sinking carnivore pellets, are they not the same thing?

Mewtwo said:

Salmon pellets??

These are sinking carnivore pellets, are they not the same thing?

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No they are not. Soft moist salmon pellets are used by many major axolotl breeders. They are recommended by the University of Kentucky ambystoma genetic stock center. They have a strong smell and are readily eaten by many salamanders. The fact that they are soft helps with digestion and lessons the chance of blockage.

These get real soft pretty fast, though. I'm going to fast them for the three days I'll be gone this week, hopefully they'll be hungry enough to start trying them when I get home!

Do you hand feed your axolotls? If so, try hand feeding them the pellets. Be prepared to have you fingers nipped a bit, but if they are used to being hand fed then it will help.
My juveniles are fine with pellets, but the mature ones are not interested, so whenever I feed them prawns I stuff pellets inside. Mixing familiar and unfamiliar foods is another way to introduce the pellets, so if you jar/tub feed try mixing foods.
Let us know how you get on.

They're both feeding on the pellets now =)

To address earlier concern,
I did try to feed them night crawlers!.....cut it up and everything. Um. My grandmother cut it, actually, because I was too busy cowering in the corner. BUT I was the one to feed it to them.. They both spat it out.

So, for now, it's pellets and bloodworms. While I'm gone, only pellets, when I get back I'll be able to more rigorously try night crawlers.

Congratulations with the pellets.
Axolotls can be quite stubborn when changing diet. They wont starve, but sometimes it can be a battle of wills to make them eat certain foods.
Best of luck with the move to worms on your return. I know you don't like worms, but they are for your little ones, and it's the best for them, so I hope that you manage to get used to handling the worms at feeding time. :happy: