Liver for Axies

Yeah, so I have just started feeding my Axie some raw liver, but it seems to make the water smell a bit. Is this a problem? Should I wash it first? I usually just feed him pellets, but I have gravel and i'm paranoid i'm going to cut up his insides. Any help would be appreciated.

Yes you can rinse it. Make sure to cut it in wormlike strips, cut all fat and tendons of as well.

Also, it would be better if you didn't use this as a sole or primary food along with the pellets. Much better if you can use earthworms or you can buy bloodworm cubes which cost about $5 from petshop but they can be pretty messy, have to be rinsed before putting in your tank.

As for the gravel, what size is it, as it can cause impaction/blockage as your axie will tend to swallow it when snuffling for food (they don't spit it out, and it will build up in their bodies and take months to come out or at worse it can cause a prolapse). My axies were on gravel/pebbles over 12months ago and I still find gravel on the sand.

Also, invest in a turkey baster as this willhelp with any spot cleaning of axie poo and/or uneaten food or waste.

I use ox liver and ox heart occasionally but our axies are mainly on earthworms which they love.

On another thought, how long have you had your axies, just read other thread you wrote on, and did you cycle your tank.

see: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml

If you haven't cycled your tank you'll need to test your water daily and do daily partial waterchanges (20-30%) to keep toxicity down and safe for your axie. You can get your tankwater tested at local petshop. Some will charge for it about $3, some won't . But if you do make sure you get them to write the results down don't just accept it's normal.

You should also ensure your tank temperature doesn't exceed 22-24 degrees celcius as axies prefer colder temps and this can stress them out.

Okay, where do you find these? And the pebbles are quite small. Do I actually need anything on the bottom? And where can I get sand?

Turkey baster you should be able to get them from $2 or check in supermarkets where they sell kitchen things, pans/bottles/sieves etc... The $2 shop in Manners Mall has them

No matter how big or small the pebbles, if they are slightly smaller than your axie head he will swallow them and they will build up in his body.

You don't have to have anything on the tank floor bottom, you can have it bare, tho some people prefer something.

I have sand in my tanks, but check out the following link as it is a good alternative but for permanent substrate (either gravel or sand), my sister did her tank like this after spotting this thread: http://www.caudata.org/forum/messages/793/77098.html?1170154180 and if I could convince my husband I would do the same to some of our tanks using sand.

You need aquarium silicone which you can buy from hardware stores, about $15 for a small tube, or buy one online (on TM someone sells big tube for $11, but you need one of those pistol type thingy to push the glue out - geez can't think what they're called and husband is out so can't ask him)

One thing with bare substrate/tank floor you can drop bloodworm cube and worms and it will be easy for cleaning any uneaten food and waste up!

As for earthworms, if you have a garden, since it rained tonight go out with a torch and lift up any pieces of wood/furniture pot plants and you will find worms directly under. It's a bit harder when it's been hot during the day and everything's dry unless you have a compost.

Otherwise might pay to check with places like Bunnings, Mitre 10 or garden places or check on TM as a few people are selling pots of compost worms which you can start wormfarms with.

Thanks for the info! So is there actually anything bad about a bare floor? Because I am really considering just having a bare floor. Also, with sand, would a siphon pick that up?

In hindsight and after helping a friend a few months ago look after his many baby axies who had bare tank floors, I actually would recommend it as it is much easier for cleanup.

Some people say their axies slip a bit or can't grip floor, but I think after a while they do get used to it, like many things and at least you won't have hidden waste in sand or beneath gravel!

The siphon does suck up the sand but you just give it a gentle shake while siphoning and most of it falls back down. Whatever is left in the buckets we drain of the waterchanged water into the gardens and put back in the tank.

With sand you can get pockets of gas buildup if you don't move the sand = we use the turkey baster and run it in rows through the sand and then crisscross; then once a fortnight when siphoning we run the head of the siphon through the sand and give it a gentle stir/shake to stop any gas pocket buildups (can't think what the name is - am a bit tired!)

Do you have any logs or caves for your axies?

Sure do, it's a log thing. Hmm, I think I may just go with bare, but I may try sand sometime, see how he likes it.

Oh, but I have plants, so I guess i'll just have to go with sand. v v