Help

Help
I have a new axylotl, and i can't get him to eat, I have tried mince, piece of meat, pork,fish and i even tried to force feed him (the pet shop told me to) but he won't eat and just spits it out
I am worried he will die of starvation
any suggestions

How long has it been since it ate? It's not unheard of for axolotls to go for up to months without food. What are the parameters like in your tank? Water temperature, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate levels, etc.

Have you tried live, wriggling foods such as earthworms? Bloodworms are also a good choice because of their strong scent.

Have you found the website www.axolotl.org yet?

Thanks for the reply,
we have had him for nearly two weeks and i haven't been able to get him to eat in that time.
The tank is good, though a little hot. I have been floating ice in it, but it is a large tank.
I haven't tried live food but i will, and I thought I might take some of the tank water out, freeze it then put it back in and let it melt back into the water.
I didn't know they could go for months without eating.
and thanks for the web site, I will look.

Definitely use live food. Mine are so much better at finding and eating live stuff. As you're in NSW, I'd suggest blackworms - get them from your pet store, a brand called "Pisces" (sp?) where its a package like those squeezy ribena packets and you just squeeze part of it in the water near them. they go nuts for it, and the worms will live underwater for a while so the axie can always get it later.
Earth worms are good, but my new ones don't seem to hold them down too well.
And some people will disagree, but I always found chicken or beef heart easy as the axies pick up the blood taste. Just that its a risk for parasites etc.

welcome to the forum!

mmmm, more 'natural' foods would be worth a shot, pork etc probably isnt the greatest staple food but is ok as a treat (theres alot of debate about mammal meat lol). dont use compost worms, they can have a funny smell and a bad taste, my axies wont eat them. worms, bloodworms, blackworms, meal worms (crush heads!! can cause constipation cause of exo-sceleton) etc might temp him!!

if the tank is above 24C move him to the fridge or a esky, i find bottles/iceblocks cause temp fluctuations too much unless you really moniter them (like half hourly). the esky would be good if you can get a container large enough for him, just pack ice packs around the sides and rotate them every couple of hours. if thats a no-go chuck him in the fridge, do note though it can slow down their metabolism making them want to eat less if youd like more info on doing that less us know and someone will help ya out

woops forgot to ask.. how longs the tank been setup? is it cycled? that could also be a factor...

(Message edited by sharn on February 06, 2006)