Feeding!

Hi,

I am new to leaving messages, although have been a member for a short while.

My one concern is feeding axies live food. Lots of people seem to do this, and I have bought mine shrimps on occasion, but I much prefer to feed mine pellets which they love! Is it really necessary to feed axies other live animals such as fish and worms? I really like axolotls as I am an animal lover and they make great interesting pets, but fish and worms are nice too! I think they demand as much respect. I particularly don't like to hear of people cutting up worms before feeding.

I know some might say it's more natural but nature does not exist in captivity. If live worms are to be used maybe smaller whole ones would be kinder.

I am just interested in other peoplels opinions on this subject and really don't wish to judge.

I look forward to your views.

I think that if you are going to make the point that fish and worms deserve the same respect as axolotls, you can't then go onto say that smaller worms would be kinder Why don't small worms deserve the same respect as big worms?

However, to each their own and you are certainly not required to feed live food if you are uncomfortable with it. Other than pellets you can also use frozen cubes of brine shrimp and blood worms. What kinds of pellets are you using? Axolotls are carnivorous so they will require meat of some form.

I do use live fish as I don't see any ethical reason not to even though it is not necessary to use live food, he is a carnivore and would probably eat live guppies in the wild if there were some around. But yea, I wouldn't expect someone to use fish if they find it morally objectionable like you.

Well you do say that the worms may demand the same respect as the axolotl, axie are so easy to breed in captivity that axolotl's themselves are used as food for other animals as well.

In my view it is all a case of the eco-system, the way it works has developed over millions of years in controlling populations naturally as well as providing the right balance of different animals and what those animals bring to the earth.

Insects are just as important as any other animal it is true, without any bees on the earth, us humans would die within two years or so. Worms make good composters for plants to grow in and then they are nutritous food for other animals, which then will perform there own job for the earth,

You say that nature doesn't exist in captivity, but is it not the responsibility of a pet owner to try and recreate nature as much as we can in our rooms, in order to help these animals survive and be happy?

But if your axolotl is happy and healthy with his pellets there is no reason why you should feed the axie any live food.

Thank you for your replies.

I was just interested in others views on the matter. By the way, the pellets I feed are 'Axolotl Pellets' that I had sent over from Australia. It seems to be the only country that makes food specifically for Axies!, and I assume therefore they contain the perfect nutritional requirements. Mine are very healthy on this diet.

sichbo1, I do understand what you are saying. I was very concerned about possibly having to cut up worms for my axolotl juveniles , but I read quite a lot of posts and saw that the benefits of live food far out weighed my concerns. Now my axolotl are juveniles they can happily eat the smaller worms so hopefully my worm cutting days are over. I also raise guppies as live food which they get as a treat.
I still don't like cutting up the worms , my son and daughter recently took up the job as I was suffering from hideous morning sickness.
I have also fed on occasion live river shrimp, I also got attached to these, but watching my axolotl stalking and hunting them I realised that it was probably improving their quality of life. Now if I fed live food and they wantonly killed and didn't eat the food then i would not supply it.
I also feed on occasion pellets, raw slivers of lean meat, heart, raw tiger prawn etc, but worms do seem to be preferred by my axolotl .
At the end of the day, what you feed your axolotl is your choice. Like any one of us you need to be fully aware of your pets health and condition and if a change in diet becomes necessary..then it should be changed , be it live food or frozen/ pellets.

When it comes to keeping axolotls in captivity or any aquatic species; we are not keeping the aquatic organism as such, instead we are keeping the water.

Jay.

Bellabeloo, What you say makes perfect sense. I have on occasion fed River shrimp. I prefer this as I always feel they have a fighting chance of survival and indeed the ones that survive do a great job of keeping the tank clean of uneaten pellets! They are also very entertaining!

Therefore, I have not been averse to using live food on occasion but I just choose to try not to ,and after all we are all just trying to do the best for our axolotls.

If I had objections over feeding my animals something they need in their diet, I would not keep those animals. It may be unfair to the worms, but not only would the Axies eat live animals in the wild, those worms would probably end up eaten in the wild. And yes, keeping animals in captivity isn't them being in nature, but if you want them to be healthy and happy, it is best to keep things as natural as it can get.

When I feed my Button Quails mealworms, I know that the worms have had good quality of life (because I take care of them) and I know that the good outweighs the bad. My birds love catching a nice wriggling wormish creature and slurping it up, and I'm sure it's the same for Axies.

If you objected to feeding live mice, then would you own a snake? Probably not. You have to weigh in the best interest for your pet.