treats! :)

Treats!

Hello! Our name's are Charley and Neil and we've just got a gorgeous leucistic axolotl on Wednesday. We were just wondering what would be good occasional treats to give her? We have some cooked prawns which we've heard are good and are going to buy some earthworms from our local exotic petshop. We also have ox heart and crayfish (freshwater, very similar to prawns) would these be okay to give her? We've heard beef heart is good treat too - would that be cooked or raw though?
Would like to hear what treats other people's little chippers enjoy!
Thank you!

I dont know about the treat but the rocks you have in her tank look to small. They look like they can be swollowed i suggest putting in sand or larger pebbles that cant be swollowed. Other then that its a very nice looking axi

The pet shop guy told us the gravel would be fine but now seeing her in there and reading the comments on this forum we're looking into swapping it urgently. Don't want her to swallow it She's not tried getting any in her mouth and we're carefully feeding her by hand but it's definatly our top priority and will be changed asap. Thanks so much for the concern and nice comments ^___^

My guys currently dine on live earthworm, their occasional treats are guppies and cherry shrimp
( home bred and quarantined) , river shrimp and woodlice and slugs...more rarely rinsed raw prawn,white scallop, mussel and squid ( check ingredients as these usually have a salt water glaze). Finally raw heart and thin slivers of fat free meat.

I would forego live crayfish. They can injure your axolotl, as axolotls jaws are not strong enough to crush them on first bite.

I would avoid the crayfish also. I feed mine small ghost shrimp every so often, but their favorite treat is small fish- Rosy red minnows, guppies and sometimes even a gambusia or two... Okay....its my favorite to feed them as I enjoy watch the show.:happy:

Hi Charley and Neil!

First thing is to decide on the staple diet. This should pretty much be earthworms. Occasional treats can then include many of the things you will find in stores that sell reptiles (which seem more common than amphibians): crickets (note: crickets float! and swim! and jump out of the water! they need to be fed by hand or with a tweezers), wax worms (fatty, not too many!), mealworms, superworms (Zophobas), etc. Woodlice are also excellent and commonly found in garden, park, forest, and cellar. Small, coldwater fish such as minnows (captive bred to prevent disease etc.), guppies, and platies can be added. Coldwater snails (bladder, ramshorn, apple snails) are also a tasty, nutritious treat and help keep the tank clean.

Although it is possible to feed "human food" (prawns, pieces of fish filet, organ meats) occasionally, I personally recommend trying to stick to things that your axolotl would at least theoretically have a chance of finding in the wild.

The Caudata Culture site has several food-related articles on foods for captive amphibians (click here) that are quite informative (dare I say inspirational?).

By the way, not to seem condescending, but I love the way you are thinking about treating your axolotl to yummy foods! The way to an axolotl's heart is surely through its stomach.

Good luck to y'all,

-Eva

Thanks so much for the ideas everyone
We're looking forward to finding out what she likes best! Bit squemish about feeding her live fish though! The crayfish we have are already cooked and peeled like prawns - would that make a difference?
At the minute she's predominantly eating bloodworms and occasional catfish pellets just for a change but we're definatly eager to sort out some earthworms! Would we be right in assuming not to just dig them from our garden but buying them from a petshop? We don't use pesticides but are just worried about germs really!

blueberlin said:

The way to an axolotl's heart is surely through its stomach.

Click to expand...

Lol! We've noticed already how giddy she gets at dinner time - so cute!

Hi women158,

I think you are doing well, trying to offer a large variety of food types. All the above advice are well and sound.

Some axies get quite fastidious with the food they choose to eat. They might not want to willingly consume nutrionally sound staples and prefer to have their treats. However, persist with offering them the staples. Cut them to smaller pieces to faciliate feeding, offer live worms, try feeding with forceps or dangling the good in front of their faces etc. When the axie gets hungry, it would inevitably eat up the staples. If your axie is one such fussy feeder, don't give in to the treats. Treats would not be able to replace staples in terms of nutrition.

Secondly feeder fish is a good occasional treat but again you have to watch the amount being consumed. Guppies, minnows etc. all naturally contain large amounts of an enzyme, thiaminase which would break down vitamin B. Prolonged excessive consumption of these can then subsequently lead to a Vit B deficiency which can cause anaemia and even neurological problems. Of course with all live food you have to quarantine them 30 days beforehand to prevent tranmission of disease or parasites.

Lastly, avoid any processed and untrimmed meats. - Cured or canned preserved products are such examples. Bacon, spam etc. are not suitable as treats in view of their high salt content, preservatives and any articifial colours and flavours used during the treatment process. To axies, such chemicals can have a much more serious health impact than to humans.

Cheers.

Aww! We tried her with a teeny bit of prawn yesterday (about a quarter of one because she's still so small and can't fit bigger bits in her mouth) and she absolutly loved it Back to bloodworms today though so she doesn't get too spoilt and fussy!