Feeding Earthworms.

I wanted to start feeding my little guys earthworms. They are about 5" long or a little less. I was wondering how I should go about this? I didnt want to just throw some worms in there and hope they get eaten, and I didnt want to mince them up so small that they filthy the water before they get eaten. So, my question is, What are the steps to go about to feed these guys earthworms? I was thinking:
1. pick the earthworms
2. rinse them off
And this is where I hit a wall. At what size (of the worm) should I start chopping these worms up so they can eat them? Is it even necessary to chop the worms up? Could I leave a skinny one in tact so its not too much mass, and only cut up the thick and long ones? Do these have to be big enough to fit into their mouths or can they accommodate something a little longer as long as the width fits into their mouths?

Thanks.
Mark

You'll want to cut the earthworm into chunks that are no longer than the axolotls head is wide. You could just try dropping a few pieces in front of their face at first. If that doesn't work then offer it to them with tongs.

I agree with Justin, also you could add one whole wriggling worm it will likely remain uneaten but the wriggling will stimulate a feeding/hunting response.

What if they attempt to eat the big worm? Will they choke? My wildtype seems to bite anything that moves around feeding time. Even my hand. :lol:

Mark

If they can't swallow it, they'll spit it out.

But that being said, they can eat a pretty big chunk of worm. My adults get worms that are a couple inches long, and have no problem swallowing them, usually in one gulp. At 5 inches, I wouldn't worry about feeding them a chunk of worm an inch or two long.

I just bought a wild type axolotl hes about 11cm, don't sweat about it he ate about 8 small earth worms just chuck them in after giving them a good wash

I always feed my axies worms. If I am lazy I'll just check a few smallers worms in there to wriggle around. if they are too big they try again after a few minutes. They must eat them somehow because I never have leftoevers!