Feeding my axolotl

Hi all,

I'm only a day old owner of an axolotl so I'm very new here. I just wanted to take this opportunity to say that this forum has been an amazing source of information for me so thanks!

As I said I only got my axolotl yesterday. He is young and little - about 3 or 4 inches long. I feel like nurturing my axolotl is certainly a learning process. Was worrying about the temperature a lot last night but things appear to be running smoothly now (i hope).

My only problem today has been the feeding. I have two types of food that i can feed him. Frozen bloodworm cubes and a hatcher that produces brine shrimp (which I haven't started to use yet).

The pet shop man told me to take out a cube and put a little warm water on it. I did and it thawed. Now I was really confused as to what to do next. I've read a good bit now and many suggest not to go throwing food in because they'll only fall on to the gravel? I tried feeding him out of my hand - dangling the worm down. He'd come close but miss it. Also, I guess because I have no idea or experience with whats inside his mouth yet maybe he could sense my hand was nervous and kept his distance. Basically, todays feeding really failed. Any suggestions for me? I've read some people throw the whole cube in?? He's only young so I'm not sure thats an option yet?

All advice would be much appreciated!

You can try putting the bloodworms in a little jar. Then he can just swim into the jar and eat.

Brine shrimp are much too small to feed a 4 inch axolotl. Do you have earthworms available? I buy mine from Walmart, but if you're near any good fishing areas, I'm sure you can find bait worms.

Either way, keep at it. I know it feels like a failure, but think of it this way: now you know what NOT to do.

if the axie is about 7-8 cm you can feed him chopped earthworms (or small thin ones of about 1-2 cm)
I do that with mine
I hang the earthworm on the surface and he comes and get it, it's cool and they get used to you and they will come up if you show your hand on top of the tank

for bloodworms I haven't used them but I think some people use a jar, they throw the worms in there and the axie learns to get into it and eat from there so it's easier to clean the remains ...

By the way, if they bite you it doesn't hurt so don't be afraid of hand feeding!!

Is there any chance of you being able to get outside and dig up some earthworms? You can get brilliant big ones if you can turn over bits of wood or slabs of stone etc. If you cant can you order some in online or get some from something like a fishing shop?

in Ireland, with the rain there must be tons of them !! just make sure they aren't contaminated with pestice or something like that

another option is to buy red wrigglers, they are used for the hummus and sold online maybe you can find them there

Hi all,

Thanks for the advice! I sought out a tub of earthworms today. So I should just dangle one in live?

get one not very big or cut a piece it and "hand" it to him, the worm must be of a size that the axie can eat it
What I do is hang the worm or piece from the surface but don't throw it or it may escape... well, you'll find how's better, I prefer to hand feed mine

yes, live and wriggling

HannahGl said:

Hi all,

Thanks for the advice! I sought out a tub of earthworms today. So I should just dangle one in live?

Click to expand...

Yep, dangle it in front of his face... If you don't want to touch the worm you can use plastic forceps ... and if you don't have any plastic forceps you can make good ones by cutting off part of the rim of a plastic ice cream tub

Have fun, axie meal times will never be the same again

That was scary, stressful then lots of fun! Scary: touching the worms was a big deal that I didn't think it would be. It never was when I was 7! Stressful: worrying how Trejo would take the food out of my fingers. Fun: SNAP! He looked so cute eating. I think my only mistake was that it may have been a little bit too big for him. But he guzzled it up! Will pick ones a bit smaller though for the next feed.

It's only day 3 and I'm hoping he's happy. I've been doing a lot of worrying so I'm just trying to enjoy him today. I worry if he sits still. I worry if he swims. I can't imagine what it's like for people with human babies!

hehehe
don't worry! the first time I gave my little one a worm he vomited it back like 5 mins after, I thought it was too big for him, but today I gave him a worm almost his same long and he gulped it so happily!!

Another time I gave him a piece of a worm and I saw how it kept moving inside the axie!! funny and scary at the same time

You'll get used to the worms and he'll get used to snap food from you

Me again. (Big news: Trejo is now a Treja!)

So Treja seemed to be thoroughly enjoying her earthworms. Then about 2 weeks ago I got a new batch of worms and straight away she has struggled with eating this batch. I dangle them and she swims over and snaps but never manages to keep them in her mouth. I pick it up again, dangle, she snaps, lets go...if I drop it in she'll attack it but I don't like to do that as I feel like the fact she can't manage it gets her all flushed and worked up. I started cutting them up but the same thing happens regardless of how small I cut them up.

To be honest, even I noticed something different about the new batch of worms. They could really expand in length. So I freed them and bought a new batch. Same problem. They have a ridiculous expansion talent.

No idea what to do. At the moment she is on frozen bloodworm cubes. I can tell she is hungry though because in the past she would politely nibble at the cube as I held it while now it's more "Let go and give it to me or I swear I will eat your hand too." I haven't had her long and she's only young but she seemed to be growing and putting on weight and now I do think her belly is a little too thin than it should be.

Not really sure what is going on. I have just started a shrimp hatchery so maybe will have some luck there.

I would prefer to get her back on the earthworms as soon as possible because I am bringing her home with me for the holidays. It's going to be a 5 or so hour drive door to door and the cubes will defrost. I live out in the middle of nowhere and buying bloodworms there just isn't an option. I've tried to think of other food sources but I can't get my hands on anything like pellets.

Are there different types of earthworms available? I've used 'troutworms' successfully, as well as regular 'european' nightcrawlers.

You can order pellets online. Rangen only sells them in a huge bag, but some folks here sell them in smaller bags. Hikari sinking carnivore pellets are also another adequate option.