Nutritious foods to offer other than Earthworms?

scooty16

scooty16

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Hi All,

I have a lovely male axolotl who is over 30cm long (not sure how that happened!) who will not eat Earthworms despite whatever I do to encourage him!

I have tried different types of Earthworms, Earthworms from different counties, Earthworms soaked for a period of time, Earthworms 'cooked' in hot water, everything! I am losing my mind! He won't eat any of them.

All he likes to live on is bloodworm (far too messy!!), pellets (too fatty for my liking) and prawns (only like to give every so often as a treat).

What else is there that I can offer?? I'm going crazy here! :confused:
 
Doesn't like earthworms? Interesting axolotl. Blackworms are great. They are just as nutritious as earthworms and are aquatic. Frozen brine shrimp is also healthy. Roaches are good too, if you have those available.
 
With an axie over 30 cm long, blackworms and most definitely brine shrimp will not work so well! If your axie accepts pellets, you can make your own, less fattening ones. A few members have done so with great success, and have posted their recipes here.
 
I had an adult female melanoid who refused to eat worms, she had been raised on pellets and would eat nothing but them and shrimp, she would strike worms all the time only to spit them out. It is unusual but not unheard of for an axolotl refuse earthworm.
 
What kinds of pellets have you tried? I've seen trout chow, and it would leave an oil slick on top of the water, but salmon chow doesn't. There are some sinking pellets made for carnivorous fish that would be OK, and they should have an appropriate balance of fat and protein.
 
What sort of prawn should you feed an axie?
Frozen? Defrosted? Fresh? Uncooked? Precooked?
 
Prawn should only be given as a treat and if possible, fresh water. But if you can't , defrosted and soaked in water then chopped into small pieces
 
Cool, thanks for the advice!
Does it matter if the prawns are the pre-cooked red ones?
 
Olivia97 said:
Roaches can harm axolotls can't they?
Click to expand...

They are fine, though you may wish to use newly molted roaches as they are softer and would be easier to digest. Marine prawn/shrimp should be avoided in preference to freshwater species and feed them raw.
 
I feed my male Axolotl Tyrion beef liver on occasion which he loves when he doesn't want to eat bloodworms. I have also had trouble getting him to eat earthworms. He just seems to have a lot of trouble swallowing them. Brine shrimp are good as well, he goes mad for them.
Hope this helps
 
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