Axolotl not eating? :(

Hi! So I'm new, so hopefully I'm doing this properly! So yesterday I rescued two three year old axolotls from an abusive home where they were rarely being fed and kept in a discusting small tank and they are both very thin! I have never had axolotls before, so this is new for me, but I do have a smallish aquarium fish so know all about water changes and introduction. Lotti (my little girl) is thin but she seems to be eating okay. I've been feeding her spiders, moths, axolotl food (from pet shop) and tuna. But my big boy axolotl Kingsley (hence my username KingLotti) has only eaten one cube of store bought food, I've offered him the tuna and spiders but he's not interested, not even in the store bought food! You can see his ribs I think? I presume that's what it is. So I'm just worried about him, is it just for the first few days while he gets used to his new home? Sorry this question has been so long, I'm just really worried about him!

What do you think about the names by the way? (Kingsley and Lotti) :happy:

Hello and welcome to the forum

The best thing to feed lotls is earthworms. They love them (At least almost all lotls love them haha). They also enjoy bloodworms and pellets but there is a huge range you can also feed them as treats such as wax worms, feeder fish, prawn/ship, slivers of chicken etc.

If you put up a photo that would be helpful. Also, just for a good indication, lotls tummies should be roughly as wide as their head. This is a great way to tell if they are the right weight. If they are skinnier feed them up a bit or wider lessen their food off

And love the names! Mine are call Ajax Spyro and Pepper(Peppy).

Love the names, and well done for rescuing them! Be prepared to lavish them with attention for a while and hopefully you can help them recover. It's hard when they've been so mistreated before.

At least Lotti is eating well.

Kingsley may take a bit more effort. They seem to often develop a kind of eating disorder once they get very thin, and it can be a challenge to get them to start.

I would definitely agree that Lotti should be on earthworms that you know are free of pesticides etc.

For Kingsley, I would suggest trying defrosted cubes of large bloodworm as a good intro back to food - I think that stuff stinks and they can't resist it!

Bloodworm is messy and can easily foul up a tank, so you might want to have a dedicated tupperware tub that you gently scoop him into with water - feed him in there, and release him back into the tank without dumping the bloodworm water in.

Tweezers are helpful as you can drop food directly over his head.

I've found pellets with fussy eaters can be good if you drop them right over their heads - they 'snap' for the food and have eaten it before they realise you tricked them. We have to play this game daily with one of mine. He'll eat pellet after pellet this way, but doesn't seem bothered to sniff out food otherwise!

Post in the Sick Axolotl forum too, and post us some pictures, they are one of the best ways for us to assess the situation and help you.

Good luck, and welcome to the board.