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Problem with red wigglers?

axys

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So i have a 5 inch axolotl i recently got. for the first few days i fed her pellet food till i could find live red wigglers. yesterday was the first time i fed her one. though the shop i got it from said that the ones i bought were not full size and smaller than the fish bait ones i still thought it was too big and i cut it in half before i fed it to my axy. she loved it, it was gone in less than 2 sec. she seemed fine. today i got home and did the same thing, cut the wiggler in half and feed it to my axy, she wasnt as enthusiastic this time. i had to leave it in her food dish and she ate it about an hour later. now fast forward 5 hours to right now, she started to puke up wht it looks like the remains of the wiggler, half digested. now she is floating the front of her body with her legs still on the ground and pulsing her throat. looks like she might want to throw up a bit more. im a little worried. wondering if this has happened to anyone else?
also is it because half of the wiggler is still too big? i mean this worm was actually pretty small. should i cut it into 3rds? or could it be something to do with the worm itself, not the size? any advice much appreciated.
 

auntiejude

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I would say it's just the change of food - your axie has been used to pellets so live worms are a bit odd in comparison. Try alternating between the live worms and pellets for a few days.
 

dreadfulbliss

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When I swopped from pellet food to live food they took it the first day, but not the second day. But I kept trying the next day and the next. Nothing. But then they took it again and were fine after that. Maybe they just haven't built up the tolerance to the worms yet. I know someone posted that the red wigglers when cut let off something that's undesirable to axolotls but they will build up a tolerance and eventually take it. Maybe try a different type of worn. I do Canadian earthworms, cut in half. How long are your axies? Maybe if the worms aren't too long you could give it to them whole so what ever it is that they secrete doesn't turn them off. Hope everything works out :)
 

sde

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I would agree that the change of food is probably a factor here, but red wrigglers are know to be dislikes by caudates sometimes. I have heard it varies from individual to individual, so if I was you I would do a little 'test'. Buy some night crawlers and try feeding them and red wrigglers at the same time - one small piece of each. Observe which one the axie eats. Repeat this for the next few feedings, and if you don't see and preference, than it probably doesn't mind the red wrigglers. If it seems to prefer one or the other than feed that one.
Of course, if it doesn't eat either or spits them up or something, then Auntiejude is most likely right, he is still adjusting to the new food. -Seth
 

axys

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its been a while since i posted this and im proud to say Jocasta has successfully switched to a diet of red wigglers. she no longer throws them up either but i think the "juice" tht comes out of the wigglers is a factor to some axys. i switched my bio teacher's axy over to a wiggler diet too since they live in the same tank now. he seems to be much much less problematic when it comes to the juice. he bites and swallows no matter the size of the condition of the wiggler. mine on the other hand sometimes spits it out and u have to let water run over it a bit for her to actually eat it. i guess that might be due to the juice as mentioned. thank u for all the help and advice guys. red wigglers ended up working pretty good. in the future when they are a bit older and bigger i am thinking about trying some night crawlers aswell, just for variety :happy:
 

Ariel

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I tried many times to feed red wrigglers to my axie, but I think she would rather starve than eat them. I tried preparing them in every way possible. Even pan frying them in water to remove all possible sliminess, but she spits them out immediately and dramatically no matter what. However, she loves to eat earthworms that I dig up from outside.
 

axys

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i could be wrong but im pretty sure red wigglers are earthworms.
since i made this post both the axies under my care have been successfully switched to wigglers and they like them. some tricks u might wanna try with red wigglers might be size. like even half of a small earthworm is too big for mine, they will only eat them in 1/4ths.

mine like to bite the pieces tht still move but hate it in their tummies i think, mine usually spit it out if the wiggler piece is still alive and moving. so tht could be a factor?

the smily goo tht comes out of them tht some axys dont like the taste of.. to get rid of tht i usually swirl the piece around in a small cup of water till it looks pretty clean. so u might wanna try tht, but other than tht idk maybe u are right and ur axy just doesnt have a pallet for wigglers. some times u have to be persistent and he/she might eventually start to eat wigglers
 
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