Axolotl food? turtle food...

Hi,
Recently I discovered frozen packs of peregrine turtle food. I work in a pet store have for the last 4 years but never thought about turtle food for my axis. It contains turkey heart, fish meat, Mussels, shrimps, gammarus, krill, beef and spinach. Along with calcium supplemented. Anyone see any problems with this food for my axis? I usually feed a combination of earthworms, frozen bloodworm, frozen tropical blister pack (tubifex, bloodworm, daphnia etc) every other day and they seem very happy. T.I.A.

i would just check the nutrients list. im not exactly sure wht nutrient ratios an axie needs but turtle foods tend to be really high in protein. sometimes fat too. so unless axies are suppose to have high protein i would stay away from it.

also im pretty sure each of those pellet foods are made for a certain type of creature. i would think there is a reason for it. so i would try to use salamander or newt pellets if u really want pellets, since axies are closer to sal/newts than turtles

lastly turtle pellets are floating pellets because thts wht turtles like and i have heard tht its hard to get ur axie to eat floating things so thats another reason to consider newt/sal pellets instead.
i could be wrong i mean i have not heard turtles pellets being bad for axies but i just dont see why bother using turtle pellets instead of salamander pellets.

Axies need around 40-50% meat/fish protein, preferably without added wheat or vegetable protein, and around 10-20% fat. I can't find this information online, but if you can check the pack it should be listed.
I know I decided against the Gamma brand on turtle food, but can't remeber why. Probably too much added veg stuff.

axys said:

axies are closer to sal/newts than turtles

Click to expand...

So close in fact that they are salamanders.

Turtle food is likely to contain a significant percentage of vegetable matter which may not be suitable for axolotls. There are carnivore specific pellets out there like trout pellets that would be preferable but there are also pellets specifically formulated for axolotls and these would be the best option.

There not pellets sorry should of said that. It's a frozen pack with about 20 little frozen cubes. I thought maybe as treat every so often seen as though it contains meat and like you said axis are carnivores? I just didn't want to give it to them if there was something they absolutely can't have in the ingredients listed...

just make sure it doesnt have crickets or shrimp or anything with chitin on their body. so nothing crunchy. if u dropped it on the floor and stepped on it and it made a crunchy sound thats most likely a no no. there might be exceptions im not aware of, feel free to correct me anyone if im missing something.

not sure if wht u are feeding them if mix of whole or crushed tho. again in general i would just stay away from foods for different species. u never know. i prefer being safe then sorry.

for treats u could try giving ur axie different axie proper foods. i cant remember if u mentioned wht his staple diet if but if its earthworms then try other types of worms like blood worms or try night crawlers... or if u know a SAFE feeder fish breeder. some source u absolutely trust and know wont carry disease ( so no pet shops). im sure there is bunch of other options im missing, i have seen whole lists of axolotl food options. anything u usually do not give ur pet is technically a treat

also i just checked all 5 different types of turtle pellets i have and they all contain some sort of vege products ( i think to increase fiber which turtles need). however the nutrition ratio is actually not bad, i have one tht is 45% protein and 15 % fat etc. i know u said urs werent pellets so this is for anyone who might have been wondering. still wouldnt feed it my axie.

Axys your over stressing the dangers of chitin. An axolotls natural diet would have consisted of inverts with shells and carapices, axolotls even eat small snails with no probs. Mealworms are not good as a staple because the fat content is higher than the axolotls dietary requirement, this can cause liver problems long term. The chitin itself is indigestable and passes through the axolotls system and floats about the tank or clogs the filter up. They are also an incomplete diet but ok occassionally .As for using turtle food for axolotls, why bother ? Worms are easily obtained and are a good food.

Thanks for the feedback. I haven't given then any of the frozen turtle food I just wanted to know if it was safe to give them a different treat for a change. My 2 have daphnia, tubifex, bloodworm, earthworms etc.I was just curious about the turtle food because it contains quite a lot of meat which I thought might have been good for the axies.

Sorry, my mind went straight to turtle sticks.
Either way, i wouldn't use it. I also don't understand why it is common to refer to these kinds of foods as "treats"...
Axolotls are adapted to a diet that consist mainly on invertebrates. Feeding them vertebrate meat is not at all ideal and can lead to problems. There is no good reason to use a subpar foods like those turtle cubes when there are far better options like earthworms and fresh-water crustaceans.