Question: Strange feeding habbits

Hey

I have just got my first axolotl, I've had him for 3 days now and he's in a tank thats only about 20 litres. This is only tempory while his 50 litre tank is developing and hes got a hiding place a filter his tank temp goes from 17.5C on the night to 22.5C in the middle of the day if my radiator is on and he has an air stone to keep airation up,

But what I'm worried about is I've started feeding him mini mealworms which float because I ran out of bloodworms, I had to tempt him to the surface to eat them but now he seems to like it.

When I open the lid to put some food in or clean his tank and he see's me, he climbs his little rock takes a gulp of air then floats in the nearest open surface of water . I have a lot of floating plants to give him shade from the light.

When I do feed him like this he takes his gulp of air sits with his nose at the surface, I sprinkle the mealworms in front of him and he sucks them up and carry's on waiting. When he's had enough he burps than goes back to what ever he does. He seems to have total control over it I'm just worried he might ingest some and stuggle to live.

Is this normal if its not is it ok? I've read an article about some one trying to "train" there axolotl to do this.

Ohh and he won't eat food thats not moving. Is this normal as well ? Because if its a big fat NO to the above question then how can I get him to eat tubifex worm cubes. I can't get any food until Saturday as I work 8:30am 5:30pm and my local pet shop shuts at 5pm ,my friends and family are too lazy to go for me and the ones that arn't would probably bring me back a fish .(if I asked for them because they look better if you get what I mean lol )

Thanks for any help
bamf

Earthworms are the most nutritious food for axolotl's matey and should be fed as a staple diet, give them a go

I would but I live in Hull / england and if you check the weather report I'm under about 4inches of snow . Chances of finding any of them are slim and theres no where to buy them from around here . Could bob live off mealworms until weekend? and thanks for the quick reply

Mealworms don't offer the complete dietry package that earthworms do and feeding too many can cause impaction (like constipation) in your axie.

If you try to keep your tank cooler (turn off that radiator!) then your axie will more than likely be OK until the weekend without food if it's an adult. If it's younger then it will need feeding more frequently, so if mealwaorms are all you've got, then that's what it'll have to be.

You can order earthworms online and either buy a small amount and store them in the fridge, or start your own worm farm.

i like the idea of starting a farm how would i go about this and im not sure how old he is he's about 14cm or just short of 6"

since his tanks in my bedroom and i dont like to live in 12C room which it went to when i tryed turning the radiator off and his tank went down to 16C which im sure he wont like i dont think its a good idea and ive read about using a bottle of ice which i really dont wanna do since it'l probably go colder than that in his lil tank

if im honest i got him a bit of a whim. saw him when i was gunna get a new fish asked if he'd b ok in a goldfish tank they said ye put him in with my danios and one big gold fish (BAD IDEA) took a snap at a danio and let him go thank god, so immidietly set up a new tank that i keep on standby for any ill fishes. got him in it and there he is.

16 degrees is actually a great temperature for him. They prefer temps between 16 and 18. You need to stop the tank getting above 20 as this will cause problems. Maybe turn the thermostat down a bit or something? If you have a lid on the tank you could remove it to help with evaporation that could cool it down slightly. But if all else fails ice bottles it will have to be but it doesn't sound great when we're in the middle of a massive arctic winter! Lol. My tanks at about 12- 14 at the min i had to turn off one of my radiators too as its bang next to the tank. Mel

Wonder Worms UK - Worm Farming
Try that to find out about worm farms

I bought mine from the Worm Guys in the US and the red wigglers are doing just fine. I have six axies and they just LOVE the wigglies! Mealworms are jucky -- and they can bite! I would only feed those in an emergency.