Axolotl - Difficulty eating worms?

Lexolotl

Lexolotl

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Lex
I've been feeding my axies blood worms up until a couple weeks ago, when my local Petsmart started carrying red wiggler worms.

My axolotls are around 5-6 inches long, and readily accept blood worms.
However, whenever I feed them red wigglers they'll maybe eat a half of one (I cut them in half.) and then spit out the rest.

Could it be because they're not use to it yet? Should I wait until they're older/bigger to try feeding them worms?
 
Honestly i think it may be because red wigglers release a bitter tasting substance that a lot of axies dont quite like.
I feed mine earthworms/nightcrawlers and rinse them in water.

Have you tried cutting them in half then rinsing them wit water before giving them to your axies? Try to rinse some of the bitter taste off them. I hear about a lot of axies not taking red wigglers for that reason but try rinsing them and see how that works.
 
Thank you! I didnt even know there was a thread on red wigglers!
 
Usually I cut them in half and then let them sit in a bowl of water while I feed my axies. Maybe I'll let them sit a little longer to make sure that the "bad taste" goes away. Or maybe I should rinse them under fresh water?
 
It doesnt hurt to try to rinse under fresh wAter. You never know. Worth a try i think
 
I will give that a try and keep you posted on how it goes! Thank you for your help! :D
 
Mine are the same size, and readily accept red wigglers, only if they're small pieces. I cut them to 1/2 inch pieces, because then they snap them up, and they eat faster that way. I haven't had problems with the taste, just the size. And I started them out on the better tasting earthworms first, so you'd think they'd turn up their noses at the taste.
 
I thought that it was maybe because they are so use to eating blood worms?
It was almost as if they didn't like the wiggling. I take them out to feed them in a separate container, and cut the worms into thirds or so. I left the worms in there and came back about 15 minutes later and the worms were gone.

I've also fed them guppies, and the fry of my african cichlids and they've eaten them just fine.
 
I really wanted my axies to eat the red wigglers since I already breed them in a compost bin. I soak them and then rinse them. They eat them and then throw them back up later! Lol!!! Oh well.
 
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