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Meal Worms

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brendan

Guest
I know that people say you shouldnt feed meal worms to your axie as a staple (as they cant digest the shell and it gets caught in filters etc), but as a treat. So i have a question.

Can you feed axies meal worms as a staple and once the shells have passed get them out of the tank straight away.

Or does trying to digest the meal worms shell harm or stress the axie?

Because i am just assuming that the shells dont do anything for the axies but the insides of the meal worms which do get broken down.

I do not have a problem feeding them only as a treat i was just wondering if meal worms could actually be fed as a staple on the basis that digesting the shell doesnt harm or stress the axie and once it is passed it be removed asap.

Thanks
 
C

cynthia

Guest
From http://www.axolotl.org/feeding.htm


I've fed mealworms to my axolotls, but the chitin (the protein that makes up the hard exoskeleton in insects) is undigestible to the axolotls. Even though I didn't feed many, the filter in-take actually started to clog with little pieces of chitin and I was still picking bits of chitin out of the filter media months afterwards. Apart from this little inconvenience, they're not a complete food, so I would only recommend them as a treat.

There is also a post here some where that suggests that if you feed meal worms as an occasional treat to remove the meal worms mouth/head before feeding it to the axolotl because it can cause internal damage to the axolotl.

"I just say no to meal worms".
happy.gif
 
B

brendan

Guest
By reading that it doesnt really say its bad for axies. My filter is pretty well maintained and any scraps/poop are taken out asap. So having to remove the digested corspe of the meal worm isnt a hassel.

Maybe if i say feed them earth worms in the morning and meal worms at night?

Or would my best bet be only as a treat?

Also i always cut the heads off the meal worms.
 
C

cynthia

Guest
they're not a complete food, so I would only recommend them as a treat.

I guess it depends on your definition of "treat".
To me a treat is perhaps once a week to twice a month, however your mileage may vary.
 
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