Axolotl only eats bloodworms?

Hi everyone! My axolotl is a 5-month old juvenile, under 5 inches long. When he was really small I exclusively fed him frozen bloodworms, but ever since he got around 4 inches long I started trying to feed him 1-2cm pieces of Canadian nightcrawlers. I’ve been trying to give this to him as his main food for two months now, but keep having the same problem- he’ll eat the first piece or two and then every piece after that, he’ll just spit it out after a few seconds of moving it around in his mouth. What’s weird is that in the past I’ve managed to have him eat an entire worm before (cut up into pieces,) but now he’s getting even more stubborn and only accepts one or two pieces, even if I go a couple days without feeding him first.
I usually sit around for over 30 minutes trying to get him to eat, and after a couple days of this I get frustrated and anxious and end up giving him bloodworms instead, which he readily accepts. It doesn’t matter if the worm is alive, dead, or blanched- he always has the same reaction.

I know they can go longer than this without eating, but he’s still growing and I want him to start eating earthworms regularly. Does anyone know how I can get him to start eating more? I’m getting tired of spending hours watching him spit out his food!

Thanks so much and I appreciate any advice.

You might try small strips of beef liver (you can cut it up and freeze it) or get tubifex worm freeze dried cubes and cut them to a suitable size.

ellenc said:

You might try small strips of beef liver (you can cut it up and freeze it) or get tubifex worm freeze dried cubes and cut them to a suitable size.

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Thanks for the reply! It’s possible he might eat those, but I really want him to start accepting earthworms so that he can get the nutrition he needs. Would it be a good idea to feed him a variety of those foods for a while or is that still not very good nutritionally?

Put a piece of earthworm in a container with a little bit of thawed out bloodworms. Let the bloodworm flavor infuse the earthworm. Offer him this. Continue to do it a couple times a week with more earthworm and less bloodworm.

I'm partial to soft moist salmon pellets. Sometimes the strong flavor of salmon pellets can trigger a feeding response. Live blackworms can also trigger a feeding response.

michael said:

Put a piece of earthworm in a container with a little bit of thawed out bloodworms. Let the bloodworm flavor infuse the earthworm. Offer him this. Continue to do it a couple times a week with more earthworm and less bloodworm.

I'm partial to soft moist salmon pellets. Sometimes the strong flavor of salmon pellets can trigger a feeding response. Live blackworms can also trigger a feeding response.

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Oh, thank you! I’ll definitely try this. If that still doesn’t work out, what salmon pellets do you use? Are they a good longterm food?

Look at the sticky on the want adds. I use and sell Rangen soft moist salmon pellets. I use a lot of salmon pellets, live blackworms, and European nightcrawlers for my salamanders.

michael said:

Look at the sticky on the want adds. I use and sell Rangen soft moist salmon pellets. I use a lot of salmon pellets, live blackworms, and European nightcrawlers for my salamanders.

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Will do, thanks for the info!