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Is my axolotl eating too much?

ellie13

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Hi. My axolotl wjuenile skinny when I got him, and being fed on bloodworms, but since I've been feeding him earthworms he has put on weight and his tummy is about the size of his head. However, he is always hungry. I feed him two medium sized worms a day, but he keeps coming up to the glass for more food, so yesterday I fed him 3 worms. I hoped that would mean I wouldn't have an axolotl staring at me through the glass when I got up in the morning, but there he was again lol. So today I fed him 4 worms in total, 2 in the morning and 2 at night, which he gobbled up immediately. Is it usual for an axolotl to be this hungry? I don't want to feed him too much. I'm not sure how old he is, but he is about 7 inches long and the tips of his toes are starting to turn white (he is black). I assume he is still a juenile at the moment. If he is, he is still growing so I expect him to have a healthy appetite, but 4 worms a day seems like alot. He also poos alot. The only thing I can think of that may be causing this is his tank temp is a little on the high side. I can't get it to go below 20 degrees and it's winter here now, although we have the heating on. However it's always been about this temp and he wasn't always this hungry. I've had him for about 3 months now and since he was being kept on gravel in the pet shop, the poor thing passed a couple of pieces after I got him. In fact his appetite has increased ever since he passed the last piece. Could this be the reason? Making up for lost time prehaps? Lol. Also does anyone have any tips on how I can cool the water down without a chiller? Maybe his appetite will go down if I can reduce the temperature. Any ideas of what may be causing this? He is also very active. Thanks in advance.
 

Kahili

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I was told by my friend who has been raising axolotls for many years that axolotls will not continue eating after they are full. Unlike guppies, they won't eat until they die so if they will usually either not go for the food or they will spit it out if they're full. When I feed my axolotl I feed him carnivore pellets until he stops accepting them.
 

Bette

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20 Celsius is fine. A screen top and fans positioned overhead is an inexpensive way to reduce the temp. While he is still growing, which he is, you pretty much cannot overfeed. The only exception would be feeding too many pellets at one sitting.
Worms though? Totally fine. As long as he keeps them down.
 

Kahili

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I live in Hawaii so the temperature is almost always too warm for my axie. What I do is I freeze plastic water bottles (large and small) and I put those in the tank when the water gets over 20 degrees C. It helps!
 

LSuzuki

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More heat considerations - if you have a light over the tank, that can raise the temperature. Internal filters can also raise the temperature.

Fan cooling (evaporative cooling) and no lights works pretty well for me. Since the water temperature is cooler than the air temperature, I've insulated the back, the bottom, and half of the sides of the tank, to reduce heat gain from the room. (Truthfully, I'm not sure it made much of a difference, but I figured, every little bit helps. :happy:)
 
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