Help, I'm so new at this and need advice.

My daughter has 2 axalotyls, one that she got in Jan (female) and one that she got about 4 weeks ago (male). Since we bought him things have gone down hill, for the first couple of weeks all went well then they both stopped eating. Before this she had a great appetite, we were told to feed her every other day (mealworms) which is what we did and she loved them and was growing really well, now she has probably only eaten 2 or 3 times in the last couple of weeks, he is also not eating (more often than her but it's still not good) I have also noticed all these tiny little white worm looking things in the tank (about 1mm each) I did a really good water change which reduced the numbers but they are still there, I havn't got a clue what they are or if they are the reason the pair aren't happy. I kep reading your other posts about fridging them, is this somethibg i should be doing and if so why (see I really am new). Please help my daughter will be devastated if they die (she is only 8 and adores them!). Many thanks!

HI,

The first thing i would recommend is to check your water parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates) and temperature. Elevated levels of nitrogenous wastes and temperature are the most common causes of axie anorexia and inappetance.

Secondly, the best staple food for axies are live earthworms, blackworms and axie pellets. You can throw in the occasional snack food of bloodworms, fish or shrimp etc. I would not recommend mealworms as they are high in fat (can cause hepatic lipidosis or fatty liver), hard to digest (chitinous shell) and can bite (need to decapitate the mealworm).

The white worms could be planaria which are generally harmless. It is best if you can provide photos.

Please take some time to read though some of the informative links below.

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/articles_axolotl.shtml

http://www.axolotl.org/

http://www.caudata.org/axolotl-sanctuary/index.shtml

Cheers