Now they are rejecting their worms...

.. geeze. :: sigh :: Walmart recently quit carrying the pan trout worms I've been feeding. I had to switch to the larger canadian nightcrawlers. After a week of not eating (I was waiting for the pantrout worms to come in) they grabbed up the nightcrawlers I chopped in half. Yesterday I finished off the last cup of those. 12 to a cup 1 worm a day for 7 axolotls and two salamanders doesn't last long. So I bought a double cup.

They won't touch them. Ok they touched them, bit them even. Then heaved them back out. gross. My daughter was thrilled though "look they're puking!" gag. She was my official puking axie watcher. I gave everyone a worm and all but one was heaved back out.

I tried to feed each axie twice and they wanted nothing to do with the worms. There was no way I was gonna taste them, so back into the cup they went. I wonder how well a worm chopped in half does..... Now all them are on the prowl for food. Digging up plants viciously, throwing sand around. They're pretty torked I think.

My questions are...

... are the worms bad? No they don't smell bad, no they aren't the green ones, yes the worms were moving fine, esp after I hit 'em with the cleaver.

... are the axies just being picky since they were fed so recently after a period of minor starvation?

... does anyone know the name of the company that sells thought pan trout worms so I can find them online and order them?? I don't want to do the puking axies again!

Answers... no I can't go anywhere else right away. The only other baitshop in town doesn't carry worms until the spring.

Now I have to go outside with my sons' airsoft gun to scare the dayum blue heron who thinks my goldfish pond is his smorgas board....

Sharon

Well the only thing I could think of is that it's a type of worm that produces toxins to make animals not want to eat it...
As for places to order food for them, I'm pretty sure you'll get a get deal at Timberline Fisheries, they are highly recommended - http://www.timberlinefisheries.com/bait%20worms.htm-
And a half decent price too, but I don't see Pan Trout worms you might consider this as an alternative.
Hope this helps,
Ian

Axolotls can be fussy but hunger makes great sauce (as you have observed).

This board is an excellent source of information and chock full of helpful people!

I don't suppose any of you know if there is a difference between "red wigglers" and "canadian nightcrawlers"? LOL I shot off an email to the worm guy. Waiting to hear back from him. From what I've read on the trout fishing boards (HAHAHA!!) pan trout worms are most likely "red wigglers."

And I just have to say - I now know more about worms than I care to! Doesn't "AFRICAN NIGHTCRAWLERS!!!" read like a horror flick?? LOL.

Oh dear lord, amazon really does have it all. ROTFL!!! I can buy red wigglers there! Great get my books cheaply, makeup quickly AND food for the caudates what more can a gal ask for?

Sharon

ferret_corner said:

This board is an excellent source of information and chock full of helpful people!

I don't suppose any of you know if there is a difference between "red wigglers" and "canadian nightcrawlers"? LOL I shot off an email to the worm guy. Waiting to hear back from him. From what I've read on the trout fishing boards (HAHAHA!!) pan trout worms are most likely "red wigglers."

And I just have to say - I now know more about worms than I care to! Doesn't "AFRICAN NIGHTCRAWLERS!!!" read like a horror flick?? LOL.

Oh dear lord, amazon really does have it all. ROTFL!!! I can buy red wigglers there! Great get my books cheaply, makeup quickly AND food for the caudates what more can a gal ask for?

Sharon

Click to expand...

The insides of Red Wigglers taste foul and many species will not eat them, or will eat them and spit em right back out.

Are you sure its red wigglers that are foul tasting? According to the two worm sites I read the most on - they tout feeding caudates specifically as a reason to buy their worms. And if the trout fishing sites are right - then what I've been buying all along have been red wigglers.

Sharon

ferret_corner said:

Are you sure its red wigglers that are foul tasting? According to the two worm sites I read the most on - they tout feeding caudates specifically as a reason to buy their worms. And if the trout fishing sites are right - then what I've been buying all along have been red wigglers.

Sharon

Click to expand...

Yes, red wrigglers are the worms that let off the foul smell when cut or bitten into.

I use redwriggers, as nightcrawlers are difficult to get hold of in Australia which is a pity as the nightcrawlers are the best types of earthworm.

For my more finicky axolotls I feed them the small wrigglers so the worm's defence odour is not released and the axie can enjoy his or her meal in peace. Some of my axies have a bit more gusto and don't mind the smell - these I offer cut up larger worms and sometimes a whole worm to bite into.

This article provides lots of detail on each worm type: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/worms.shtml

Could it be that the Axolotls are used to having the pan trout worms? Please correct me if I'm wrong as I bet this isn't the case?

What about using Earth Worms? Most Axolotls enjoy them!

If you can feed the red worms whole, it should be fine. That or as people have mentioned yours may just prefer them.

Could be they just prefer them. I'm not sure they ever taste the "insides" as they seem to just inhale them.

I'll check out that article Havelock (do you read Stephen Donaldson?) - thanks!!

To the best of my limited worm knowledge - nightcrawlers are earthworms? Well it seems the smallest package I can order is of 250 worms, lol - might as well leap in and see if it works. If not the ducks and chickens will have one heck of a treat.

I gotta get dinner on and keep sawing at those clay flower pots - lol I'm quick I'll get them done before hubby gets home and realizes I've been doing that in the livingroom!!

Sharon

P.s. Thanks so much everyone! Even when folks chime in to say "how weird is that?" it feels great that someone noticed my little issue and took a second to say so!

Hi Sharon,

Yes, nightcrawlers are commonly called earthworms. Red wrigglers are composters (nightcrawlers aren't) - so if you are looking for those, you may find them through a website on composting. They are also easy to culture (and can be used at the same time for composting, what a great worm!). I use wrigglers, too, and my axolotls fortunately don't seem to have a problem with them. I rinse the worms before feeding them, anyway (especially if I have cut them first) so maybe that makes a difference? Holding them in a bowl of water makes them easier for me to grab with the tweezers, in any case...

-Eva

I never had a problem using red wigglers with my aquatic salamanders, I figured, this was because the water washed off the "blah". Another reason could be that my salamander was big enough to get a red wiggler down in one gulp/suck.

Canadian night crawlers shouldn't pose a taste problem, but depending on the size of your axolotl they can sometimes simply be too large to keep down, since they can be up to 2-4 times the size of a red wiggler. You can avoid this by chopping them in half. This can especially be a problem if the worms are particularly healthy/wiggly, and fight their way back out of the salamander.

Thanks again. I've never had to cut up red wigglers. The axolotls were fed on the pellets I got from Mike Shrom until they were large enough to eat a wiggler whole.

I have been cutting the earthworms in half as I could tell a whole worm would be to much for even the largest of my axolotls.

I think I'm gonna have to face its just preference. Although its kind of weird that all but one rejected the new type of worm. I may try feeding the nightcrawlers again and this time rinsing them before feeding - although the worms get "rinsed" when I dunk them to feed.

Oh well, lol at least I've got it figured out that the worms aren't toxic or anything! Just my spoiled darlings being picky!!

I did find several places to order worms from. As for culturing them... HAHAHA!!! for some bizarre reason I can raise newly hatched baby birds, the most delicate of frogs, dog munched bunnies, chickens whos' crops have been slashed - I can't raise fancy guppies or worms. Its weird.

Sharon