I genuinely feel for you here, i know how much of a worry these little fellas can cause when not eating, My awkward little girl Neurus went 13 full weeks without eating anything.
I can offer a list of perfectly edible foods for axies and hopefully you will find something out of these that he will accept..
Firstly the smelleys
yes beefheart is edible raw when cut into strips, as a rule aim for earthworm shape and size pieces. So is lambs liver (kiro my melanoid male can smell this even outside of the water and will pounce up through the water surface to get it he loves it that much.) sometimes mine get a piece of lamb from the roast on a sunday. Raw bacon (unsmoked) is ok as a rare treat. These are the smelley ones that will generally attract attention. Prawns are another rare one defrosted asda cooked prawns seem perfectly acceptable by mine.
Ok wrigglys.
obviously earthworms, Bloodworm, whiteworm, blackworm, waxworms (larvae of waxmoths) garden slugs and snails (either crush the shell and remove or watch to see if he sucks it straight out of the shell, Even daphnia is accepted most times without even realising.
surface strugglers.
stage 3 locusts (pre wing) and importantly remove the two larger back legs as they have a spikey ridge. Crickets once again pre wing, woodlice (referred to as slaters in the USA)
and swimmers.
Guppies are an obvious and easy one, however worthwhile breeding yourself or quarantine for 30 days before offering. Only put in beforehand as an absolute last resort as any diseases can get passed on. Shrimp can be offered but the shell is not digestable and will be regurgitated by the axie. Goldfish can be offered and the same rule as guppies applies, however keep them small as in rare cases the fish can get caught in the axies throat and will cause further problems.
When Neurus went through her hunger strike it was bloodworm that eventually brought her round to eating again. She also really likes the tail end of locusts, (literally chews it to get all the juicy bits out and then spits out the shell).
Lambs liver oozes out nutrients into the water, now i would strongly believe that these do get into the axie no matter what (neurus's gills used to go bright red when in the water as they do when they eat) but i do not have the knowledge to say if this would be safe with an open wound. Could somebody please comment?
Also nobody has mentioned saltbaths that i can see, surely this would be the primary plan of action with the open wound to prevent infection.
I am sorry but at this moment that is all i can contribute, I know Chester Zoo have a large axolotl section so they would most likely have an expert in that field. Perhaps worth a call if it gets to that point?
All the very best of luck, i hope he gets better soon
and now - obviouly it how dosnt have the leg. it was cut - just were the flesh is.. also his gills are completely turned inwards...
