Axie spits out all food

C

christine

Guest
Hello,

My axie hasn't eaten for about 2 weeks. He seems interested in food but then he just spits it out. He doesn't even swallow. He just fiddles with it in his mouth for a while then spits it.

I've searched other threads for the answer but havn't been able to really find one.

I used to feed him pellets (and he used to love them) but he went off them a while ago. I bought some earth worms and he ate it the first time no worries but now he wont eat them at all (spits them out).

I'm wondering if this has happened to anyone else. He doesn't look skinny yet but I'm concerned if it goes on for too long then he'll just starve!

I'm going to try him on some beef heart today. He used to love that as a treat so perhaps he will eat it. I hope!

Cheers.
 
Someone was saying yesterday that they thought that the axies may not like the movement tickling their insides (so scientific sounding, I know,) with earth worms. One of my new ones seems particularly sensitive to this and seems to bring up the worms a short while later.

Also maybe try black/blood worms? The pisces packs from your petstore are pretty good and although a little messy, they're smaller and they can eat them over a period of time as the worms keep living underwater
happy.gif
 
what its the temperature in the tank? anything above 24C will be highly stressful for the axie. what size tank, occupants, and what are your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings. last time you did water changes?

do you keep him on gravel, if yes he could have very well eaten some and it may have blocked him up :|

axies do sometimes go off their food for no apparent reason. try things like bloodworms- they smell alot, blackworms- they move if theyre live (obviously lol) etc etc, have a read around the nutrition section for other options.
 
Yan, do you have permission to use that picture?

Other than that, like Sharn said, sometimes they just refuse food for a while. I've had two animals as of recent refuse food for almost a month. Let it go hungry, without offering food, for a few days, up to a week, depending on your temperature, and then offer something soft and easily digested and see if your axolotl eats.

Mealworms have a tough exoskeleton that can cause constipation. This may be why he's refusing to eat. I had mine one time spit up at least a weeks worth of half- or undigested butterworms and earthworms. It was pretty gross. After a few weeks, he went back to eating normally.
 
Hi everyone,

Thanks for your help.

Sharn, my levels are all good (about 7.5 ph, 0 amonia, 0 nitrite and about 20 nitrate). The temperature is a bit too high but I'm having trouble with it due to the Queensland weather. Its about 23 or 24 degrees celsius mostly, but occasionally it does go higher. I'm trying to control it with fans and ice blocks. There is only one axie in the tank (because his poor brother Gonzo passed away a month ago from a heart defect). I think the tank is about 56 litres, but I'm not sure what that is in gallons. I keep him on large river rocks.

I tried him on the beef heart last night but no luck.

Joan, I might try your suggestion and not offer him any food for a few days. I've been offering him food every day because I've been worried that he isn't eating. Oh, and I am feeding him earthworms not mealworms.

Thanks, Christine.
 
do you have a container big enough for him that you can put in a esky? ive done that with my baby and pack icepacks around the tank, keeps the tank a good 19C. might be worth a shot?
 
hmm, yes that might be an idea. You put ice packs around your glass tank or the container in the esky? I thought of putting ice packs on the outside of the glass but then I thought the glass might crack from the temperature difference.

I'm not sure about whether I have an esky or a container big enough for him to live in an esky all the time. I have a bar fridge that I put him in if I go away and cant monitor his temperature for a while but I dont want to leave him in a bucket in the fridge for months on end!

Cant wait for the cooler winter months - things will be a lot easier!
 
the tank my baby is in at the moment it plastic so no worries there, i dont think icepacks will crack the glass though. yeah, i put the icepacks around the outside of his tank. you dont have to keep him in there all the time, just when the temps gets higher (above 24C), but thats most of the time in aus so maybe moving him to a cooler part of the house? either that or make/invest in a chiller
 
I am having the same problem. Websites say that they can go without food for 2 weeks I was wondering if that is true. Although I think I will let him off food I am still scared about my axolotl being hungry.
When I take the worms out Oreo (this is the one that spits the worms out) goes up to glass as if he is hungry and asking for food. I feed him a small size dendrobaena worm or if the worm is too big I half it with pincers. It is fine for a couple of mins but afterwards he just spits out the worm along with anything else he ate that may not have been digested yet.
My other axolotl Mushroom ( i only have 2 axies) had been spitting out his food before but I think he stopped.
I checked the water temp and it is normally around 18-20° in the day. I don't know what temp it is in the night but I don't feed them in the night anyway.
Please if anyone knows what to do then could you help. Also if the method of not feeding him for a couple of weeks doesn't work then I don't know what to do because I don't have a container to put them in with ice around or something.
Whoever responds would be a big help as my axies are about 9cm and I have only had them for 3 months and wouldn't want to lose them:(
Once again thanks.
 
at 9cm in length they are still only juveniles and are movement orientated, live bloodworm, live brineshrimp, california black worm, live small river shrimp will all be more suitable as the worms movement and taste my be what is causing the regurgitation, large worms are more suitable for adults than juveniles.
although young axolotls are active during the day as they get older they become more nocturnal and it is easier to feed at night.
18°c - 20°c is too high and should be at 15°c - 18°c, better nearer 15°c, prolonged raised temperatures will cause issues over time.
 
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