Axolotl Eating Sand?

[Junaz]

Hi, I've posted on here before because I have a 2.5" axolotl in a 20 gallon long, and I was having some serious trouble getting it's tank cycled, but I think I have that all under control now. Anyways, my new problem has to do with the sand I just put in my tank like 2 hours ago. It used to be bottomless, but I got some CaribSea Supernatural sand and there's not that much in there, maybe a very thin layer coating the bottom. And my axolotl is already eating it. It started eating it like as soon as the sand was in there. I feed my axolotl bloodworm cubes, which I've read can be very messy to clean up, but I've never had an issue with it because my axolotl eats everything. It scrounges on the floor when I feed it to make sure it didn't miss any worms. So my concern: Can my axolotl get sick from eating sand? I read from multiple sources that sand was good because they could digest it if they accidentally ate some but like my axolotl is full on chomping it up. Also after putting the sand in the water has gotten the teensiest bit foggy. So...any feedback?

 

[AnimeDan]

The fogginess is likely just dust in the sand that kicked up and will likely settle to the bottom within a couple days. Sand is generally small enough to pass through their system and I often see it in my axolotls poo. Though I didn’t put mine with sand until they were larger than yours so I’m not sure about with an Axolotl that small. Mine eat sand occasionally as well, it’s just them scavenging and hunting for food like they would in the wild.

 

[GulfCoastAxolotls]

Hi, I've posted on here before because I have a 2.5" axolotl in a 20 gallon long, and I was having some serious trouble getting it's tank cycled, but I think I have that all under control now. Anyways, my new problem has to do with the sand I just put in my tank like 2 hours ago. It used to be bottomless, but I got some CaribSea Supernatural sand and there's not that much in there, maybe a very thin layer coating the bottom. And my axolotl is already eating it. It started eating it like as soon as the sand was in there. I feed my axolotl bloodworm cubes, which I've read can be very messy to clean up, but I've never had an issue with it because my axolotl eats everything. It scrounges on the floor when I feed it to make sure it didn't miss any worms. So my concern: Can my axolotl get sick from eating sand? I read from multiple sources that sand was good because they could digest it if they accidentally ate some but like my axolotl is full on chomping it up. Also after putting the sand in the water has gotten the teensiest bit foggy. So...any feedback?

Axolotls that small really should not be kept on sand. Sand is fine for larger juveniles/adults since they can usually pass sand without causing impaction. I never recommend feeding bloodworms on sand though. At the very least, put them in a dish so they don't accidentally ingest sand while they eat. I would recommend removing the sand until your axolotl is larger and has graduated to eating earthworms so it is less likely for them to get a mouthful of sand at dinner time.

 

[Junaz]

Axolotls that small really should not be kept on sand. Sand is fine for larger juveniles/adults since they can usually pass sand without causing impaction. I never recommend feeding bloodworms on sand though. At the very least, put them in a dish so they don't accidentally ingest sand while they eat. I would recommend removing the sand until your axolotl is larger and has graduated to eating earthworms so it is less likely for them to get a mouthful of sand at dinner time.

Thank you, I'll remove the sand.