Feeding Axolotl

J

julia

Guest
I am collecting two axolotl later today. As I have a good worm colony in my compost bin I aim to feed them mostly these. How ever while looking through various sites, one group where suggesting mixed seafood..i.e prawn, muscles, squid etc. Is it a good idea to feed them something that comes from a different enviroment, i.e sea as opposed to fresh water as an occasional 'treat' would it be ok.
 
Well if they do not eat squid in the wild then u shouldnt really feed them that!
 
They don't eat chicken livers in the wild either and don't you feed your axolotls that or am I wrong? Maybe I got you confused with someone else...
 
Worms are great to feed them! And a very good staple. As long as they are enjoying them, then I don' think you need worry about the seafood.

I know some axie owners feed shrimp and/or muscles, but have never heard about them eating squid.
 
Can worms or nightcrawlers be the only thing fed to a salamander? So far that is all I feed my mudpuppy. I think I asked this question before but I guess more people could always help.
 
Many thanks for the links , will stick to the worms and blood worms. Both settled in and have fed..however I noticed later that there was a scattering of blue gravel so i removed that from the tank( I have sand in mine) . I noticed that the larger one ( Jeffry ) was noticably herding the smaller one ( Princess..daughter named her and it may change when we determine the sex!) into the plastic tube that I have. I have tried to upload a picture of them but its too large..when I work out how to shrink it I'll put it up.
 
Squid is fine - fine eat it (not often but occasionally). They love fish and waxworms, bloodworms, lean chicken or beef, but their absolute favourite is either tiger prawn or live river shrimps!

Chances are that all of our axies ( i mean everyone on the forum) have not been in the wild for many many generations, so i really would not worry TOO much about "natural environments" etc
 
glen thats exactly what the people at my pet shop said when i questioned the wisdom of liver.
 
Its impossible to recreate the conditions of Lake Xochimilco in your own tank... UK earthworms in Mexico? Unlikely... I think we just have to use our common sense on this subject... as there don't appear to be any hard and fast rules...
 
Julia, the blue gravel is probably something they were kept on previously. Axolotls can eat it, and it will remain in the gut, sometimes causing impaction. If they're passing it, that's a good thing!

If one is bullying the other, be sure you've got enough hiding spaces for both of them. Lots of plants (silk or live), caves, logs, rocks, etc. The more hiding places you have, the better.

Glen: my axolotls prefer Canadian nightcrawlers, lol. Also, unless you have access to glacial runoff, I doubt your water quality would be anywhere near Xochimilco.
 
Haha exactly my point Kaysie!! Too much weight gets put on "natural environments" - as long as its healthy and safe axies will be fine
happy.gif
 
Thanks for the notes, just needed to confirm! Both are doing fine, my golden tootles around most of the day and comes to the front when I'm in the kitchen. Jeffry ( aka godzilla ) hides most of the day, but comes out when no ones looking and beats up the plants. Don't think he's bullying the little one, it looks like he's trying to protect her ( previous owner said she thought that was what he is doing.)Anyway I am thoroughly enjoying them, telly is dull in comparison..I just sit there on my stool with my g&t and my little 'lotles!
 
i wouldn't feed worms from the compost bin as they have a bacteria that can make your axies sick but garden worms are fine. was told this by a owner of 4 axies and she said not too when i asked.
 
Tracy, compost worms are fine. In fact, that's usually the species that people breed for their axolotls.

They can emit a noxious fluid, which tastes bad, but is in no way harmful to axolotls.
 
My compost bin produces huge ammounts of worms, when I lift the lid off they tend to all fall out..so toes are kept well clear! Also we eat a large proportion of organic veg, so the chances of pesticides etc getting in are minute,
 
I agree with you both on compost worms, the majority of the worms in our compo bin were the garden worms we introduced to start it off, never ever used pesticides or stuff on our property, i also grabbed some and made up a few small worm farms with my kids and I keep them by the back door in the shade so I don't need to trudge to the compo bin at the bottom of the garden. Our axies devour them and are quite large and healthy. They used to spit them out when we first got them as they'd only had small worms that didn't need chopping in half. Now they just snap them up regardless of if they're small full length or 1/2 or 1/4 cut up worms.
 
cool didn't know that (thank you)
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thats why i like this site you learn so much more from others,
We don't spray pesticides around the house as we have cats and dogs living with us and i saw the results of someone spraying on a windy day and a pond of beautiful goldfish of many different colours go belly up! (i hate commercial poisons)we use a mixture of salt,vinegar and water kill the weeds not the animals. Sounds mean but does anyone feed live fish and if so what type and how often?
 
i thin, although our axolotls arent from the wild, it is still better if we dont put them in totally alien tanks. e.g i personally dont like coloured gravel, etc, and i have margin plants growing out of the tank, sand, and the occasional boulder. althogh it is impossible to recreate the axolotls natural habitat, i still think we ought to give them a habitat that resembles the habitat which they adapted to.
and by the way, my axolotls get fed worms, frozen and live bloodworm, and occasionally large mealworms from my salamanders(also waxworms maybe once every other month)
 
Alex, since axolotls probably can't see color, the colored gravel wouldn't do them any foul. But I agree with you, I like 'natural' tanks better. Although I have a 'blue rainbow stone' in mine, it's now covered in brown algae, so it looks somewhat natural :p

Tracy, live fish are frowned upon, as they may nip at axolotls gills. If you do wish to feed live fish, feed a few at a time. Most use rosy reds or guppies. If you want to do this regularly, start your own colony of feeder fish, as to reduce the risk of parasite transmission from pet-shop fish.
 
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