Feeding.

[HayleyK]

So in my previous threads I've mentioned my sensitive axolotl José that has some sort of skin irritation but have correct water parameters, also floats but is not impacted (originally thought she [i thought she was a he, hence the name] was constipated but did a massive poop and has been pooping since). Besides all that she WAS eating like a beast but never retained her weight. She has slowly been losing weight for maybe the past 10 weeks, as I have a picture from that time and she was nice and chubby.

Previously I had been feeding her earthworms from my wormery/ chemical free garden. About 2-3 of these once every two days. Now she has not eaten in like a week which is strange as she used to eat everything that moved. She will take it, chew it a bit then spit it out and refuse to take it again.

I've tried cutting worms and squishing their poo out, soaking them in water, "boiling" them, full live worms etc. but she does the same thing. I've tried blood worms, beef heart (I'm aware these aren't suitable diets but I'm desperate for her to gain!) and even pellets but she's being a real pain. I've been trying to get her to eat almost everyday but she takes maybe quarter a worm, if that.

The other little dude eats everything without a problem. Worms, heart, pellets, blood worms everything! Now I have prawns, chicken and fish readily available.. What should I feed her? How often? I'm not comfortable with force feeding.

I know they can go a while without food but I'm just paranoid.. I've been thinking about starving her for maybe like three days.. So she will be hungry And take whatever I present her.. Or is that a bad idea?


Extra info:

Pellets: crude protein: 48%, crude fat 9%, crude fibre 5% and moisture 8%
Beef heart: protein 11.2% , fat 0.8%, fibre 2.7%, moisture 82%

 

[HayleyK]

Please guys, this deterioration is making me worry even more looking at my photos. Any advice/ suggestions?

 

[auntiejude]

I have one that does that - refuses food for a week or 2 before regaining his appetite.
You could try something like waxworms or maggots - higher in fat and meant as an occasional treat, but pretty good at tempting a reluctant axie. With my axie it seems he has become afraid of my hand - probably due to my somewhat skittish son feeding him while I was on holiday.

If you're sure Jose is a girl she could have produced eggs, not been fertilised, and is now re-absorbing them - how old is she?
I am assuming you have checked for injuries to her mouth? One of mine was very wary for a while after she bit my finger that had a long nail, I think she might have cut her lip.

Otherwise persistence pays off - offer her food every day, and if she still hasn't eaten in another few days look up the force feeding sticky.

 

[HayleyK]

I've been looking for waxworms in my area but can't find any at all.. She's never been afraid of my hand or tweezers when she sees them she usually perks up.

She is about two and I'm positive she's a girl now she's got no distinct vent.. What do you mean by reabsorbing them? I have checked for injuries all over her, sometimes her mouths hangs open a few mm but other than that totally fine.

 

[layna]

I would just try with various different food types, she might just be acting spoilt.
My axie did something similar and now only eats axie sinking pellets, i dont mind as its easier than feeding the dendrobena (spelling?) woms as there is no mud or anything

 

[auntiejude]

What do you mean by reabsorbing them?

She has produced eggs, she hasn't been mated, and now the eggs inside her are being absorbed back into her system as axies don't have a menstrual cycle.

If you can't find waxworms just try maggots - waxworms are bigger and last for weeks in the fridge without pupating, that's why they are a favourite.

 

[mewsie]

I went through this with one of mine - he was looking very skinny.

It took a lot of patience to bring him back out of it, (and a change of tank mates.) He still won't eat worms but will readily accept pellets now.

In order to get him to eat again, I had to gently scoop him into a separate tub at feeding time, and feed him defrosted bloodworm, which seem to be pretty stinky and tasty.

Scooping him into the tub meant I could monitor his intake, and the best way I found to get him to eat was to painstakingly tweezer up chunks of the bloodworm and drop them over his head - he snapped and ate them. It sometimes took about half an hour to get him to eat a cube.

I did this once or twice a day (and even took time off work :S) for about 3 weeks. Then started dropping pellets over his head in the tank - if I caught the angle just right, he'd snap and eat the pellet, but if it dropped to the sand he wouldn't hunt it out.

Nowadays he'll potter about and hoover up pellets for a couple of minutes, then loses interest. It's harder work than just a couple of worms a week, but it gets him to eat.

 

[HayleyK]

I would just try with various different food types, she might just be acting spoilt.
My axie did something similar and now only eats axie sinking pellets, i dont mind as its easier than feeding the dendrobena (spelling?) woms as there is no mud or anything

I've tried 4 different types of food, have yet to try chicken, fish and prawns. I'm just unsure about prawns / fish because of salt. i hate the way she's acting!! It's frustrating me worrying me

She has produced eggs, she hasn't been mated, and now the eggs inside her are being absorbed back into her system as axies don't have a menstrual cycle.

If you can't find waxworms just try maggots - waxworms are bigger and last for weeks in the fridge without pupating, that's why they are a favourite.

If she's absorbing them shouldn't she retain her weight? I can't find maggots either in my area, they're not big on amphibians or axolotls there's only beef heart, blood worms and brine shrimp frozen and labelled for fish, they don't know how to even care for an axolotl around my area.. Do you know any sites?

I went through this with one of mine - he was looking very skinny.

It took a lot of patience to bring him back out of it, (and a change of tank mates.) He still won't eat worms but will readily accept pellets now.

In order to get him to eat again, I had to gently scoop him into a separate tub at feeding time, and feed him defrosted bloodworm, which seem to be pretty stinky and tasty.

Scooping him into the tub meant I could monitor his intake, and the best way I found to get him to eat was to painstakingly tweezer up chunks of the bloodworm and drop them over his head - he snapped and ate them. It sometimes took about half an hour to get him to eat a cube.

I did this once or twice a day (and even took time off work :S) for about 3 weeks. Then started dropping pellets over his head in the tank - if I caught the angle just right, he'd snap and eat the pellet, but if it dropped to the sand he wouldn't hunt it out.

Nowadays he'll potter about and hoover up pellets for a couple of minutes, then loses interest. It's harder work than just a couple of worms a week, but it gets him to eat.

I've tried that too with no luck.. She will take maybe 10 blood worms if that. She has no problem taking the food it's like she can't hold it down anymore and spits it out. How long did it take to get him eating and look chubby again?

do you guys think I should starve her a little to make her more keen on food or will that do more damage?

 

[layna]

I wouldnt recommend beef heart or chicken as a food and only tiny bits of prawn on occasions.
I would stick with live food so they can see it moving be it live bloodworm/earthworm/guppies/shrimp or maggots ect, after a while she will realise that shes not going to be catered for an eventually start to eat, just keep trying with the live food everyday
Depending on her size she may be struggling to keep the bloodworm down as its too little for her mouth.

 

[HayleyK]

I wouldnt recommend beef heart or chicken as a food and only tiny bits of prawn on occasions.
I would stick with live food so they can see it moving be it live bloodworm/earthworm/guppies or maggots ect, after a while she will realise that shes not going to be catered for an eventually start to eat, just keep trying with the live food everyday

I only tried beef heart because I know it's more fatty and she's not really eating much, worth a shot! She spits out earthworms straight away even if I soak them too and if I cut them.. I guess I just have to persist ....

 

[layna]

Are they actually earthworms or the ones that taste nasty? Red crawlers or something?

Some worms taste nasty to axies especially if they are cut/soaked

 

[HayleyK]

Are they actually earthworms or the ones that taste nasty? Red crawlers or something?

Some worms taste nasty to axies especially if they are cut/soaked

They are labelled as earthworms but some are big fat red ones, but she used to eat them fine.. I usually rinse them, wipe the gunk off with tissue and rinse them again. If they were too big is cut them and squish out the poop and rinse them. She never used to mind been feeding her for this whole year on them

So far in my wormery there's been cucumber peels, banana, potato peels, carrot peels, strawberry tops and watermelon. Can what I feed them affect the taste?

 

[auntiejude]

Skip the fruit and veg leftovers, just feed your worms on cooked potatoes - plain mashed or sliced is fine. Sounds daft, but mine go nuts for mash - I don't even have to dig to harvest them. And if you lay a slice or 2 of cooked potato on soil you will have a mass of worms underneath within an hour. Worms will also strip the flesh off potato peelings (boil them for 10 mins first) and leave you with really pretty ribbons of skin!

Dendrobaena, also called red wrigglers are the ones that sometime taste nasty, but I've never had a problem with them.

 

[HayleyK]

Does the fruit and veg affect the worms? I just chuck all my leftover peels and stuff from lunch and dinner..

Worms eating mash. Too funny :lol:

 

[mewsie]

I've tried that too with no luck.. She will take maybe 10 blood worms if that. She has no problem taking the food it's like she can't hold it down anymore and spits it out. How long did it take to get him eating and look chubby again?

do you guys think I should starve her a little to make her more keen on food or will that do more damage?

Once he started accepting pellets, only about 2 months Now he's a little chubbo again.

I wouldn't go down the starving route, you might just have to be super patient. Chester was just like that to begin with.

I meant to mention before - he also had a skin irritation at the same time. His feet and legs were blotchy and looked sore!

We took his old tank mate Roscoe (aka Bitey Mc****face) out and put Albi in. Skin all cleared up and he started eating pellets. I have no real evidence or reasoning for this working, perhaps Roscoe was causing him stress. Roscoe never suffered the same problem.

It might not be the same issue though, but that was my experience with him! Means I have to keep Roscoe in his own tank unfortunately, but such is life!

 

[HayleyK]

How strange.. I got a new dude a about 9 weeks ago, but they've been fine together for 8 of them. So weird! Have you ever tried to put them back, I don't have the room for a separate tank

 

[mewsie]

No, I haven't.

I have the luxury of the space, although I'd much rather they all lived in one tank (so I could have something else in the other tank, heheh) just for the ease of cleaning if nothing else!

It does sound strangely similar though...