My axolotl wont eat??

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ScarletsBurn

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hey everyone :)

its been awhile since i last used tis site (after forgetting my password AND username after a holiday) and i finally managed to get it back :D
and i have qestions!!!!

Still new to this, ive only had my baby for a little less than five months, he has been going very very well in his home, growing more confidence with my hands in the tank (for feeding) and much more intrigued and curious. He will try to eat just about anything that moves, but if i try hand feeding him he wont go for the food, just my fingers! this is where the problem begins!

After comfortable eating as much as he liked, and that was quite alot i might add, my axolotl has gone off his food, Still intrigued and curious, he will try and eat it, fiddling around untill finally spitting it back out. I dont understand, its like his hungry but cant manage the food anymore!
I feed him earthworms and the occasional feeder fish, he hasnt had feeder fish in awhile but when i try giving him a worm he spitts them out! i though maybe its to big so i try and get smaller ones, chopping them up, but no matter what he spits them out! and I cant give him dead food he wont even bother with it unless it moves.

Whats wrong?? his water tempt is fine, his tank is clean, he isnt distressed or showing any sighns of distress.. is he off his food? Sick of worms? please help :(

its been over a week now and he still wont eat!
 
if he's full grown I wouldn't be too concerned. Axolotls can go for a week or so without eating. I might try to vary his diet a bit first and see if that coaxes him to eat. Maybe try a different type of worm
 
Ive tried blood worms but he doesnt like them so I was thinking maybe I could try crickets? He has done this to me before but no matter what he never denies a nice jucy fish, so ill be trying one of those, if he declines that, then ill be really worried.

Is it normal for them to try and eat it but spit it out? I thought if he went off his food he wouldent even bother trying to eat it in the first place...

Oh and thankyou for the reply :D
 
It's not too unusual for axies to spit a worm back out. For me, the problem was feeding nightcrawlers to my male that were too large for him. Switched to red wigglers and haven't had a problem with it since, though. What kind of worms are you using? From what I understand, some axies can be picky. Like carson said, trying some more variation might be the key.
 
Feeder fish aren't very good compared to other food items. You can try blackworms, pellets, brine shrimp, glassworms, night crawlers, waxworms, etc.

Have you checked out Axolotl.org yet? It's got a TON of info.
 
I also wouldn't try crickets, I don't think they're supposed to be the best for them.
 
Ok I wont try crickets, unfortunatly in my case my mother disagrees with EVERYTHING and think my research is bull****. Today we went to the pet store, a women told us she had a 'walking fish' that she kept, feeding it only feeder fish and occasionally frozen beef heart. She kept it with fish and said they were 'best friends' and also read somwhere that 'putting a heater will make your axie alot more active' so now it sits around 26 degrees and he is much more 'alive'.
My mum thought the women was correct and suggested we get a heater, not believing the axie would become stressed and the water would caus health problems.
The women also said it was odd for the axie to eat other fish.
apparently she had done 'lots of research' and it was easier then mine, so of course, my mum believed it over me.

But i dont care hehehe
The worms I feed him are earthworms, and he absolutly loved them when I first started feeding him. Of course now he is being very fussy and isnt eating them...
Im finding it hard to find live food anywhere, earthworms and feeder fish are expensive as it is and the only things I can find that arent dead and sold in frozen cubes. He hates dead things.

Im starting with breeding guppies, if successful I may start feeding him them as a treat. He just loves moving things!

Also would it be a good idea to add another axolotl?
 
unfortunately for you, the information you were given is wrong and could not be any further from the truth, and seems to be a common complaint from people who buy their animals from pet stores.

water temperatures over 20 degrees can cause lots of health issues, and also put your animal at risk of developing fungal infections as they don't have scales like fish do.

as for feeding, live earthworms are best, and should be a staple diet, I maintain my own worm farm and that is were my axie's food is sourced. feeder fish are not the best as commercial ones are just about always are riddled with parasites and disease.

beef heart is good as a accessional treat and to help fatten your animal up somewhat, but it is high in fat and will cause problems if fed too often and besides, I'm sure you won't find beef heart occurring naturally in the animals native habitat.

also keep in mind axies tend to be more active at night and dislike bright lights, so try feeding your animal in the evening.
 
I was far from believing her! my mother was the one who thought she was correct, I know not to have the temperature that high, infact I have an ice pack floating in his tank right now to keep it cool. When I heard what she was saying I almost fell over in shock, the poor thing was most likely stressed out of its mind and she had misjudged its behaviour for being 'active'

I was wondering if anyone has noticed there axie trying to swim past the edge of there tank. I have a round cournered aquarium and I often find my little guy pushing his head inbetween the bend in the glass as if trying to push it away. Is this normal?
 
Im so proud! My axolotl just ate his first two worms today! it took him a little longer then usual with the larger one, but he managed to keep it down with a fight! they werent that big, but its a start!
after he finished them he looked up at me, asif to say "Was that goosd enough?"
i was so proud I almost burst into tears!
 
Theres nothing wrong with a few crickets every now and then, although they are not very nutritious if not properly gut loaded with loadsa healthy food (greens, cereals, berries, bug grub, calcium dust) but a well gut fed cricket will be a very nutritious addition to an axies diet and adds abit of much needed variety! Just make sure the crickets are not too small (more exoskeleton than actual meat) and not too big (could be dificult to digest fully) just nice juicy ones that your little monster can easily swallow!

Congrats on getting your axie to eat again, Gomez is being abit fussy at the mo only eaten 2 tiny worms since xmas, he (she) is still as huge as ever tho so im not too worried at this stage hopefully he'll snap out of it soon!

Laters

Ed
 
Thankyou guys so much! I know im still jumping with excitment over this, you dont realise how much you love them untill moments like these!
he ate another one just after I posted my last thread, although that was really really really small its enough for hope :D
I think he was just being fussy and finally decided that he rather eat earth worms then starve... but its all good :)

I have another worry though and I have since posted another thread about it, if you guys could help me out? Its about these white-funguss looking things on my axie and even though hes always had them they worry me... he hasnt acted strange and only since his little 'food strike' has he been odd in behaviour.. any ideas?
thanks again for the support xx
 
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