New Axolotl not eating for a week.

[Chadillac]

Water parameters are pH: 7.4-7.6, Ammonia: 0, Nitrite: 0, Nitrate: 20.

I recently bought a new axolotl online. He was shipped and in transit for 3-4 days and was fasted before being shipped. It's been a week since he's been here and has shown a small interest in food but will not eat. He'll either take the worm and spit it right back out or tilt his head away and swim off. Both of these are signs that he may just be full but after a long time on the road and being here for a week I'm worried.

He has no signs of stress, no tilted gills, and no bent tail. Substrate is sand but I doubt that is the problem as it is very fine and he hasn't attempted to eat anything since arriving. Attempting to feed earthworms that are cut up incase they are too large for him whole yet, but still will spit them out. Plenty of hides, 65 gallon tank, water temp is roughly 64-65 degrees Fahrenheit. He's roughly 7 inches long no clue how old he is.

Could he just not be hungry after all this time or could this be a medical problem? Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[GulfCoastAxolotls]

Water parameters are pH: 7.4-7.6, Ammonia: 0, Nitrite: 0, Nitrate: 20.

I recently bought a new axolotl online. He was shipped and in transit for 3-4 days and was fasted before being shipped. It's been a week since he's been here and has shown a small interest in food but will not eat. He'll either take the worm and spit it right back out or tilt his head away and swim off. Both of these are signs that he may just be full but after a long time on the road and being here for a week I'm worried.

He has no signs of stress, no tilted gills, and no bent tail. Substrate is sand but I doubt that is the problem as it is very fine and he hasn't attempted to eat anything since arriving. Attempting to feed earthworms that are cut up incase they are too large for him whole yet, but still will spit them out. Plenty of hides, 65 gallon tank, water temp is roughly 64-65 degrees Fahrenheit. He's roughly 7 inches long no clue how old he is.

Could he just not be hungry after all this time or could this be a medical problem? Any advice would be appreciated.

If the earthworms you are trying to feed him are a species of red worm (like red wigglers), that may be part of the issue. Many red worms produce a bitter slime when stressed and axolotls wont touch them. Try rinsing them in hot water or blanching them first to remove that slime. Canadian nightcrawlers also don't have a great acceptance rate in my experience.

European nightcrawlers are the worm of choice, but the red wigglers should also be fine if they have been rinsed or blanched properly.