No luck

[karisha]

I have been trying to feed my axy earthworms with no luck. The first day he swallowed one, but the next day I found it back in the tank. Plus after that I have tried to feed him a couple and he snaps, then lets go, and the freaking things bury themselves in the rocks and get underneath my under gravel filter!! Do you have any advice on this? Thanks

 

[heather]

how big are the earthworms? my axie did this a couple times before, i tried with smaller worms and they went down in one gulp. i guess the others were just too big...if they keep running away from your axo then i would try to hold on to it at least until your axie starts attacking it, that way it will be able to get a hold of it before it gets away.
Just wondering; have you tried salmon pellets with your axolotl,( you need some kind of slate platform to put them on since they sink.)my smaller axos love them, my bigger axo likes the worms better. It takes a lot of convincing to get him to eat them

hope you have some more luck with the food
bye

 

[leah]

Are they the large earthworms or the smaller red wrigglers? The tigers I had before moving here wouldn't touch the red wrigglers- I think because they were so squirmy and hard to swallow. The worms were actually able to wiggle out of Sallymander's mouth even after she'd gotten them completely inside! My axies both love earthworms, and they're the bigger, fatter more sluggish kind. Dunno if that helps

 

[karisha]

They are the Red wigglers. The earthworms were HUGE, so I thought I'd get these. Im not sure if I have the stomach to cut them in half even though its just a worm.

He loves the frozen blood worms, and the freeze dried tubiflex worms. I may have to get some of the salmon pellets that you guys suggested.

 

[kaysie]

Karisha, cutting gets easier every time you do it. a couple of notes here: if you let it go hungry for a few days, its probably more apt to eat the red wiggler (mine will eat wigglers if they're hungry). Freeze dried tubifex has hardly any nutritional value. Pellets are much better. But worms are best of all.

 

[dot]

Karisha -

The Indiana University Axolotl Colony sells the pellets for $5 per 1lb bag for the small pellets. I got 2 bags a while back - around August, I think, and I've still got a ton left. Excess can be frozen and they'll keep for a long time at room temperature. There's a downloadable order form at the IUAC site: http://www.indiana.edu/~axolotl

Good luck!

 

[mik]

On worms...I buy Dendrata from a bait shop and have never had any problems. Try feeding smaller oes first and when they get used to it just chuck in the big ones.

There's really no need to cut in half if you select them carefully.

If a worm goes off and hides in gravel don't worry too much. One evening when the lights are out it will be daft enough to poke it's 'head' above the gravel. Next minute...it's a gonner.

I find axies will eat worms in preference to anything else. 9 out of 9 axies can't be wrong...