Picky Eater?

[SarahJ]

My little axie, Gilly, is being a picky eater and I need some help. When I got her I picked up some red wigglers because the store was out of nightcrawlers. Shes about 4 inches now so I cut them up pretty small for her. Since she was being picky with the wigglers I went and got nightcrawlers when they were back in stock a couple of days ago. At first she seemed to like them,she ate about 3 half inch pieces the first night. Tonight while I was feeding her she only ate one piece. I put other pieces and at first she would seem interested and even put one in her mouth then she would kind of spit it out while she was trying to eat it. I also put a piece of red wiggler in there and she didn't eat it. I was planning on leaving the pieces in her tank for the night in case she changed her mind. Does anyone have any suggestions or tips for me? How much should an axie her size be eating per day? I make sure that the pieces are moving because she likes the movement. I need some help. Plus I haven't seen any poops anywhere.

 

[Kochebi]

Hey there! First of all, if she's eating every day once a day, and maybe 1/4 to 1/2 worm, for her size that's a good meal. I don't personally feed mine earthworms, but I know adults would eat one worm every other day generally. If you're worried about her weight, the best way to know if she's healthy is that her belly should be about as wide as her head at the thickest, if it's slightly under that's alright, just near the size of her head is good. Also, it's best if you don't leave food around in the tank. That could cause an extra build up of ammonia, and then you'll probably get a bunch of detritus worms as well. They aren't really a problem... just annoying and not really great to look at :/

If she keeps refusing worms, then you could try other foods. Blood worms could still be an alright source of food at her size, and up to 5 or 6 inches in length. You could also try a pellet diet. My three axolotls all remain fat and happy on pellets, and gobble them up happily.