Worms from bait shop

[emily]

I was wondering if i could feed my axie worms from a bait shop. I am told they are tiger worms. They are raised in a worm farm for sale in the bait shop. I'm also told they are reasonable small so i wont have to cut them up before i feed them. Would i need to gut load them before i feed them?

Also i was reading posts about feeding crickets. I have never done this and the only place i would be able to get the from would be the local pet store. Are these crickets ok? I have read they have little nutritional value, but if i fed them as a treat along with other things would that be ok?

Thanks

 

[joan]

Tiger worms = red wigglers = compost worms, etc. They tend to excrete a bitter substance when cut or bitten, and some animals refuse them because they taste bad.

If your animals will eat them (some of mine will, some won't), then they're a perfectly acceptable food. You don't need to gutload them, but I occasionally add some calcium powder to my dirt, kind of 'just in case'.

Pet store crickets are fine. They have a high nutritional value, although maybe not as much as earthworms. The thing with crickets is that if you're feeding them to your axolotl exclusively, they need to be gutloaded. They tend to be low in calcium. And they float. My animals don't notice them unless I hold the cricket in front of their face.

 

[jennifer]

With store-bought worms of that type, you may want to feed the worms in clean soil for a while, not so much for gut loading, but because they are often raised in manure. It is possible that the smell/taste from that may be part of the reason they are sometimes rejected.

 

[emily]

ok cool. I was also told (by my sister) that if you put them in the dark a few days before they are to be eaten (in a empty container) they excrete any soil in them. I dont know if this works or would change the flavour of the worm, but she used to feed them to her goldfish, this is how she found out about it. Does anybody know if this works?

 

[rob]

Hi Emily
i got my last worms from an aquarium shop in Parafield had them in a container for about 3 mths, they used to love them, but i think they were going off and in the end they didnt really like them as much, they would sniff em but not take them, i used to get them out of the container and wash them thoroughly under fresh water b4 feeding them..
also get my crickets from aquarium shops in Parafield and they come with a packet of gutload
"only $3" there are 3 x aquarium shops in Parafield that are pretty good

 

[emily]

Hey Rob,
I live near the parafield airport so i'll check the aquarium shops out.
Thanks for that
Emily

 

[alex]

i cant find snails or crickets for sale anywhere here. i wish my petstore sold them it would save me a lot of time(wouldnt have to go outside and dig big holes to find sum worms).

 

[rob]

no probs Emily, i live near the airport too

just behind Bridgestone... the one i got the worms from is Fish haven on Maxwell road, if u havnt been there it's worth a look

although i dont like the staff much but it's huge though and check out the freshwater croc in there

 

[emily]

yeah i've been there many times. The croc is cool, as if it doesnt eat the turtles that are in there with him

I saw some very sad looking axies in there the other day, very skinny with no gills, on gravel. I felt sorry for them.

Thanks for all your help

 

[rob]

yeah i saw that axie

"white one" he got all fired up with me when i said this site recommends sand not gravel and told me he has been raising axies for 20 odd yrs and this site knows nothing ! so i left him to it... thats the shop i took to consumer affairs !
their staff know everything...
"i'm being sarcastic" i dont go there any more unless i have to, dont want to give them anymore of my money !!!

 

[emily]

Yeah, My sister is a huge fish fanatic and she always told me never to go there unless you are buying food or rocks etc. She said the fish always die when you buy them. I believe she has had a few diseases from that place too.

 

[jennifer]

This is getting way off topic. I think you guys need to start meeting in the chatroom for this kind of discussion.

 

[rob]

ok sorry

 

[theresa]

Jennifer, you cracked me up. You'd make a great teacher, getting the"kid's" back in line.
Sorry to sound stupid , but is that a real axolotl in your avatar, or is it a salamander before a change?