# axolotl feeding



## Mark Harrington (Mar 5, 2007)

Hi

I am and the school children are proud owners of 2 axies which are ravenously mucnhing up earthworms and maggots. 
Have been trying to feed them with sinking trout pellets but they don't seem to notice them and they soon fall apart fouling the tank. 

Have tried frozen blood worm which they do take, but also fouls up the tank more. Tried forcep to feed them with but they tend to attck the forceps and not the food!

Any advice? 

ta


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## peaches (Apr 3, 2007)

I use forceps with mine, pick up the worm one end and dangle it right in/on their face....they never seem to notice food unless it hits them :lol2:


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## Art_Gecko101 (May 6, 2006)

I know in frogs, food has to be living for them to eat it, as there are motion detectors in the brain which stimulate a feeding response. Therefore if the food is dead (like the frozen bloodworms and pelllets) they wont eat it. Sounds as though your Axies like their livefood, although i have heard of them eating pellets before, so perhaps the feeding response in axies just isnt as strong without motion


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## sam316 (Mar 21, 2007)

try some chopped up beef heart, they love it! :grin1:


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## bellabelloo (Mar 31, 2007)

Hi, my two are 'hand' or tong fed worms, raw tiger prawns( thinly sliced), sea food cocktail( trimmed and rinsed to get rid of the salt water glaze) , slivers of raw fat free meat, chicken heart, pond snails and occasionally large live blood worm and live river shrimp. I briefly tried pellets but gave up quickly...too much mess! Mine really do like variety, all the best witht the little guys


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## jon2thefish (May 5, 2007)

mine were able to search/pick up catfish pellets (jmc catfish pellets) from the gravel, dont ask me how, they would just place their heads/mouths to the substrate and go along then when passin over a pellet they would snap @ it, same would go for the bloodworm smelt, mussel etc. They were never fed any live/movin food. snap foods from the hand, even to the state they would swim up to the surface to take food from you

Cant say this ever worked with my white tree frogs lol, but it appeared the axols have a good sense of smell, theses were kept on a 300 gals centralised system with coldwater fish in other tanks. The fish would be fed first and by the time wed come bac to feed the axols, they would be alot more active. me thinkin they could smell the flake food through the water that was being circulated.


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## Art_Gecko101 (May 6, 2006)

> white tree frogs lol


My whites have got to the point where they recognise that i feed them, so i can hold them a cricket that i killed by accident and it;ll still go for it even thouh the insect itself isnt moving, i think its funny how their natural mechanisms get somewhat overridden by conditioning. My smallest one is a nutcase! everytime i go past the tank, if he sees me he'll launch himself onto the glass and stick there! VERY funny to watch, he also gets confused and when my hand is in there feeding the others, will often get confused by my airplants and grab onto them and not let go! silly frogs.


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## crow (May 27, 2007)

I put the odd cricket in with mine. They swim on the surface and the movement soon attracts them. After a few days i used floating food sticks instead. They took some as soon as they hit the water and the rest they smell out in the night. I feed floating turtle pellets and mealworms in this way too.


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## sami (Oct 23, 2006)

if you drop the pellets so they fall on their heads, and drop down past their mouths, they are more likely to take them, if they're not used to pellets already. 

sami


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## johnmc (Oct 16, 2006)

*feeding axolotls*

the best thing to feed your axolotls is cooked prawns the type you get in tescos . it should be cut to a size that the beasties can swallow and you dont have to use forseps as they can smell it when you drop it in. remove any thats not eaten after an hour or so this also applies to all newts they love it they will need some live food on occasion but the prawns can make up their staple diet i have kept amphibs for many years and guarantee this will make keeping your amphibs so much easier 
pinjohn


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## johnmc (Oct 16, 2006)

*feeding axolotls*

the best thing to feed your axolotls is cooked prawns the type you get in tescos . it should be cut to a size that the beasties can swallow and you dont have to use forseps as they can smell it when you drop it in. remove any thats not eaten after an hour or so this also applies to all newts they love it they will need some live food on occasion but the prawns can make up their staple diet i have kept amphibs for many years and guarantee this will make keeping your amphibs so much easier 
pinjohn


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