Axolotl Feeding

Hey everyone. So I got a juveinile wild type axolotl on Wednesday(he is about 2.3 inches long) and so far I've only gotten him to eat a handful of bloodworms and one small carnivore pellet.

He has a dish in the corner that I put the blood worms in because I don't want him eating them off the sand because I heard that if they eat too much sand it could cause impaction.

He found the dish last night but wouldn't eat anything until I picked them back up with the turkey baster and then let one or two at a time float down in front of his face with it. He ate about ten altogether and that's all he's eaten since I got him. The pet store I got him from fed them blood worms only so I figured he would eat that before anything else.

Is there a way I can get him to recognize where his dish is and that's where he'll get food? Or do I just keep putting food in there and hope he finds it?

Please help I don't think he'll starve, but I don't want him to be hungry.

Thanks in advance

 

Axolotls are carnivores, implying they require a meat-based diet. They have rather rudimentary teeth, designed for gripping rather than biting or tearing. As a result, their food is generally swallowed whole, so anything they want to eat must fit into their mouths. When a hand-fed axolotl becomes accustomed to people, it may occasionally latch onto a finger. You can feel these little teeth quite distinctly. This is a curious experience, rather than a painful one, because the axolotl hasn't the strength to pierce human skin, so don't be afraid to try it. The Axolotl's teeth come into their own when trying to grip something slippery like an earthworm. The worm will wriggle but it will find it very difficult to escape the Axolotl's mouth. If the worm is too large to swallow completely, the Axolotl will eventually give up and let go. Large food is a problem when you don't have biting teeth!


Foods like are a good staple, being as nutritionally balanced as brineshrimp.

 

Its been a while since I had axolotls, but I always found with mine they wernt really interested in food unless it moved. I had to hand feed them and wiggle the food around. I'm sure if hes hungry though he will eat from his dish maybe get his attention with one or two bloodworms from a turkey baster and lead him to the dish like a candy trail?

 

Its been a while since I had axolotls, but I always found with mine they wernt really interested in food unless it moved. I had to hand feed them and wiggle the food around. I'm sure if hes hungry though he will eat from his dish maybe get his attention with one or two bloodworms from a turkey baster and lead him to the dish like a candy trail?

Thanks, I'll give it another go. I first tried to hand feed him but I'm still too jumpy yet and when I jumped it scared him and he wouldnt come near me again for the rest of the night. so I'll keep trying to give him some wiggly food.

 

Update: small victory! Got him to eat a little bit more tonight. Progress is fantastic and makes a proud mama