Pet stores usually carry an assortment of worms that will provide your axolotl with all of its necessary nutrition. Worms are generally inexpensive and contain plenty of essential vitamins.
Mealworms may not be an ideal food choice for axolotls; frequent feeding may lead to digestive issues like impaction. Furthermore, their hard exoskeleton requires time and energy from their animal before digesting is complete.
Do Axolotls Eat Mealworms in the Wild?
Axolotls are carnivorous fish that thrive on meat-based diets, yet have only primitive teeth capable of gripping rather than biting or tearing food items; consequently they swallow their food whole before swallowing again later. Unfortunately they have an unfortunate tendency to overeat, so it's wise to limit portion sizes to avoid becoming overweight.
In the wild, axolotls feed on crustaceans, mollusks, insect larvae, fish eggs, worms and even amphibian eggs and young. Finding sources of such foods may be time consuming and challenging - plus some species can contain diseases or parasites which could harm your pet!
Mealworms provide an economical and straightforward way to feed captive axolotls. For maximum success, only feed them mealworms that have recently moulted as this will ensure they lack hard outer skeletons that could potentially cause digestive issues for their host axolotl. Mealworms that haven't moulted may still be eaten but it may be wiser to cut them up into smaller pieces to reduce choking or impaction risks.
One easy way to tell if a mealworm has recently shed its exoskeleton is by looking at their body color; those which have recently shed will appear almost albino in comparison with darker mealworms that haven't. Molting mealworms should only be fed to an axolotl as their hard exoskeleton may cause digestive issues for it.
Do Axolotls Eat Mealworms in Captivity?
Axolotls in captivity may be fed a variety of food items such as bloodworms, earthworms, brine shrimp and daphnia (small aquatic crustaceans). They also enjoy lean pieces of beef or chicken. Live food items should be limited as too many could spread disease; instead freeze-dried pellets and commercial foods are safer choices. It is wise to limit substrate to smaller gravel or rocks because axolotls often accidentally consume these along with their food sources.
As their name implies, axolotls have wide mouths with which they can take in just about anything that fits through it. Their natural predators include tadpoles, small fishes, mollusks, worms and insect eggs - they have even been observed engaging in cannibalism by biting off bits from siblings!
Axolotls' mouths resemble vacuum cleaners more than teeth; when they want to feed, they open their jaws wide and water rushes in; this powerful action draws in not only food, but other objects in their environment such as parts of other axolotls or pieces of their own gravel.
Mealworms provide an excellent source of protein for baby and juvenile axolotls. When feeding mealworms to an axolotl, however, it's best to wait at least one moult cycle after initially offering as their hard exoskeletons can irritate their delicate stomach.
Do Axolotls Eat Mealworms at Any Time?
Captive axolotls typically eat an array of earthworms, bloodworms, brine shrimp, daphnia (small aquatic crustaceans), commercially available frozen or freeze-dried food specifically designed for amphibians as well as occasional pieces of beef or chicken that may carry parasites that could harm them. Most experts advise against overfeeding such items regularly due to potential danger.
Axolotls feed by sucking their food up with their mouths. Because their teeth are designed for gripping rather than chewing, mealworms may pose digestive challenges for these aquatic mammals and cause digestive issues if given too often. Also, due to their hard exoskeletons they cannot break down these foods properly, and may get lodged somewhere within their gills or throat.
If mealworms remain part of your pet axolotl's diet, make sure they're only fed during their molting phase when their exoskeleton has shed. Otherwise they will choke on them, which is not good. As an alternative, waxworms might be easier for axolotls to swallow and digest - not to mention they're packed full of essential fatty acids and other nutrients for their wellbeing!
Do Axolotls Eat Mealworms After Molts?
Reptile and amphibian owners are familiar with mealworms as a staple food in many captive animal diets. Unfortunately, mealworms aren't suitable food sources for axolotls in captivity or the wild due to their hard exoskeleton which may block digestive tracts of young axolotls or even choke them if consumed at too fast a rate.
As larvae, axolotls can only feed on small prey such as bloodworms and blackworms; but as they mature their jaws develop primitive "teeth," which are actually more like stumps than actual teeth, designed to grasp rather than chew food. Axolotls also tend to suckle and swallow their food whole; which may cause digestive issues when feeding on larger foods like mealworms.
As an alternative to feeding their axolotls mealworms in their most refined state, owners may try feeding them post-molt as soft white mealworms without their outer chitinous shell. This allows owners to experience softness when feeding axolotls mealworms with broken outer shells that has softened significantly from molting.
After several days have passed, mealworms that have recently moulted will produce new exoskeletons and can then be fed back to an axolotl for safe consumption. This method helps avoid digestive issues like impaction. When feeding directly post-molt feeding your axolotl mealworms it is recommended that they are crushed prior to serving to assist faster digestion of their mealworms.