Axolotl 101: Feeding

Most adult axolotls will be able to eat even the largest Canadian night crawlers whole and live however some will require their worms to be cut in half. This is something you should be comfortable with doing because any axolotl could end up needing it. I’ll only be speaking of worms here because they are the best thing to be feeding.

To stun a worm before feeding you’ll need to “blanch” them under hot water. This will stop them from moving and hopefully save them from any discomfort when you cut them if you need to. I suggest doing this even for axolotls who can manage full sized worms as it stops the worm from fighting when being swallowed, some worms can be quite strong and this can spook some axolotls into refusing worms so it’s best to just make it as easy as possible.
In the blanching stage I also give the worm a little ring-out to clean out their digestive track, this is not necessary but saves the worm from pooping in your tank as it’s eaten.

Axolotls can be fed in a few different ways but because of their bad vision most will prefer to be hand fed, directly in-front of their face but they all have different preferences, you’ll have to learn your own but I’ve left a few common examples in this video.
Be sure to check back later to ensure the food was eaten and remove it if it wasn’t as decaying worms will quickly foul your water and the smell can turn axolotls off of worms for a long time. If you’re dealing with pickiness and you find a dead worm hidden in your tank it’s likely the cause.

There isn’t a specific time you need to feed them but it is suggested to stick with the same time every day and axolotls are more active at night so most people do it then.
I would suggest feeding with the lights off or dim either way.

How much you should be feeding depends on the axolotl, it’s age and its gender but most adults will thrive off of one worm every other day. You want to aim for their stomach to be the same width as their head though males tend to be a little skinnier than that and females tend to be a little more round.
For under weight axolotls I suggest feeding half a nightcrawler per day with one day off per week. For over weight axolotls I suggest cutting back to feeding twice per week. In my experience males are happy being fed every other day while females will become over weight and need less despite wanting more.

Keeping their worms alive is pretty easy. Just buy some cups from bait shops or a pallet from an online bait supplier and keep them in your fridge. They should keep for a couple of months, just sprinkle some water in when the soil starts to get dry. If you cut your worms and only need half, cut them before blanching and use the butt end first because the head end can be kept alive for another few days instead of wasting it.

I suggest keeping worms in groups of 12-24 because if one worm dies and gets moldy it would be advisable to toss the whole group outside rather than trying to save the live ones and risking your axolotls health.
If you keep more than a few axolotls it would also be a good idea to look into worm farms so you can farm your own and save the money on them but this isn’t possible in everyone situation.