Axolotls, like most amphibians, are happy to eat rodents such as mice. They will even hunt for them, although in nature, they might be very hard to come by since axolotls can move slowly. But if they are offered mice by you, they will eat them happily.
However, you should not feed pinky mice to your axolotls (baby mice). That’s because these mice can cause all sorts of problems for the axolotl’s health. Axolotls are unable to digest their bones, but they are also unhealthy sometimes. Because they are unable to digest the bones, they might suffer from impaction, and this can become a big problem for your axolotl.
To avoid this, it’s better not to feed the mice to axolotls. They will suffer with their digestion of mice, and it might even take them a full month before they are able to process the mice. And if the mice are larger, it might cause impaction, which cannot be solved in the extreme cases.
In this article, we’ll talk about feeding mice to axolotls, and why it might not be the best thing to do with your axolotls.
Will Axolotls Eat Mice?
Yes, axolotls will eat mice. They will happily consume them and it will look like as if they are avid eaters of mice if you offer them the chance to do so.
However, in the long-term this is not a good thing for your axolotl. Many axolotl owners have tried this and their axies fed on small mice and baby mice happily. But you should be very wary of this, because your axolotls will not digest the mice well.
Axolotls will easily and happily consume mice if you give them the chance to. In fact, they will eat them with joy, which is what many people have confirmed in this forum.
Some people even say that they fed them mice not knowing the potential consequences until one time, the axolotl was unable to digest the mouse’s skull. So be careful when you try to feed the mice – you might want to get rid of the head at least because it might be too much for the axolotl.
But your best bet is to not feed them mice in the first place. If you don’t want to have the problems with digestion with your axolotl, obviously.
Are Mice Healthy for Axolotls?
Another reason why you should not feed mice to your axolotls because mice are not healthy for them. Mice contain a lot of fat inside, so you might want to refrain from feeding the mice to your axolotls.
And if you feed a lot of mice to your axolotls, it might cause them liver problems. So not only are mice bad for your axolotls in terms of the diet, but they are also bad because of the high fat contents that mice have.
Mice can also make your axolotls fatter and it’s an unhealthy type of food for your axies. Even though mice do have a lot of protein contents, they are not the best type of food for axolotls.
Another reason why mice are not the best type of food for axolotls is that mice might carry some diseases and bugs, which is an especially bad thing for your axolotls. If you intend to feed them mice that are caught in the wild or mice that you catch in your home, then you want to be very wary of this.
If you buy the mice from a certified seller, then your axolotls might be ok with eating those mice. That’s when you know the mice are safe to buy and they have no diseases. But when you catch the mice yourself and you try to feed them the mice you catch on your own, then you are risking serious health problems for your axolotls.
So those are the two main reasons why you might want to avoid feeding mice to axolotls.
Do Axolotls Eat Mice in the Wild?
It is possible that axolotls eat mice in the wild, but highly unlikely. That’s because mice are pretty fast, so your axolotls will probably not be able to catch them that easily. Axolotls move very slowly, so they are not the best of hunters in the wild.
Mostly, axolotls will eat worms and other smaller animals that are easier to catch. They might also eat larvae and animals that are moving slowly and are smaller than axolotls themselves. So it’s highly unlikely they will eat mice, although it’s possible.
Even when mice are found in the water, it’s quite surprising to some that mice are fast swimmers. So even when axolotls try to catch them in the water, they might not be able to do so because of the speed that mice move at.
How to Treat Impaction in Axolotls?
Impaction can be a big problem for your axolotls. It happens when your axolotls’ gut gets drenched and the axolotls are not able to digest something they’ve eaten. Something gets stuck inside their gut and they are not able to remove it from their bodies. This is a serious problem that probably won’t go away on its own, so it requires intervention.
In some cases, this problem can be solved with a vet’s intervention. That’s when the impaction is not very serious and it is treatable, so it can be solved. But if it’s a severe impaction, then even the vet might not be able to solve it easily.
So you might want to avoid impaction and make sure you don’t feed mice to your axolotls. Because mice can cause serious digestion problems as they can be quite large, even the mice babies that can have bigger bones inside.
Conclusion
To conclude, axolotls can eat mice, but they should not be offered the chance to do so. Mice have bigger bones and axolotls might suffer from impaction if the mice are bigger. So if you’re looking to avoid impaction, avoid feeding mice to axolotls.
