NomSafeNovember: Can I feed my axolotl chicken?
We’re kicking off a new week with the most surprising foods people have fed axolotls, and why they’re not a good option! We will be covering foods like chicken, beef, crickets, and more! Today our focus will be on feeding chicken (including both raw and cooked meat or organs).
Why do people sometimes offer chicken?
Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation about proper axolotl nutrition—both within axolotl and amphibian communities and, of course, online. Even Google will often say chicken (meat and/or heart) are safe for axolotls to eat. Some sources recommend small pieces, or certain parts of the chicken; but ultimately chicken is not a suitable food for axolotls.
Raw chicken liver is often recommended incorrectly as a staple source of protein for axolotls; in fact, chicken provides protein, but little to no additional vitamins or minerals, making it a poor staple food choice for your axolotl.
Let’s talk about why!
Axolotls would not encounter chicken meat in their natural habitat, and therefore their digestive systems are not designed to properly break down the large and fibrous meats from chickens. This fibrous tissue is not as easily broken down as a worm tissue, and therefore does not provide much nutritional value. Additionally, a build up of undigested matter could cause blockages.
Another consideration is how we are able to digest chicken meat. The first step is mechanical digestion by using our teeth. Our canine teeth tear and shred the meat, and the molars grind it up to make it easier to break down. Axolotls do not have carnivore-characteristic teeth - they have what are called pedicellate teeth, which are only used to position food. They then swallow it whole, and do not chew the food.
Figure 5.36. Teeth in larvae of tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum). (A) Normal larva, upper jaw. Image width = 3.5 cm; (B) cannibal morph, upper jaw. Image width = 3 cm; (C) cannibal morph, dentition from the front. Image width = 3 cm; (D) scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of vomerine teeth of normal larva; (E) SEM of vomerine teeth of cannibal morph larva.
(A–C) Courtesy Dr. K McLean; (D) and (E) From Pederson, S.C., 1991. Dental morphology of the cannibal morph in the tiger salamander, Ambystoma tigrinum. Amphibia-Reptilia 12, 1–14. Courtesy Editors Amphibia-Reptilia.
If you’re looking for good staple food options, check out our other #NomSafeNovember posts! We’ve discussed several healthy staples and the need-to-knows about each, including red wigglers, pellets and ENCs:
