Nutrition of axolotls and other amphibians (Merck): live prey, supplements
Source: Merck Veterinary Manual article "Environment and Husbandry for Amphibians" (first-hand, retrieved 2026-07-29 via curl, HTML stripped to plain text). All bullets are exact verbatim substrings of the cited source_file and C1-substring verified.
Diet for axolotls and other amphibians
feed on invertebrates, including earthworms, bloodworms, black worms, white worms, tubifex worms, springtails, fruit flies, fly larvae, mealworms, and crickets.Some amphibians feed on vertebrates and require live minnows, guppies, goldfish, or neonatal mice or rats.Vitamin and mineral supplements are necessary to prevent nutritional disease. These are commonly administered by gut loading insects, using commercially available diets high in calcium or by coating insects with powdered, multiple-vitamin preparations that include vitamin D 3 and calcium (also known as dusting).