# General Topics > General Discussion & News > Care Sheet Proposals >  Feeders: Vermicomposting and Vermiculture

## Sandy Bear

I know that this is going to seem like a lot of work, but they really  aren't.  These worms are very easy to breed and make great feeders for  any herps that will eat them.  They are very nutritious, high in protein  and high in moisture.  Not all herps will eat them though.  Most desert  species and arboreal species will refuse to eat them - not all, but  most won't.  Worms make great feeders for most species of amphibians,  turtles, fish, garter snakes, horned mountain dragons, Chinese water  dragons, etc...


*Bedding:*
 It is a good idea to layer your bedding materials, as the worm-bin needs to have some air-circulation in it.
 Bedding should be kept damp, like a wrung out sponge.
 The bedding in my tubs are largely made up of shredded paper, newspaper, cardboard, and egg cartons.
 If you are culturing African Night Crawlers, they tend to prefer  bedding materials that are made up of dry leaves, grass clippings,  straw, and similar items.  If you are using your worms as feeders, be  sure to bake anything from outside so to not transfer any sort of bugs  or parasites to the worms.

*Acceptable Bedding Materials:* 

 Coco Fiber (Coir) and Mulch
 Newspaper
 Shredded paper (no glossy magazines or x-mas wrap)
 Cardboard egg carton
 Corrugated cardboard
 Wood Chips
 Dry Leaves
 Straw
 Burlap  
Peat moss


*Foods:*
  When feeding it is a good idea to bury the food under the top layer   of your worm bin.  This will help keep out some unwanted pest insects,   like fruit flies
 All food items should be blended in a food processor before you feed   your worms, it's not mandatory though.  They will have an easier time  eating it, as they do not  have any teeth.
 1 pound of worms can eat 1/2 a pound of food waste a day. You do not  have to feed the worms fresh foods, they will wait until it starts to  rot, the more rotten, the better, mold and all!


*Acceptable Foods:*

 Fruit Peelings & Cores, (apples, bananas, kiwis, melons)
 Cereal (no milk in it though, just dry stuff, like cheerios, cornflakes, Special K)
 Vegetable Peelings (potato, sweet potato, cucumbers)
 Grains (Rice, Quinoa)
 Cake
 Pizza Crust
 Tea Bags (rip the bags open first, but put the whole bag in)
 Coffee grounds (filters too)
 Bread
 Eggshells, dried & crushed
 Pulp from Juicers
 Melon rinds
 Corn bread & meal
 Pancakes
 Lettuce
 Oatmeal
 Pasta
 Tomatoes* (use limited amounts, worms do not enjoy eating these foods)
 Orange Peels* (use limited amounts, worms do not enjoy eating these foods)
 Onion Peels* (use limited amounts, worms do not enjoy eating these foods)
 Peppers* (use limited amounts, worms do not enjoy eating these foods)
 Paper products, such as napkins and paper wrappers

*Unacceptable Foods:*

 Meat, Poultry, and Fish meats
 Dairy Products like milk and cheese
 Oil and grease
 Butter
 Non-foods like plastics, glass, aluminum foil, rubber bands, sponges
 Dog and cat feces, litter box materials
 Salt or Salty foods, foods that are really spicy or acidic

*Unusual Acceptable food items:*

 Hair (uncolored, no harsh chemicals/styling products in it)
 Animal fur
 Fingernail clippings
 Vacuum cleaner bag contents  
Pet Rabbit Poop


*Worm Temperature:*

 Keep your bin at 12°-28°C.  Worms will produce best between 15-26 degrees Celsius (60°-80° F)
It depends on what species of worms you are keeping, some, like the African Night Crawler like it hot, anything below 10 degrees Celsius is deadly to them.  


*The Worms:*

 The worms will live for about 1-4 years
 There is about 500-1000 worms in a pound of Red Wrigglers
European  Night Crawlers: 450-500 worms per pound

 African Night Crawlers: 100-250 worms per pound

* Different Species of Vermicomposting worms:*
  Red-Wrigglers (_Eisenia fetida_) *Most common

 Red Tigers (_Eisenia andrei_)

 Red Marsh Worm (_Lumbricus rubellus_)

 African Night Crawlers (_Eudrilus eugeniae_) *needs warm temperatures (never below 10*C)

 European Night Crawlers (_Eisenia hortensis_; previously, _Dendrobaena veneta_)

 Indian Blue Worm (_Perionyx excavatus_) *needs warm temperatures



*Supplies you will need:*


 Dechlorinator (Prime by SeaChem is a really good brand) The worms are sensitive to the chlorine in the tap  waterA food processor, the worms like when their food is blended upA paper shredder, if you want to put shredded paper as beddingTwo Rubbermaid bins of the same size.  One bin fits inside the other   bin.  You can also do a single bin method, and I prefer doing it this   way.A Drill for drilling air holes on the inside bin and lidEgg Shells!  Egg shells are very important, they neutralize any acids in  foods, so the worms don't get burned by them.

*Assembling your Worm Bin:*

 Take the first inside bucket and drill a bunch of holes in the bottom  and the lower half of the sides of the tub.  If you are using the single  tub method, do not drill the tub!


 Drill holes in the lid.  If you are using a double tub method, the second lid can be discarded.  Air circulation is important.

 The tub with the holes will fit inside the second tub.  There should   be an inch or so of space between the bottom of the drilled tub and the   un-drilled tub.  If the tubs fit too snugly, put something in between   them to raise up the drilled tub, (ex, small mason jars, small clay   flower pots, bricks, etc)

 Put a “drainage layer” in the bottom of the drilled tub, about 1-2  inches thick.  (this can  be anything like, aquarium pebbles, bark  chips, gravel, sand, etc).   
This is optional, and I don't do this in my  tubs any more.


 Make sure that any cardboard or paper products have been soaked in   dechlorinated water prior to adding to the bin.  Also, soak your   coco-fibre brick, about 1 hour before you want to use it, so it has time   to absorb the water.

 Start layering your worm bin bedding materials.  The bedding should   be a total of 8-12 inches deep, it doesn't need to be any deeper then   that, because that is how deep the red wrigglers like to burrow in.  Be  sure that any food gets buried underneath the paper and cardboard  layers.  Otherwise you will attract unwanted fruit flies and gnats.




*Trouble Shooting Your Worm Colony*

*Bad Smells and* *Odors*

 This is caused by a few reasons.
 You are putting too much food in the colony.  Remember, 1 pound of   worms can eat 1/2 a pound of food a day, if properly prepared.
 Their is not enough air-circulation in the bin.  Layering you bin  with  multiple types of substrates helps keep oxygen levels up.
 There is not enough holes drilled in the bin, and the worms have become too wet
 You are putting the wrong types of foods in your bin.  Adding things  to  your bin that your worms won't eat will cause odors.  Meats,  poultry,  and fish are foods that they will not eat and will become sour  quickly,  giving unpleasant odors.  It will also attract mice and  rats!
 Putting the food on the top layer of substrate will also cause the bin to smell.  Foods should be buried


*Creepy Crawlies in my worm bin!*
*Fruit Flies/Gnats*.   If you add your peelings to the  top layer of substrate, you could be  attracting fruit flies.  They are  a nuisance, and will breed and eat the  food source for your worms.  To  correct this problem, you must bury the  food under a couple of layers  of substrate.  Also, set up fruit fly  traps in the inside and out side  of the bin.  You could also find a  small spider and add him to your  worm colony.  He will do his part to  help catch and eat all the fruit  flies up.

*Springtails*.   These are little tiny hoppy bugs  (hexapods).  They are usually white in color,  but they can be other colors.  These are beneficial to your worm bin,  and will help break  down the food waste.  They will not harm you or your  worms, they are  only interested in eating decaying matter.  Many people culture Springtails as feeders for small herps (poison dart frogs) or use them  as clean up crews for vivariums.

*Ants.* If you are getting ants in your colony, set up  some sticky at traps  around the base of your bin.  If you worm bin has  legs, stick each of  the legs in a bucket of water.  Ants can't swim

*White Worms*.  These are not harmful to your colony.   They will probably be eating whatever the worms won't eat.  You can  also collect these and culture them as food for small fish, small  aquatic amphibians, etc...

*Bedding Problems:*
*Bedding is always drying out.* You may want to change  some/all of the bedding materials in your bin.   Some bedding’s do not  hold moisture well, and will dry out rather  quickly  (Straw for  example).    If you cannot change out the bedding,  you could also try  adding another layer of bedding material to your bin  after you water it  down.  Such as a layer of plastic sheeting, burlap,  old 100% cotton  T-shirts, card board, wet newspapers, etc...

*Lots of dead worms all at once:*
 Bedding is too dry, and the worms have suffocated
 Bedding is too wet, and the worms have drowned
 All the food has been turned into castings, and the worms have starved  
Someone has added salt or salty foods to the bin


*Worms escaping, climbing out of the bin.* The bin may  be too acidic, and they do not want to be in there.  Try  adding some  wet cardboard, newspaper, or shredded paper or egg shells to help reduce   the amount of acidity in the bin.  Also, if it is a new bin that has   been set up, leave the lid open for a couple of day, with a light   shining over it.  This will help keep the worms in the bin.

*Excess worms:*

 Extra worms can be released into the garden

 Given to a friend to start a vermicomposting bin
 Start a second vermicomposting bin
 Feed to herps  
There should be no worries of worms over crowding your bin.  They should self regulate.



*Worm Castings* (the worm poop) can be sold as all  natural fertilizer, used in the garden, in house plants, on your lawn,  on trees, you can even use it in a vivarium provided it won't leach into  the water source.


 Native species of worms that are found outside, do not culture well,  if at all.  I do not recommend using them.  I have tried and the colony  crashed both times.

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## SCF

Good job!

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