nightcrawlers/earth worms

[lumpbump]

So im gonna go buy some nightcrawlers to feed my pacman frog and was wondering a bit about nightcrawler husbandry. I've read they need to be refrigerated, but haven't been so lucky as to find out what to feed em and how long they stay alive. Any help will be appreciated.
I like frogs

[Pluke]

Usually they will last a good couple weeks in the container they come in, atleast from my experience.. assuming they were fresh when you bought them. ALWAYS check them before buying, if they look overly slimy and wilted I'd avoid them. I keep them in a drawer in the fridge or in the back against the wall. That probably doesn't matter though. As far as feeding them goes.. I'm not sure as I've never fed them.

[GrifTheGreat]

No need to feed the worms. They feed on the compost that they are packed in. Best way to tell a good batch is to look at them. They should all be very squirming and look round and solid. Also take a whiff of the contents of the container. Good worms smell like fresh dirt. Any rotten foul odors means their bad. Fuzzy mold growth also means bad worms.

[lumpbump]

No need to feed the worms. They feed on the compost that they are packed in. Best way to tell a good batch is to look at them. They should all be very squirming and look round and solid. Also take a whiff of the contents of the container. Good worms smell like fresh dirt. Any rotten foul odors means their bad. Fuzzy mold growth also means bad worms.

I found some not active canadian nightcrawlers at Walmart. Some had strange white mold growing in their containers. I went to petsmart and found some healthy mold free nightcrwalers. I don't know what species petsmart sells but I've created a shoebox sized sterilite container with moist coir and stuck the worms in the coir. It is now in my fridge @ 45F. I found some info that says nightcrawlers, specifically Canadians are surface feeders. Im going to try feeding them the same food I feed my roaches and rats, breeder vegitable based rat food. I toss a few blocks into a blender and blend till its a fine dust. I've got 24 crawlers in the tub. Gonna titrate feeding starting with one teaspoon a day and see how much is eaten. The roaches and rats are very healthy. I don't see why worms wouldn't. Its balanced with vitamins and minerals. Im also looking into african nightcrawlers which thrive with temps in the 70s to 80s I can just stick a tub in my herp room so ill always have good nutritious food for my frogs. Im thinking about getting a couple more if I can successfully cultivate worms. If anyone has cultures of african nightcrawlers im interested in buying about 50 to 100 large to start a colony.
I like frogs

[GrifTheGreat]

Yeah, definitely avoid anything with mold or a bad smell!!

I don't know much about African nightcrawlers yet. So far I haven't heard of anyone using them for their pacs. I don't know if that is because of availability issues or other reasons.

[Ra]

Im interested in starting a worm colony but I dont know which species to go with. Been looking around for large easy top breed ones so I'll post that when I get it all figured out.

[coastal20]

Im interested in starting a worm colony but I dont know which species to go with. Been looking around for large easy top breed ones so I'll post that when I get it all figured out.

The African nightcrawlers are really fast breeders and my frogs love them.

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[connor111699]

Im interested in starting a worm colony but I dont know which species to go with. Been looking around for large easy top breed ones so I'll post that when I get it all figured out.

Great idea!

[JIvoryII]

Chase, where you getting the african night crawlers from?.. ive been wanting to get some but have only seen egg cases available.

[Pluke]

I've got a quick question about canadian crawlers I bought. I got them home and noticed some VERY small white pieces.. it wasn't fuzzy and didn't look like mold to me, it almost looked like the little white balls you find in fertilizer, but it isn't. Anyways, this was after I had fed my frogs some of these worms.. and there was barely any of it in with them worms. Now.. today, I got to the bottom of the container to dig the worms out and find a big chunk of this white stuff. Again, it doesn't smell funny and it doesn't seem to be mold.. Anyone here have any idea what it could be? My frogs have already ate more than half the worms in their before I found it and they are acting fine. The worms are also VERY healthy. The container smells like earth and the worms don't look abnormal in any sense of the word. I'm thinking this chunk may have been some kind of food since they seemed to be gathering around it. I would just like your guys two cents.

[trkyhntr]

could just be some sort of bedding material...as long as it smells ok I'd say it's safe to use

[GrifTheGreat]

I've got a quick question about canadian crawlers I bought. I got them home and noticed some VERY small white pieces.. it wasn't fuzzy and didn't look like mold to me, it almost looked like the little white balls you find in fertilizer, but it isn't. Anyways, this was after I had fed my frogs some of these worms.. and there was barely any of it in with them worms. Now.. today, I got to the bottom of the container to dig the worms out and find a big chunk of this white stuff. Again, it doesn't smell funny and it doesn't seem to be mold.. Anyone here have any idea what it could be? My frogs have already ate more than half the worms in their before I found it and they are acting fine. The worms are also VERY healthy. The container smells like earth and the worms don't look abnormal in any sense of the word. I'm thinking this chunk may have been some kind of food since they seemed to be gathering around it. I would just like your guys two cents.

Anything white and fuzzy in a night crawler container is mold. After a worm dies a white mold that feeds on dead animal matter will form and after the worm is gone the mold dies and leave that white substance behind.