Nightcrawlers

[EasternGirl]

I have noticed a few members lately asking about nightcrawlers...how to distinguish them from other worms...mainly worms that can be toxic for garters. A member recently asked for a pic of a nightcrawler. Here is a photo of a nightcrawler:

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If any members have photos of other kinds of worms for comparison...could you please post them? Thanks!

[chris-uk]

Worth noting for our UK members that over here if you want to buy nightcrawlers your best bet is from fishing bait shops (or online, there's a company called Yorkshire Worms that I'm considering ordering from once I establish how many of ours will eat worms). And they are called "lob worms" here.

[thamneil]

Just wanted to let everyone know that nightcrawlers also go by the name dew worm in North America. They are the same thing! Ill see of I can get some pictures of red wigglers up.

-Neil

[Invisible Snake]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Redwiggler1.jpgEisenia fetida (older spelling: foetida), known under various common names (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_names) such as redworm, brandling worm, panfish worm, trout worm, tiger worm, red wiggler worm, red californian earth worm, etc.

These worms are toxic to garter snakes.

[Steveo]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Redwiggler1.jpgEisenia fetida (older spelling: foetida), known under various common names (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_names) such as redworm, brandling worm, panfish worm, trout worm, tiger worm, red wiggler worm, red californian earth worm, etc.

These worms are toxic to garter snakes.

Here's another picture showing the characteristic red banding: 5166

[greene]

Are you saying that night crawlers are poisonous to snakes?

[Invisible Snake]

Are you saying that night crawlers are poisonous to snakes?

No, canadian nightcrawlers are safe and not poisonous to snakes.

[guidofatherof5]

Canadian night crawlers(Lumbricus terrestris)
are safe.

[greene]

Ok that's good cause I just feed my snakes night crawlers last night

[guidofatherof5]

Where are you getting your crawlers?

[greene]

Rainbow. It wad the first time I used night crawlers

[guidofatherof5]

I don't understand what Rainbow is?

[Didymus20X6]

You also want to avoid feeding your snakes these kind as well.

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[EasternGirl]

No...the point of showing nightcrawlers is that they are safe for snakes...so are earthworms. The red wigglers are toxic.

[thamneil]

So just for conversations sake... how does everyone prepare and serve their worms? I usually tong feed them straight out of the garden. The babies get chopped worms in a dsh. How do you guys do it? I've heard of people soaking them to allow them to void all of their waste but this seems rather pointless.

-Neil

[d_virginiana]

I've heard that the worm castings are actually good for the snakes, because they contain nutrients that aren't in the worm's actual 'meat'.

Mine get bite-sized pieces in a dish. We used to farm our own nightcrawlers... I kind of want to get back into doing that. They seemed just generally bigger and healthier than the ones at walmart.

[Didymus20X6]

I used to serve them whole. But with Tiny, I have to chop them into bite-sized bits for him and serve them in a bowl. Since, I have discovered that feeding Little Dude that way avoids substrate issues. And she actually seems to like gobbling down the chunks. Her, I feed with hemostats.

There was once an article posted on this forum that indicated that worm dirt was actually good for garter snakes, because it contained nutrients, minerals, and biotics that were necessary for their health.

[ssssnakeluvr]

I feed whole worms to the adults, chapped ones for the little guys. like everyone else said, there's minerals and nutrients in the worm poop passing thru.

[EasternGirl]

I chop them up into little pieces for my babies...and into bite size pieces on a dish for my smaller snakes. For my larger adults I either cut them into a couple pieces and feed with hemostats, or feed them whole with hemostats....if I think that they won't grab them and drag them down into the substrate. For my new radixes...I actually just feed them whole by hand.

[Selkielass]

The adults love them whole, but I see less thieving & fighting when they are cut into quickly swallowed chunks

[katach]

Chopped on a dish.

[chris-uk]

I did an experiment with lob worms (nightcrawlers) today as I was driving past a local fishing shop when it was open.

As far as I know this is the first time any of our garters have seen a worm (Nobby is WC so probably ate worms in the wild a long time ago). Nobby chewed a couple of pieces straight away. Lipwig (male radix) took a piece, then looked at me as if to ask where the pinkies and filleted fish were when I offered a second bit of worm. Adora (female radix) didn't show much interest, but she's still being fussy with fish as well. Both checkered girls chowed down. The Blacknecks are hiding, so I've not tried them. And the Cuitzeos weren't impressed with the slimy new snack.
Mixed results, but worth getting a couple of quids worth of worms to find out who will eat them.

[Dan72]

Steve, here in Iowa do we have red wigglers? Where do the wigglers call home. I feed my W/C night crawlers right from the yard. I find some about the size that two to three of them would make that nice little belly bulge (not to much) and place them in live and crawling. She eats them right up. Now that she has had her second shed and getting bigger, I tried on Friday when I feed her to set in 5 versus the normal 2/3. She ate 4 of the worms like it was nothing, I think her appetite is getting bigger.

[guidofatherof5]

I've never seen a red wriggler in the wild other then the manure piles at the old stockyards. As a child I used the collect them for fishing.

Garters will eat until they are stuffed. Not always a good thing. Might be better to only give a nice bulge.;)

[EasternGirl]

I never really fed my snakes whole worms until I got the radixes. The radixes love to eat them whole. I never saw whole worm poop until now...very interesting looking. Sadie decided to poop in her swimming bowl yesterday...it looked like there was a nightcrawler in the bottom of the bowl! :D

[guidofatherof5]

That's my girl.:D

[Dan72]

So no rain here yet, ground being very dry, I was forced to buy a dozen nightcrawlers at the bait shop around the corner. I placed the container in the fridge yesterday after both the snakes were feed (loved them). Is the setting with which we keep are fridge contents cold also the right setting for the worms? To cold, not cold enough? Are worms tuff, that they'll survive it long enough to be a snake meal in another couple days so don't sweat it?

[Dan72]

OH! Funny side note. The worms came in a container that looks very close to the containers that a local Mexican resteraunt uses to place the to go orders in. We love their cheese dip they make and while out running around just drop in for some to go. So my son was very surrprised when he found out he didn't have cheese dip..:eek:. Pretty funny, now everybody is aware that the worms will be living in the fridge, until they're living in the snake.....:D.

[katach]

Normal temp you keep your food at will work great. We have had a container last over a month in our fridge. (They eat lots of different stuff)

[EasternGirl]

That's hysterical about the worm cheese dip! It's been raining a lot here lately...it's supposed to rain all week. We should get some nice worms in the backyard soon!

[Selkielass]

Steve, here in Iowa do we have red wigglers? Where do the wigglers call home. I feed my W/C night crawlers right from the yard. I find some about the size that two to three of them would make that nice little belly bulge (not to much) and place them in live and crawling. She eats them right up. Now that she has had her second shed and getting bigger, I tried on Friday when I feed her to set in 5 versus the normal 2/3. She ate 4 of the worms like it was nothing, I think her appetite is getting bigger.

I have read that they are from china.
In Michigan all earthworms are introduced species. Glaciers wiped the area clear and it remained so until màn interfered.

Has anyone here 'fiddled' or 'grunted' for crawlers? Seen some cool videos but I've never seen it in person.

[InsanePirateDragon]

I've heard of it, but I never done in real life though. I have my red flashlight for that though, its how you usually do it out here and you can usually get quite a few that way.

Of course Marley won't touch the wild worms and prefers his from the bait stores, which are probably wild caught to begin with.

[EasternGirl]

Grunted or fiddled? What do you mean by that? I want to try the red flashlight trick this summer. I do know that my neighbors must think I'm crazy by now because I can often be seen in the summer when it's raining...out in my backyard creeping like a cat and then jumping up and down cursing at the worms when they always seem to know I'm coming and quickly retreat back into their holes at lightening speeds before I can catch them. Ha ha...it must look really nuts to people if they don't know what's going on...or, actually, even if they did know I was hunting worms! :D

[InsanePirateDragon]

Grunting involves a stake and a file sort of iron.

You pound the stake into the ground a bit, then you rub the top of the stake to cause the ground to vibrate to cause the worms to come to the surface.

To Get Worms Out of Soil, Just Grunt - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK-Oo7NwPiQ)

[EasternGirl]

Cool...I think I will try the red flashlight first. My neighbors might call the "men in white jackets" to come and get me if they see me out in my yard pounding stakes and then jumping for joy when I catch a big nightcrawler! :D

[Selkielass]

I've picked crawlers with an ordinary flashlight, never a red one.
A. Car battery attached by jumper cables to metal stakes driven into wet earth will also drive worms, but they wont be very healthy- use them up immediately.

[EasternGirl]

Dear lord! My neighbors would definitely call the cops if they saw me doing that! My family might actually call the looney bin if they saw me trying that one. Knowing me, I would some how manage to electrocute myself!

[Selkielass]

How to Catch Worms With a Car Battery | eHow.com (http://www.ehow.com/how_5867279_catch-worms-car-battery.html)

[InsanePirateDragon]

The.red light might be a country thing, but it doesn't startle the worms that bad.

I've never used a battery personally or seen it used.

[Steveo]

I used to catch nightcrawlers in the back yard when I was a kid, but now that I'm supposed to be an adult I pretend to have some dignity and buy them at the store ;) It also helps that we don't get much rain in Denver. I just used a regular flashlight, which works pretty well as long as you don't point it right at the worm.