Help me identify these worms? (Safe for a storeria dekayi?)

[YoungSnake]

It's winter, and I can't find any of the big, meaty earthworms I used to feed my girl. I went digging, got down about a foot and found some tiny worms. Could you guys help me identify these, I don't want to feed her the "red worms" that I hear are toxic. I took the best pics I could. These are on a paper towel.. they're very tiny / skinny worms.

Any good sites with pictures / easy ways to identify bad worms?

Any good sites that will ship (USA) the good worms? The pet shops and bait shops around here only have "red wrigglers", which I think are the "bad worms"?

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Any help would be appreciated!

[guidofatherof5]

A foot down won't be red worms. Red worms are a composting worms and spend most of their lives near the surface consuming rotting plant matter.
Those look like Rosy-tipped worms.
Rosy-tipped worm (Aporrectodea rosea) | OPAL (http://www.opalexplorenature.org/Rosytippedworm)

[guidofatherof5]

A foot down won't be red worms. Red worms are a composting worms and spend most of their lives near the surface consuming rotting plant matter.
Those look like Rosy-tipped worms.

Rosy-tipped worm (Aporrectodea rosea) | OPAL (http://www.opalexplorenature.org/Rosytippedworm)

Safe worms by the way.

[YoungSnake]

Thank you for the advice. I fed Young Snake, and she loved them. They were tinier than she's used to.. she usually has to fight the big earthworms :)

Are these (European Night Crawlers) safe to buy for a northern brown snake?

shop. speedyworm. com/european-nightcrawlers-p7.aspx (Sorry, it would not let me post the URL).

It's $20 total, shipped, for 100 worms.. this would last my snake for a long time, so the price is right since I can't seem to find any in the winter.

Please advise, thank you!

9962

[guidofatherof5]

I would say no. Stick to Canadian Night Crawlers - Lumbricus terrestris
Lumbricus terrestris - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumbricus_terrestris)

[guidofatherof5]

Many Walmarts carries the correct worms.

[YoungSnake]

Thank you for the response!

[guidofatherof5]

Thank you for the response!


Many Walmarts carries the correct worms.

Let me rewrite that in English.

Many Walmarts carry the correct worms.:D

[ConcinusMan]

...and some of them are regular customers lol. The worms he pictured are earthworms and safe. I've also used European night crawlers without any issues. They're just smaller than Canadian night crawlers. So long as you're dealing with an earthworm and not a composting worm, "red wiggler" .. "trout worm" (thin, red-banded worms w/yellow slime) like this one pictured, you're OK.

If they look like this, don't use them:

http://assets.inhabitat.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2012/12/red-wigglers-in-compost-537x387.jpg

[Natrix]

These are young lobworms - Earthworms- Nightcrawlers whatever you want to call them
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/attachments/garter-snake-lounge/9960d1386028117t-help-me-identify-these-worms-safe-storeria-dekayi-photo-4.jpg

[Natrix]

These are what we in England refer to as Brandlings or compost worms commonly found in manure heaps and compost heaps
http://assets.inhabitat.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2012/12/red-wigglers-in-compost-537x387.jpg

[YoungSnake]

I'll get the Canadian earthworms, since they are smaller and easier for my little snake to eat.

[guidofatherof5]

These are what we in England refer to as Brandlings or compost worms commonly found in manure heaps and compost heaps
http://assets.inhabitat.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2012/12/red-wigglers-in-compost-537x387.jpg

These are to be avoided.

[ConcinusMan]

I thought I would mention that earthworms/night crawlers and the red compost worms have different diets. Earthworms eat stuff that has already been broken down by bacteria, fungi, and red compost worms. The "bad" worms do the composting while earthworms only eat the stuff that has already been broken down.