Earthworm Credit

[guidofatherof5]

I've always called them Earthworms. Those wonderful pale little worms that have saved countless babies snake of mine from starving.
Tonight I learned what they really are and want to give them the credit they deserve.
I highly recommend these worms for troubled or non-eaters.

Rosy-tipped worm (Aporrectodea rosea)


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

[ssssnakeluvr]

Nice! we always called them angleworms for some reason.... no idea why, my parents did. got lots of them around here!! they are great for my baby snakes! with the abundant rain this spring I have gathered a nice group of them. I carry a rubbermaid tote with me in my truck and throw them iun when I have the chance.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

ooooo... so those are those little worms my ordinoes relishes!

[guidofatherof5]

Mine love them also.

[kibakiba]

I've never seen one of those worms. They actually... Look kind of pretty. Haha. I'm sure Mama would like to snack on a few of those. ;)

[guidofatherof5]

They must smell and probably taste different than night crawlers as some babies will pick the out of a mix.
After a month or so of these, my babies make the switch to night crawlers without any troubles.
Thank goodness for Aporrectodea rosea.

[d_virginiana]

I've always just called these the plywood worms since we used to find them under sheets of plywood in our backyard. Houdini still likes these better than nightcrawlers even though he graduated to adult snake food a loooong time ago.

[drache]

thanks Steve
for that link with the great worm photos especially

[brain]

Yea thanks Steve for the tip.
I raise Night Crawls in peat dirt and chicken mash and offered the smaller ones to the smaller snakes. Never considered searching for these “white worms”.

[guidofatherof5]

Yea thanks Steve for the tip.
I raise Night Crawls in peat dirt and chicken mash and offered the smaller ones to the smaller snakes. Never considered searching for these “white worms”.

They are awesome and well worth the effort.

[ConcinusMan]

I usually find about half night crawlers, half pale earthworms. Actually Steve, night crawlers are earthworms, but who cares. I know what you're saying. You're talking about earthworms that are NOT night crawlers and don't get near as big. You can always tell small night crawlers apart from other earthworms. Only night crawlers have the flattened tail with little "cat tongue" type bristles on it. The other worms are very pale and don't have a tail like that.

But I've found that my snakes don't much care what kind it is, they love them all.

[RedSidedSPR]

I wish i could find some....

[Jeff B]

Interesting link Steve, so are the big fat ones that we call night crawlers the "Redhead worm" just about the small ones you sited?

[nitrogen15]

Thanks for the ID! I always look for these worms after a big rainstorm. You can usually spot several inching along the sidewalk. I've never tried other species with my garter, but she loves these.

[guidofatherof5]

Mana from heaven. From the garter Gods.:D

[guidofatherof5]

Bump.

[guidofatherof5]

I knew I bumped this thread for a reason.

Thank you Rosy-tipped worm (Aporrectodea rosea) for helping my little scrubs.
I don't know what their secret is but I love what they do.

[Ruth]

I am loving this thread. I had no idea there were so many species of worm. I love gardening and have several spots in the garden with very high worm numbers but it never really clicked that they looked different for a reason :) Thanks for sharing I really want to go dig some up now and see how many species I can find in my garden.

[guidofatherof5]

It rained the last couple of days so I went earthworm collecting in the garden area. Collected about 50+ worms. That should keep the picky eaters satisfied for a few days.

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//821/medium/rosy.jpg

[guidofatherof5]

I found a little red radix in a tub, she's been avoiding everything. She is very small but showing good color. While her siblings were chowing down on night crawler chunks she refused to eat.
Earth worms to the rescue. It took a bit of coaxing but she finally accepted one, then another. It's great to see her with a full belly. I'm hoping the earthworms will get her started so she can be switched over to night crawlers and pinky parts. She opaque now, I will post a photo after her shed.

[guidofatherof5]

Bump

[slipknot711]

thnx for the read. Im trying to learn all I can in the hopes of having some scrubs soon.

[guidofatherof5]

Tank and my visit to Des Moines wasn't all about Tank(please don't tell him I said that) I also brought a few new scrubs back to the Ranch. One is a little Albino(T-) radix that is having some eating troubles. She's not in the best of shape as she is getting those lateral folds which is an indication of failure to thrive. Her first week here met with no success in the eating dept. but that changed today.
Today, she was introduced to Rosy-tipped worm (Aporrectodea rosea) or as I call them "earth worms" As you can see the worms worked their magic. These worms have saved countless little scrubs that are troubled eaters. These scrubs refuse night crawlers, fish, slugs, pinky part but eat these worms.
Once again I'm signing the praises for these little worms. They are easy to find and usually abundant. They keep at room temp. and keep for an extended period of time. Be sure to add them to your food list especially for neonates.
I don't know what the future holds for this little albino but a full belly is a promising development.

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//821/medium/earthworm2.jpg

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//821/medium/little_albino_radix.jpg

[guidofatherof5]

The good news was short lived. When I checked on her a few hours ago she regurgitated the worm. I left her in the container for another hour but she made no attempts to eat again. She's back in with her group and I'll give it another go tomorrow with a smaller worm.

[joeysgreen]

Steve wait a little longer before the next meal. Regurgitation often snowballs as the snake continues to dehydrate more each time. Work on rehydrating her for a few days; then I would try the smallest meal; perhaps a 1/2" piece of worm. Just enough to get the stomach back into shape for a more appropriate meal in the future. Work your way up in meal size; starting over again with a fast if you see another regurgitation.

[guidofatherof5]

Steve wait a little longer before the next meal. Regurgitation often snowballs as the snake continues to dehydrate more each time. Work on rehydrating her for a few days; then I would try the smallest meal; perhaps a 1/2" piece of worm. Just enough to get the stomach back into shape for a more appropriate meal in the future. Work your way up in meal size; starting over again with a fast if you see another regurgitation.

Will do. Thanks.

[Derek]

Increase biodiversity in your soil and you'll find lots of worms. It's a good thing.

[guidofatherof5]

Increase biodiversity in your soil and you'll find lots of worms. It's a good thing.

More worms = happy Thamnophis

[Derek]

This is what I would and I do. I’m not anti-chemical or against synthetics. But organics work better imo. I would spread out Soybean Meal 15-20lbs per 1000sq feet monthly or every other Fed-October. Dry Molasses 15-20lb per 1000sq feet Feb/May/August and Milorganite per package instructions in either June or July. Not only will you have the best looking yard on the block, you’ll have more earthworms than you know what to do with.

[Tzacol]

There's earthworms everywhere where I live, in the pacific northwest. Infinite supply just in the mulch bin in my backyard. I also get a basically infinite supply of soldier fly larvae (phoenix worms as they're called by pet stores) from the same place for my other pets. Unfortunately, my snakes do not like earthworms at all. They only eat slugs, which I get a lot of and easily anyway, so not so bad.