red wigglers... native?

[snakegirl909]

Was just outside getting some worms in my organic garden and compost pile, and when I brought them in, I saw that one was a red wiggler. Which is strange, because I never have seen one in the wild before. I know that from now on I will paranoid about it though. I exterminated it froggy style . So...are they native? Invasive?
Thanks.

[d_virginiana]

I'm pretty sure red wigglers are invasive... When you say froggy style, does that mean you fed it to a frog? (Just asking b/c I've heard of people that have seen some nasty side effects from feeding them to frogs, just not quite as bad as feeding them to garters)

Wigglers seem to like compost heaps. If you're looking to breed your own earthworms, I'd recommend getting a large tupperware box and filling it with topsoil/covering the top with moist newspaper, and putting in a couple boxes of nightcrawlers. We used to put all sorts of leftovers in there, so it kind of functioned as a compost/worm bin.

[snakegirl909]

Yes, it was fed to my xenopus laevis, probably the hardiest frog in existence. If you are into amphibians, you have probably heard of the Chytrid fungus. Xenopus laevis are the ones who are to blame for it. They are immune to it.
I'm currently buying my nightcrawlers at walmart, but having some wild earthworms always help me out. I've tried breeding night crawlers, but they don't breed quick enough for me haha.