Quote Originally Posted by Selkielass View Post
I was questioning the nutritional value of bait shop worms a while ago, and after some online research and input her I decided to stick with worms from my own pesticide free back yard as much as possible, and to gut- load worms kept in a worm box with calcium rich worm food. I still alternate with fish and pinky mice just to be safe.

If the worms from your local store aren't fat, active and lively, they may be short on nutrition, and possibly starving themselves. Check the 'freshness date' on worms wherever you purchase them- try to get worms fresh from the worm farm, so they haven't been sitting in the store refrigerator for weeks starving and losing nutritional value.

A little dirt isn't going to hurt anything, but if it bugs you then swish the worms gently in lukewarm water to clean them up a little. My backyard soil is really clay-heavy and it sticks *hard* to worms.- I drop them in a shallow dish of water and my snakes gobble them up as they crawl out nearly clean.
Sounds like you've got things handled.