Slugs/worms soil?

[d_virginiana]

I've got a couple of reptile projects I want to get going once my semester ends, and one of them is starting up a worm bed in a tupperware container. I've raised worms for my snakes before, so I know how to keep them, but this summer I moved to a city so I have nowhere I can go get pesticide-free soil. Any suggestions? I don't want to spend hundred of dollars on special dirt, but if there's something fairly cheap I can buy I'd be interested in that.

I'm also interested in trying to raise some slugs. They are all over the place (still). I wouldn't want to feed any of them to my snakes as-is because of the pesticide concerns, but if I could get a colony going I think it should be safe to feed the young ones. I have an 'experiment' slug right now just to see if I think the trouble of keeping them alive is worth the gains. Never kept slugs before though; can you guys tell me what a good temp/substrate/food source for them is?

[Mommy2many]

Slugs are basically same as worms. Put in soil and dry leaves, some lettuce and scraps and put in fridge. Voila! Slugs till spring. collect all you can, even eggs. They are escape artists, so I use chinese food containers. Gotta be extra careful when you snoop thru my fridge....

[Greg'sGarters]

Yeah, when I was about 9, I had lifted up a rock and found a slug laying eggs, so I collected her and the eggs and put them in a little Kritter Keeper. A little while later I had baby slugs in the tank. It's not that hard, I just used sphagnum moss and added some cork bark and misted the cage with spring water once a day. Keep them away from your salt or you will have a tank of goo .

[d_virginiana]

Haha... Well, so far I've been removing the eggs since I didn't want to deal with a bunch of baby slugs during exam time, but I might start keeping them in a spare tupperware container or something. Once this one gets big enough I'll put a picture up and make sure it's a species that is okay to feed to garters.

[Greg'sGarters]

Haha... Well, so far I've been removing the eggs since I didn't want to deal with a bunch of baby slugs during exam time, but I might start keeping them in a spare tupperware container or something. Once this one gets big enough I'll put a picture up and make sure it's a species that is okay to feed to garters.

Sounds good.

[Light of Dae]

As far as buying dirt goes, I'd go to a landscaping company(call first) and just get screened black dirt, add in some bark and leaf litter, and a little bit of organic compost... Nothing acidic! Lettuce and carrots n potatoes and good. No apples, oranges, tomatoes etc.

Don't put them in the fridge if you want them to breed... Fridge is great for keeping them alive, yes. but in a sleep state. Find a cold spot in your house n keep them there, they will breed at room temperature or slightly cooler.