DMF "Panfish/trout" worms?

Hello,

I have been collecting my own worms for quite some time now, but it seems the native earthworms around here keep getting smaller and smaller. I just don't like the looks of them, and half of my newts refuse them and much prefer bloodworms. I figured I would go to my bait shop and pick up some nightcrawlers to start my newts on. Well, they didn't have nightcrawlers...but I bought some DMF "panifish/trout" worms. I read a little about them on the website and it said they're also referred to as the "Euro worm, Belgian worm, Belgian Reds, Minis, Reds, Giant Red worms" and that they are superior to the "traditional" red worm? My newts love them--they have a strong smell when cut.
Does anyone else use these and know how they compare nutritionally to nightcrawlers?
Are these just what everyone refers to as "red wrigglers" or something totally different?

dmfbait.com

Do they secrete a yellow ooze from the organ area when cut? If so, they are probably "Red Wigglers". If not, then they are probably leaf/trout worms.

I have not noticed any yellow fluid, however, they do bleed a lot. They're dark red and brown--hardly any opacity.

It sounds like they might be Eisenia hortensis. I've switched to raising hortensis after some palatability issues with the other earthworms I was raising. For now E. hortensis are my worm of choice. I also feel more comfortable with using ones I have had for some time on my food instead of ones fresh off the shelf or from the worm farmer.

I have used these as a staple for my mudpuppy and my old spotted salamander ate them from time to time. The yellow ooze they secrete did not repel the salamanders either. I never cut the worms though.

I have used the same brand and will say that although my salamanders have ate them they still don't like them as much as standard earthworms.

I've used these when the local wally-world is out of nightcrawlers. They're more wiggly than night crawlers, and tend to scare my more shy species, but otherwise I haven't had any issues with them.

I have good luck with them. I really enjoy the added bonus of the escapees of feeding time living in my soil substrates. I just recently observed A. maculatum devouring one that had surfaced in her burrow. Kind of a time delay feeding, methinks.

Ah, awesome. Thanks for all the responses!
:happy:

I like these worms especially for my bearded dragons because they tend to be bigger sometimes than the red wigglers at PetSmart, and I can get the DMF Panfish/trout worms at a 24 hour gas station. I also tend to think that for the most part, the DMF brand loads them with more worms because we don't go through the container as fast. The soil is not compacted so they are easier to find in there. The wiggling does tend to scare my CFN's though, and I have to cut them up no matter what worms I feed them (except blood worms and wax worms). I have always thought that nightcrawlers would just be too big so I have never really bothered with them.

A guy at a bait shop (if I remember correctly) told me that trout worms and red wigglers were the same thing...but I don't know if you want to take my word for it.

I thought there was an area around here that I saw before the site change that compared the nutritional value of all different kinds of "food" sources. It was a list or chart by category.