Best worms to culture?

[Dannie88]

What is the best worm species to culture for caudates? I'm torn between red wigglers and European nightcrawlers. I like red worms for their small size and apparently they breed quickly. However, some of my caudates refuse them entirely. Nightcrawlers may be too big for some of them, but at least they can be chopped up. Any recommendations? Any alternatives that I'm not aware of?

 

[Hart]

Why not both?

They both need the same conditions, so I have a healthy culture of both in a box.

 

[Chinadog]

I posted this in another thread...

As I understand it, Nightcrawlers are not suitable for home propagation as they need very cold temperatures and are slow to multiply.
Leaf worms (Dendrobaena sp) are easy to breed in a large plastic bucket or similar. They will tolerate quite warm temps and can be fed scraps from the kitchen or veg peelings etc.
The only down side to them, is that some newts refuse to eat them due to their strong smell. They aren't as smelly as red wrigglers, but it would be best to try some with your newts first.

 

[Dannie88]

Thank you both for the input! I figured this had already been discussed, but I couldn't find a relevant post.

I will have to try the leaf worms out. If they don't like those, I will stick with red wigglers.

Thanks!

 

[Rupert]

Red Wrigglers(E. Fetida) have been found to be toxic to vertebrates, even for species that feed on worms heavily (i.e. garter snakes).

I'd find alternatives for E.Fetida if I were you.

 

[JoshBA]

I culture European nightcrawlers and they reproduce fairly quickly. They don't get very big.

Their only downside is that they excrete a foul tasting fluid that smells like rotten cabbage, which some of my animals are repulsed by. Others, like my C. e. popei, are not even phased and eat them as a staple.

-Edit: whoops, Chinadog has already covered this!

 

[Chinadog]

So is European nightcrawlers another name for Leaf worms?

 

[JoshBA]

So is European nightcrawlers another name for Leaf worms?

I was referring to Eisenia hortensis, which was previously classified as Dendrobaena veneta. So yeah, pretty much.