Earthworms Toxic?

[moncrieff]

Hi all,

I thought I had read somewhere that earthworms in captivity can carry a toxic bacteria that can kill salamanders and newts they are fed to. I can't seem to find any information like this on my recent searches of the web (figures), and I really wanted to have a more reliable source of worms for my sals, as I live in a city and don't have a backyard or any place to get worms- except for a park, which is my current source, but its very difficult to dig for worms without creating a scene . I feel bad that my sals may not be getting the best nutrition and wanted to be able to keep worms in my fridge, but I was paranoid before that the worms would make them sick. Does anyone have any opinions or experience with this? Thanks!

 

[jasper408]

I have never heard of that, and I am sure many members here are equally as curious as me as to whether this claim has any basis to it. Many of the members here use worms, be it cultured or from a bait store, myself included.

One concern for collecting earthworms though is that the use of pesticides or herbicides in the area may affect your animals through the worm.

 

[baddfish]

I completely agree with Jasper. Ive been getting my crawlers from walmart.