Foods for growing earthworms

[ginaaxi2123]

Hi,
I want to start a worm farm coz i have heard how good earth worms are for axolotls, What food would be safe to give the worms so that they dont harm the axolotl when i feed them to him?
And How do the worms breed?

 

[Bellabelloo]

The worms that I feed my axolotl come from my compost bin ( big black plastic thing with a lid). They moved in and I chuck all my veg/ plant matter in and the worms munch away . I believe it can be done in smaller scale like a bucket with soil, covered and veg matter added. All my veg etc are organic and pesticide free so you do need to be carefull in what you add. I think the worms are both sexes and they do what ever they need to do to reproduce ( never looked into how they reproduce..could tell you about snails though!).

 

[Kaysie]

I believe earthworms are hermaphroditic, but cannot self-fertilize. They kind of 'curl up' together, exchange sperm packets, and shed the fertilized eggs n a case made from the clitellum (the big 'band' you see on some earthworms).

Keep in mind that some axolotls will refuse to eat compost worms on account of the taste. Most will learn to love them if given the ol' starvation treatment.

 

[ginaaxi2123]

Thanks! i dont need to be told about snails though!!! ive seen it happen many times before!!!, its odd thx for help!!!

 

[Bellabelloo]

It dawned on me a little while ago that at certain times my axolotl would spit out the worms, I am pretty sure it coincided with my human larvae gorging them selves on satsuma's and the peel went in the compost bin ..I supect it left a distinctive taste on the worms. I now don't put citrus peel in and have not had a problem since.

 

[Jennewt]

... it coincided with my human larvae gorging them selves on satsuma's...

Human larvae, ROFL:rofl:

I feed my worms all kinds of kitchen scraps (minus the citrus) and modest amounts of coffee grounds. If you have a choice of what kind of worms to get, I recommend trying to buy Dendobaena (a.k.a. Belgian nightcrawlers). They have much less of the funky smell that seems to turn some sals off to compost worms.

This is really a thread about worms, not about axolotls, so I am moving it to the Live Food discussion area.

 

[Daniel]

Some earthworms (f.i. Eisenia foetida) shed a bitter tasting secretion when grabbed, bitten or cutted. Many amphibia do not like the taste of it and spit the worm back out.

 

[Otterwoman]

I feed mine a lot of newspaper (I'm not joking). The guy who told me how he raised worms told me this and it seems to be working. I also supplement it with vegetables.

 

[peterj]

I farm Eisenia foetida on table scraps and use them as a staple for my adult Axies.