Starting a worm farm! Best types of worms for a spotted salamander?

[Stormymander]

Hey all!

My spotted salamander pretty much only wants to eat worms and slugs. Thus, I'm on the cusp of starting a worm farm for a somewhat renewable foodsource and just need to get the initial batch of worms.

I've heard various things about what types of worms are best. Most say Nightcrawlers, so I am inclined toward those. Further, nightcrawlers are my salamander's all time favorite food, from what I can tell. However, I have heard both canadian and european nightcrawlers reproduce very slowly, and thus am worried about sustainability in that case. On the other hand, "red wiggler" worms reproduce fast in the compost-bin setting I was planning on raising them in, but I have heard salamanders do not like eating these types of worms as much! Also, my salamander may just not want them as he is used to nightcrawlers.

Because of this, I am very conflicted. Do any of you have experience self-raising worms as a food source? Would it be possible to sustain a nightcrawler farm? And lastly, have any of you had success feeding "red wiggler" types of worms to your salamander friends?

Thank you in advance for any assistance!

 

[Herpin Man]

I use European night crawlers, although reproduction has been hit or miss for me. I get them from Uncle Jim’s.
I avoid red wrigglers. They have a bad tasting substance to them, that many people feel is toxic.

 

[Stormymander]

I use European night crawlers, although reproduction has been hit or miss for me. I get them from Uncle Jim’s.
I avoid red wrigglers. They have a bad tasting substance to them, that many people feel is toxic.

I was looking at Uncle Jim's stock on Amazon and was thinking of using them. Thank you for the advice! I'll try Uncle Jim's out! Do they still sell stock throughout the winter? One of my biggest concerns, and a reason for working on this farm, has been having a winter food source for my salamander friend! Just want to make sure unless reproduction doesn't go well.

 

[Herpin Man]

Uncle Jim’s ships all year. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

 

[Ponds End]

I've read/heard that Red Wrigglers are the most nutritious insect/worm you can feed to your salamander because of the nutrition-dense things that the worms feed on (compost, and decaying organic matter in general). This also is apparently why they "taste bad" to salamanders because of a yellow fluid called coelomic fluid and why most won't accept them or will regurgitate them if they did happen to swallow the worm.
I've read care guides that say if you can get your salamander to eat it then you will have the healthiest salamander ever. But I've also read guides that say to avoid them altogether because of the overwhelming majority won't accept them, leading people to think they may be toxic to the salamanders.
It sucks too cause red wrigglers are really easy to farm, I have my own worm farm that is super productive and can go through about a weeks worth of kitchen scraps in the same amount of time

 

[andrew_taricha]

I keep a worm bin of red wrigglers and all my newts love them. Larvae, juveniles, and adults... I have never had issues with them getting spit out. I do not have any salamanders that I have tried to feed them to if that makes a difference?

 

[Ponds End]

I keep a worm bin of red wrigglers and all my newts love them. Larvae, juveniles, and adults... I have never had issues with them getting spit out. I do not have any salamanders that I have tried to feed them to if that makes a difference?

Maybe because the worm is in the water when fed to newts, maybe somehow weakening/rinsing the fluid? or newts maybe don't taste it? every salamander I've had hasn't accepted them at all, though I've only kept A. mavortium and Tigirinum. would be interesting to see which animals will accept and which will not.