worms or worms....

Posted by DrZot on August 27, 2001 at 08:58:22:

In Reply to: Redworms or red wigglers posted by Rog on August 26, 2001 at 02:40:35:

That's the problem with common names...they are different in different places. The ones to stay away from are the compost worms, Eisenia, usually called redworms. They are dark purply red with bright red between the bands, and are usually kept at room temp (or warmer) in peat moss. Good for eating garbage, but unfortunatly they seem to sometimes accumulate toxins that can kill small garter snakes. I think it depends on how they've been fed, but learned not to risk it the hard way... Lumbricus are the nightcrawlers and leaf worms- they are brownish pink, usually kept refrigerated. L. terrestris is the Canadian nightcrawler (the big ones), while leaf worms are a smaller species. Depending on where you live, there are actually a lot of species of worms (not so likely to get L. terrestris in your back yard), but most of them are safe to feed. Just don't feed too much first time til you know they are safe. Any garden-caught food runs the risk of having been in the neighbors pesticides or harboring parasites :( .

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: That's the problem with common names...they are different in different places. The ones to stay away from are the compost worms, Eisenia, usually called redworms. They are dark purply red with bright red between the bands, and are usually kept at room temp (or warmer) in peat moss. Good for eating garbage, but unfortunatly they seem to sometimes accumulate toxins that can kill small garter snakes. I think it depends on how they've been fed, but learned not to risk it the hard way... Lumbricus are the nightcrawlers and leaf worms- they are brownish pink, usually kept refrigerated. L. terrestris is the Canadian nightcrawler (the big ones), while leaf worms are a smaller species. Depending on where you live, there are actually a lot of species of worms (not so likely to get L. terrestris in your back yard), but most of them are safe to feed. Just don't feed too much first time til you know they are safe. Any garden-caught food runs the risk of having been in the neighbors pesticides or harboring parasites :( .

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