free range earthworms?

[DoctorCosmonaut]

I was thinking about putting some earthworms into my enclosure and just letting them go to be caught or not by my redfoots, my concern is will they over populate or all crawl into the water dish and die? I know that when it rains earthworms surface, and in my parents garden pond there are always a bunch of dead worms and slugs at the bottom... So would roaming earthworms crawl into my torts watering/soaking dish and drown? I wouldn't want them in there if that would be the case.

 

[Yvonne G]

I have orchid bark in Little Emmie's habitat. She's my Manouria yearling. I tried feeding her a couple red worms once, but she didn't eat them. They buried themselves. Now, every time I want to find some worms to put into my baby box turtle habitat, I lift up Emmie's feeding tile and there are many, many worms under there. I've got my own little worm farm right there in Emmie's habitat.

(I know this is sorta' like mixing my species, but Emmie is CB right here at my home and the baby box turtles are CB too, so I'm not worried about the worms taking germs to the other habitat)

 

[Madkins007]

I would think their growth would be limited by food, space, etc. Phillipe recommends worms in his Bioactive Substrate, so the idea has someone backing it!

 

[DoctorCosmonaut]

I'm leaning towards trying it... Just still iffy with the whole water dish issue, because if I do try it its nearly impossible to stop and catch them all and then it will be too late if they decide to make the water dish "suicide dive."

 

[terryo]

I always throw earth worms in all the boxie's viv's. If you pick up the water dish there are loads under there. I also put some in Pio's viv. I never knew how strong he was until I saw him push up that water dish trying to get a worm. I don't know how he knew they were under there unless he saw one sticking out. Once there was a slug in there that I must have put in with some plants from outside. He wrecked the whole enclosure, turning up plants to get it. I had to take him out and fix the whole viv. The only worm I won't throw in there is red wigglers. They eat everything in site and their castings (?) make everything turn into mud.

 

[DoctorCosmonaut]

Is a red wiggler a type of earth worm or am I safe just plucking any earthworm from the yard?

 

[chadk]

Why would a worm in the water now and then worry you? Don't you change the water almost daily? What do you do when a tort poos in the water? A worm is no big deal compared to that... And in general, unless you flood them out, they will not come above ground and into a water dish on accident.

 

[DoctorCosmonaut]

I do change it 1 or 2x a day, I just hate worms in water lol

 

[terryo]

I don't think red wigglers can tolerate the cold weather. When I first started to raise them I left the bin outside and they all died in the winter. Now I just use them for indoor compost. I find the earth worms in my yard, but in the winter I buy them from Petland Discount, as night crawlers. Those are the one's that I throw into Pio's enclosure.

 

[dmmj]

It is a common misconception that earthworms drown in water, the ones you see on the sidewalks all the time after a rain are usually the sick ones, I once tried an all cardbopard material for my earthworms instead of dirt, the way I cut up the cardboard sorta created a barrier for the water so it could not drain and when I checked it about 2 weeks after a rainstorm I was suprised to see them all still alive and kicking. Most books I have read state that they can live in a semiaquatic enviroment, they just don't mate or anything. as for free range if they are not contained they will spread out, the best way to keep them in your pen and free range is to have a mulch pile in there and that should do a pretty good job of keeping them there, without it they will go in search of food elsewhere, an worms in my own personal experience usually do not go after water bowls. I hope this helps out.

 

[stells]

When i had redfoots... i had worms in the enclosure and never had a problem with it... was also great to see them actively digging up the worms...

 

[GBtortoises]

I've never had a problem with them getting into the water dish as long as the substrate is moist enough in at least one area of an enclosure. They'll migrate to the moist area. I have often found them under water dishes where it is often moist. Never had a problem with them crawling out of an enclosure but they will if it becomes too hot and dry. I have a colony of earthworms that I've cultivated in a large Rubbermaid container in my basement for about 12-15 years now. I've never seen any evidence of them climbing out of it. But outdoors, after a good rain I do find many earthworms (along with many other insects) in the tortoises water bowls, some dead, some alive.