A few questions

[CocoaAndTea]

Before my tiger salamander comes next week I have a few questions:

Can I keep nightcrawlers in the tank with my tiger salamander? I know they won't bite him but I was wondering also if they can survive in just coco fiber. I have the worms in my fridge.

I can not find any organic dirt without peat moss or any other of the bad stuff. Do you use soil with your coco fiber? If you do which brand? I heard it is okay to just use coco fiber, is this true, or will it like just that?

 

[jewett]

Night crawlers are a "deep soil" worm, meaning they inhabit lower levels of soil where its cool. Because of this they don't fare too well in captivity and most likely would not live too long in the conditions of a tiger salamander habitat (that's why they need to be kept in the fridge until they are fed to your pet). And when they die they will foul your soil so I would not recommend trying to keep the night crawlers in with the salamander.

There are other species of worm that may be more suited to living in with your salamander, but I still think it would be difficult to try and accommodate the needs of your salamander as well as its food in one enclosure. I would just keep them separate until feeding time!

As far as the soil, I use a mix of organic soil (the Miracle Grow brand, purchased at Home Depot) and coco fiber. But in the past I have used just the coco fiber and it worked fine. I think the mix of organic soil with the coco fiber gives the resulting substrate more "structure" as it were, so the tunnels your salamander digs may hold up better. But really, I have not noticed too much difference.

HJ

 

[CocoaAndTea]

Night crawlers are a "deep soil" worm, meaning they inhabit lower levels of soil where its cool. Because of this they don't fare too well in captivity and most likely would not live too long in the conditions of a tiger salamander habitat (that's why they need to be kept in the fridge until they are fed to your pet). And when they die they will foul your soil so I would not recommend trying to keep the night crawlers in with the salamander.

There are other species of worm that may be more suited to living in with your salamander, but I still think it would be difficult to try and accommodate the needs of your salamander as well as its food in one enclosure. I would just keep them separate until feeding time!

As far as the soil, I use a mix of organic soil (the Miracle Grow brand, purchased at Home Depot) and coco fiber. But in the past I have used just the coco fiber and it worked fine. I think the mix of organic soil with the coco fiber gives the resulting substrate more "structure" as it were, so the tunnels your salamander digs may hold up better. But really, I have not noticed too much difference.

HJ

Thanks for all the tips, I was just at home depot yesterday but didn't have enough time to look through everything. Do worms reproduce well inside the fridge?

Oh also do you have to change your substrate more often because of the potting soil?

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[jewett]

From what I have read and researched, it is very difficult for the average hobbyist to provide the right requirements for night crawlers to reproduce in captivity - housing them in the fridge keeps them alive, but you won't get any baby worms out of them. I am planning on getting some L. rubellus to culture as they have different requirements from the night crawler type worms. Here is the thread I started on that topic to gather some opinions: http://www.caudata.org/forum/f1173-...ers-etc/105231-l-rubellus-vs-e-hortensis.html

I have never modified my care based on which substrate mix I use - spot clean several times per week to remove poop and change all substrate about every 6-12 months (many people recommend more frequent soil changes but this has always worked for me. I also have a pretty large enclosure for my single tiger salamander - about 18x18x48 inches - so I think perhaps the soil doesn't foul as rapidly).

Good luck!

HJ

 

[CocoaAndTea]

Well I guess if ever need some worms without going to the store I'll just dig them up.

Can't wait to hear how the culture goes! And again thanks for the tips, I saw on a website it said to clean out the whole tank every two weeks, it sounded a bit strange.

 

[Springlizard]

I keep mine on eco earth and tropical soil mix from the pet store

I like being able to hand feed mine because then you see eaxctly how much they eat

 

[CocoaAndTea]

I keep mine on eco earth and tropical soil mix from the pet store

I like being able to hand feed mine because then you see eaxctly how much they eat

I saw the tropical soil mix but it had no ingredients, so I didn't buy it. How much does yours usually eat?

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