Eft meets earthworm for the first time

[benjamin]

This little vulgarus morph and it's siblings have only ever eaten springtails and other nearly microscopic animals since they've been on land, but today I decided to try them with an earth worm. So far it's provided lots of entertainment (for me), but none of the little guys have managed to tackle it. Sometimes as many as three of them have had a go at it a one time, and I think ultimately they're going to have to some how divided between eachother if they want to a have any chance of eating it. I have a video of one engaging battle with the worm but I don't know how to post it. Here are some pics, I apologize for the poor quality (It's pretty hard to take poorly lit, night vision, macro photos with well camoflouged fast moving subjects):

Eft stalks out its prey-

And then it attacks

(for people who can't see the eft clearly: it's the little light brown thing with two eyes beneath the worm in the first one. In the last two pictures follow the worm down until you reach the little tan thing with an eye with the worm in its mouth.)

 

[jeff]

It's hard to tell from the pictures, but that looks like a pretty big worm for the eft. Was he able to eat the whole thing?

Never mind. I guess I should have read your whole post instead of just looking at the pictures. Have you considered cutting up the worm?

(Message edited by tmarmoratus on October 04, 2005)

 

[benjamin]

Well there are smaller worms I can get for the guys, this worm died, I assume of exhaustion after being attacked by every eft in the container multiple times. The worm was definitely too large for one eft by it self, I was hoping they'ld role to divide it. I think though that I might try cut up pieces next time.

 

[joan]

I've found that worms don't pull apart very well with little guys doing the alligator roll. Even the big ones usually one just gives up before the worm tears apart. I had two of my ambystomatids get into it last night over worm, and one finally gave up after the other one bit it on the head 3 or 4 times. Then she got a bigger piece of worm