Eathworm success!

[SludgeMunkey]

Today was a milestone in my getting ready for winter because it is hard to get live foods here program. My B. nebulifer took the longest to catch on, however all of my Bufo now successfully eat worms. My B. woodhousii picked it up by the second feeding, my lone cognatus took to it right away. The nebulifers took about a week, but they figured out the sticky tongue bit does not work well- just get in the dish and grab them! They are not picky either- nightcrawlers (chopped in half for the smaller critters and those red wigglers that nothing seems to like are all eaten easily. The trick is to keep the worms in a food dish or feed your toads in substrateless tubs.

May not work for everyone, but I am glad I have added yet another easy to get back up food for my pets.

[John]

That's good to know. What kind of dish do you use?

[Kurt]

Congradulations!

[SludgeMunkey]

That's good to know. What kind of dish do you use?

I'm using the lids from the large margarine containers. Cheap, disposable if need be, and easy to get.

[John]

What stops the worms wandering off while the toads are trying to figure out what to do?

[adawinters]

I would love to set up a worm colony, but my neighbors have trained their dogs to use what little "yard" we have as a litterbox. Ugh.

Glad to hear it's working, though. Maybe some day I'll get to try it.

[SludgeMunkey]

What stops the worms wandering off while the toads are trying to figure out what to do?

Me, and a pair of tongs. I also fridge the worms for about 30 minutes prior to feeding time. Once the toads got the idea though, the worms do not get to travel far.

[coltiger]

Only my largest Cane toad eats earthworms, the smaller one has no interest in them at all. Only one of my American toads has been able to eat an earthworm. I will try to feed in a substrate less container to see if that helps.

[John]

A little hunger does wonders too!

[SludgeMunkey]

A little hunger does wonders too!

Very true! I skipped a feeding day here once a week for two weeks prior to the first attempts for the nebulifer, the rest did not need any coercion. I suspect my "local' species eat a good deal of worms early in the year here.