What happened to these worms? (european nightcrawlers looking all messed up)

[yoshimi]

These 2 were alive when I spotted them, but if they didn't die in that tub, they're dying in the freezer right now. What happened to them? Looks like tumors and they were super skinny. The others in the cup look fat and fine. I'm freaked cuz this was the cup I've been feeding from. The other cup has an egg or two in it, and no sickly looking worms. Things die, but what's with the bulges?

[Mentat]

I'm not sure what the bulges are; but have seen them before. Bought couple hundred once (1/2 cost of buying by dozen) and kept them in refrigerator. After a few weeks worms started going downhill and many exhibited those bulges and red bruised areas on them. Discarded all abnormal ones just in case and eventually lost like a third of them .

[yoshimi]

I'm not sure what the bulges are; but have seen them before. Bought couple hundred once (1/2 cost of buying by dozen) and kept them in refrigerator. After a few weeks worms started going downhill and many exhibited those bulges and red bruised areas on them. Discarded all abnormal ones just in case and eventually lost like a third of them .

I don't love that answer, makes me think it's some disease... but i'm glad someone said something. These have been out of the fridge for a while now. After you got rid of the bad looking ones (I did that too), did the third that you lost develop these same bulges and skinny out?

[flybyferns]

I don't love that answer, makes me think it's some disease... but i'm glad someone said something. These have been out of the fridge for a while now. After you got rid of the bad looking ones (I did that too), did the third that you lost develop these same bulges and skinny out?

Could it have been too dry ---at some point ?
Could the bulges have been injuries?

[yoshimi]

Could it have been too dry ?
Could the bulges have been injuries?

I mist with treated water when it looks dry. The soil they were in looked old, like kind of rocky. I thought maybe they had tried to eat a piece but the bubbles don't look dark. Those pics were actually the best the soil had looked in a while. Not sure how they could get injured in there by themselves. Unless I was a little heavy handed with tongs... I don't think so but you never know. I could've gone for one and had it pull away, hurting it, then just chose another instead. They were so starkly different in weight than the others.
I ended up mixing the 2 cups, dirt and all. That probably wasn't smart, but I kind of want to see what happens. Next cup of worms I buy will come from the walmart that sold me the good fresh cup, not the walmart where I had to root around to find ones that weren't dead and moldy. Should've walked away right there, but the ones I picked out looked fine until today.
If I changed the soil, maybe from my backyard, perhaps I can save them. But I don't think I'll feel comfortable feeding them to Banjo. She wouldn't eat today, AND I found these. Bad morning.

* at some point, like when they were in the cooler at walmart, yes definitely too dry. I handed the really bad cups to an employee who happened to be there making a key for someone, but they could've wound up back in the cooler for all I know.

[yoshimi]

Just dug through my tub of worms (carefully), and threw away any large dirt chunks and some twigs and bark that shouldn't really be in there. Found at least 2 eggs. And the remaining worms look fine. Misted a little, put the tub in a cooler in my kitchen, cuz my other theory was that they got too hot, in the same room with my roaches. That doesn't hold up tho, since Carlos said he had his in the fridge. Cup says 38 to 70F tho and they could've easily gotten over 70, even in the foam cooler. Maybe. Those eggs have piqued my interest.

[Mentat]

... After you got rid of the bad looking ones (I did that too), did the third that you lost develop these same bulges and skinny out?

Yes, some did. Maybe the problem was already in the soil and I did not change it out .