Callie Stick
Arachnopeon
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Just out of curiosity are the nightcrawlers you get at fishing supply stores okay to use as feeders?
Night Crawlers as feeders..?
- Thread starter Callie Stick
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I use the ones they sell at Wal-Mart and so far so good. The only thing that gives me pause is that somebody elsewhere made the inquiry as to whether 'crawlers could carry the chytrid fungus. There was no definitive answer to the best of my knowledge. That makes me a little nervous, but hey-a frog's gotta eat, so until I hear anything on the matter, I'll continue to use them.
One other thing to consider is what method is used to gather the worms. Some less environmentally concerned gatherers might use irritating fluids to bring them up to the surface. I'm thinking chemicals like bleach, etc. I think the commercially sold Canadian crawlers are simply hand gathered, and they are what many places sell.
Short answer is that they should be okay to use, lots of people do, but there are no guarantees.
One other thing to consider is what method is used to gather the worms. Some less environmentally concerned gatherers might use irritating fluids to bring them up to the surface. I'm thinking chemicals like bleach, etc. I think the commercially sold Canadian crawlers are simply hand gathered, and they are what many places sell.
Short answer is that they should be okay to use, lots of people do, but there are no guarantees.
I get mine from a fishing supply shop and feed them to my pyxie frog. Make sure you look inside before buying any. Look for plump worms that are mainly under the dirt. Stay away from thin worms and some stores use dyes in their worms to attract fish easier.
As far I'm concerned, Chytrid Fungus is only among amphibians.
As far I'm concerned, Chytrid Fungus is only among amphibians.
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Right, there is no evidence that I know of that indicates that it can be transmitted by 'crawlers. Of course on the other hand, researchers even disinfect their boots when going from site to site, and it is suspected that the fungus is carried from place to place on waterfowl, so I don't guess it is too large a stretch to wonder if it could hitch a ride on feeders like nightcrawlers.
I think the question was, if I remember correctly, was not so much whether 'crawlers could be infected with the fungus as whether they could be carriers of it. As I said, it just gave me something to think about. Heck, I don't even know if the life-cycle of the fungus would allow for such a possibility, and I certainly didn't intend to cause any undue concerns.
I think the question was, if I remember correctly, was not so much whether 'crawlers could be infected with the fungus as whether they could be carriers of it. As I said, it just gave me something to think about. Heck, I don't even know if the life-cycle of the fungus would allow for such a possibility, and I certainly didn't intend to cause any undue concerns.
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If the bedding the crawlers were in or the crawlers were from an area infected with chytrid they could indeed transmit chytrid.
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I won't even dispose of materials left over after routine spot cleaning before letting them stand in boiling water for 15 minutes or so. The water I place my frog in while I clean the tank gets boiling water added to it afterwards and all containers I use receive the same treatment. Maybe it's overkill and most surely it's sort of a time-adding nuisance, but I sure don't want to be the one who introduces it to my area. If it hasn't already been introduced, that is. Horned frogs have been shown to be carriers without showing symptoms of their own, so why take chances?
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Well, to the best of my knowledge, Canadian 'crawlers (which are the most commonly available ones in these parts at least) are gathered by hand. I'll go see what I can find....
Okay, the quickest cite I can provide is at wikipedia. However, I realize that some folks do not accept Wiki as the fully authoritative source of information(which is probably the correct attitude), so you may take it as you will. Here is the pertinent text:
Canadian nightcrawlers are harvested in certain locations in North America. Most come from Canada's Ontario region, while many millions more are harvested along the Appalachian Mountains - from western North Carolina up to New York.
The worms are actually collected by headlamp-wearing hunters (or pickers) who crawl throughout fresh cut fields, yards, golf courses, and even cow pastures. The worms come out from the ground only at night (or when the ground is deeply saturated) following a decent rain fall. Temperatures at the time must be between about 50 and 80 °F (10 and 26.7 °C). The ideal time for hunting the worms is when it is lightly drizzling rain, the temperature is about 65 °F, and thunder (or other noise) is not present.
The pickers crawl around the location, sometimes by the dozens, and grab the slimy worms. A mixture of bleach and water is commonly used to make them come to the surface faster.
I also found this comment at another website discussing farming worms:
Canadian Nightcrawlers, also called Common Earthworms,(Lumbricus terrestris) are popular fishing bait, and sometimes found as feed in pet stores that sell exotic pets. They are extremely difficult to raise at home since they cannot withstand warmer temperatures, and grow and reproduce slowly. It's easier to harvest them from their natural habitat (your back yard or cow pasture), since this worm species prefers to tunnel deeply, is somewhat territorial, and will not grow or reproduce if their home is disturbed.
The rest of the article can be found here
I guess those to cites are enough for this purpose, but there are lots of other hits that probably offer similar information.
Okay, the quickest cite I can provide is at wikipedia. However, I realize that some folks do not accept Wiki as the fully authoritative source of information(which is probably the correct attitude), so you may take it as you will. Here is the pertinent text:
Canadian nightcrawlers are harvested in certain locations in North America. Most come from Canada's Ontario region, while many millions more are harvested along the Appalachian Mountains - from western North Carolina up to New York.
The worms are actually collected by headlamp-wearing hunters (or pickers) who crawl throughout fresh cut fields, yards, golf courses, and even cow pastures. The worms come out from the ground only at night (or when the ground is deeply saturated) following a decent rain fall. Temperatures at the time must be between about 50 and 80 °F (10 and 26.7 °C). The ideal time for hunting the worms is when it is lightly drizzling rain, the temperature is about 65 °F, and thunder (or other noise) is not present.
The pickers crawl around the location, sometimes by the dozens, and grab the slimy worms. A mixture of bleach and water is commonly used to make them come to the surface faster.
I also found this comment at another website discussing farming worms:
Canadian Nightcrawlers, also called Common Earthworms,(Lumbricus terrestris) are popular fishing bait, and sometimes found as feed in pet stores that sell exotic pets. They are extremely difficult to raise at home since they cannot withstand warmer temperatures, and grow and reproduce slowly. It's easier to harvest them from their natural habitat (your back yard or cow pasture), since this worm species prefers to tunnel deeply, is somewhat territorial, and will not grow or reproduce if their home is disturbed.
The rest of the article can be found here
I guess those to cites are enough for this purpose, but there are lots of other hits that probably offer similar information.