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Boardwalk :: Forum List Six (6) New Worm Digest Forums 1) General Earthworm Discussion Forum
redhen
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A Protected Species Earthworm
Posts: 684
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 Do worms crawl if they are not happy? - 2006/04/17 22:15 Oh...Yes they do! I am posting these pictures (taken after a new order came in and I put them in darkness for 1 hour), to show what happens when your worms first arrive through the mail,
are put in a very nice new home, and it gets dark. These guys have been subjected to vibrations and heat/cold. They are in peat, perhaps, and dehydrating as the hours go by. When put in their new bin, I am sure they have an emergency town meeting, with a unanamous vote for finding greener pastures as soon as darkness comes. Leaving a light on for a few days will keep the worms in their new bedding. If things are the right temperature, moisture and there is food, they will be in a little worm paradise and settle in for good.


 Susan Quinby-Honer
redhen@nc.rr.com
Starve the Landfill...Feed the Earth.
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WormMainea
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A Protected Species Earthworm
Posts: 149
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 Re:Do worms crawl if they are not happy? - 2006/04/18 09:44 This is a great post!

It is important to educate those whoare just starting off with what to expect when your worms first arrive. They will be crazy for a while until they settle in-- this is normal and is no reflection on your bin. If they don't settle in in a few days, then you have a problem.

Thanks for the fabuluous pics! WormMainea.com
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glowery
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A Protected Species Earthworm
Posts: 127
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 Re:Do worms crawl if they are not happy? - 2006/04/19 07:49 As a general rule of thumb, how long do you leave the light on them and what kind of light do you use?

How bright does it need to be? Glenda

I always wanted to be somebody; I guess I should have been more specific.
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WormMainea
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A Protected Species Earthworm
Posts: 149
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 Re:Do worms crawl if they are not happy? - 2006/04/19 08:21 I don't do anything too fancy-- not my style in general.

I just keep the lid off the new bin and leave the basement (fluorescent) lights on for 2-3 days. It is bright enough to cast a shadow, but I don't go out of my way to make it BRIGHT. I have a few persistent ones that end up on the floor, but most hide from the light. They find worm nirvana in the bedding and stay.
 WormMainea.com
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glowery
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A Protected Species Earthworm
Posts: 127
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 Re:Do worms crawl if they are not happy? - 2006/04/19 09:12 This is good to know. My worms will be in bins in an old barn stall, and while it is fairly light over the stall during the day due to some skylights over the stalls, at night the stalls are much darker, as the flourecent tubes run down the center of the barn.

I have had my husband mount one of those clip on lights to the side of the stall that I can turn on at night. It has a 60 watt bulb in it, it is not shining right down on the bins, but I think now I will feel safe in the fact this will shed enough light to entice the the worms to stay under cover.

I have spent so much time reading and asking questions I am now really anxious for my worms to arrive. I have talked so much to my husband about the information I have found about the care and feeding of worms, he now just laughs and says. "You realize these are not pets, right?"

Glenda Glenda

I always wanted to be somebody; I guess I should have been more specific.
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Dirt Hugger
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 Re:Do worms crawl if they are not happy? - 2006/06/29 08:19 Nobody tells you these things beforehand! If only I'd known about this forum and read Red Hen's advice when I first got my worms... I freaked out when I saw the mass exodus, and to make matters worse I hadn't sealed my (homemade) wormery sufficiently so I lost a lot of worms the first few days I cried myself to sleep that first night!
Now they're all settled in, although there are still a bunch of escapees stuck inbetween the wooden frame and the porous sheet lining...I can feel them there on the sides like clumps of spaghetti... I'm just hoping if they found a way in they'll find their way back out of there.
I, too, have found that having a layer of wet cardboard or paper on top provides a popular hangout area for the worms.
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Dirt Hugger
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A Fertile Cocoon
Posts: 9
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 Re:Do worms crawl if they are not happy? - 2006/06/29 08:20 Nobody tells you these things beforehand! If only I'd known about this forum and read Red Hen's advice when I first got my worms... I freaked out when I saw the mass exodus, and to make matters worse I hadn't sealed my (homemade) wormery sufficiently so I lost a lot of worms the first few days I cried myself to sleep that first night!
Now they're all settled in, although there are still a bunch of escapees stuck inbetween the wooden frame and the porous sheet lining...I can feel them there on the sides like clumps of spaghetti... I'm just hoping if they found a way in they'll find their way back out of there.
I, too, have found that having a layer of wet cardboard or paper on top provides a popular hangout area for the worms. "There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge" - Bertrand Russel
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Boardwalk :: Forum List Six (6) New Worm Digest Forums 1) General Earthworm Discussion Forum

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