Worm Digest - Re:Characteristics of African Nightcrawlers

Home

New Forum Topics

Newsflash

Sign up for a free account to take advantage of all the new features and to be able to post in the forums. There have been over 33,000 logged entries in the forums since 1998. Check out the Fun and Magazine Stores.

Main Menu

Syndicate

WormDigest Forum

Boardwalk :: Forum List

Six (6) New Worm Digest Forums

1) General Earthworm Discussion Forum

sultan
User

A Fertile Cocoon

Posts: 2

Characteristics of African Nightcrawlers - 2005/10/08 12:14 I've recently ordered some african nighcrawlers and i'm not sure that i got what i ordered. they just don't seem as big as i thought they'd be. I thought they were a bit small when i got them so i've given them a few months and they still aren't quite as big as i'd have imagined yet they seem to be incredibly healthy.

am i expecting them to be bigger than they will actually grow? mine seem to be about 7 inches and thin. i was told that they shouldn't seem to come to a point at the nose and mine do that too. any help would be appreciated.

terry

| | The administrator has disabled public write access.

Larry in Illinois
User

A Hatchling Earthworm

Posts: 11

Re:Characteristics of African Nightcrawlers - 2005/10/09 12:05 The Africans (Edrilus engeniae) I had got about that size some maybe slightly larger. Like Bob said in a topic about Euros, and for any other species for that matter, a lot depends on the bin size, the environmment (food, moisture, temp, etc.)and the population size.

Larry

| | The administrator has disabled public write access.

sultan
User

A Fertile Cocoon

Posts: 2

Re:Characteristics of African Nightcrawlers - 2005/10/09 19:25 Well, as far as bin size, that shouldn't be a problem... I have a 4'x10' bin that's 10" deep. I've been meticulous about food, feeding only carrots and apple peels into a bedding made of cow manure and shredded newspaper. As for water, I'm keeping it moist but not wet and it seems to smell perfect (as perfect as wet cow manure can smell). Temperature stays between 70 and 80 degrees. As for population I should have around 700. I don't think it should be overpopulated in that bin.

Do I have everything right? This is my first attempt at a bed, and I thought I did all the research going into it.

I obviously don't want to have paid for something I didn't receive, but, at the same time, I have no desire to upset my supplier if they did nothing wrong.

I really appreciate your responses.

Take care.

| | The administrator has disabled public write access.

Larry in Illinois
User

A Hatchling Earthworm

Posts: 11

Re:Characteristics of African Nightcrawlers - 2005/10/10 09:00 It seems your bin is ok and temp wise they prefer the upper end of your temps.
You didn't say how large you thought the worm will get. As about anyone who has been visiting this forum can tell you, one of the confusing issues with worms is associating the "street" name with the scientific name. The same worm can be called different names depending on where your at.
The "Africans" (Endrilus engeniae) I worked with generally get the length of a Lumbricus terristris ( Canadian, leaf worm, dew worm, etc) but not as large around the girth. (not using any fattening material)
You understand these observations are from my bins and not necessarily the industry standard. :>

If the worms you have are the same as the ones I worked with chances are they're at their average size.
Larry

| | The administrator has disabled public write access.

Kuznles

User

A Juvenile Earthworm

Posts: 59

Re:Characteristics of African Nightcrawlers - 2005/10/13 00:34 I raise and sell African Nightcrawlers. They probably average 7 to 10 inches long with a few getting up to around 12 inches.
If they are fed a good commercial wormfood mixed with finished compost they will get longer and I have had some get about 1/4 inch around, but that is an exception not the rule. Of course, I am not trying to fatten them that much, my bins are probably a little crowded so they wouldn't be at their full potential.

I have found that the best temp for my worms to be 74?F.

KuznLes

Kountrykuznworms.com

| | The administrator has disabled public write access.

Boardwalk :: Forum List Six (6) New Worm Digest Forums 1) General Earthworm Discussion Forum

Joomlaboard Forum Component 1.1.2 Stable
Two Shoes M-Factory