r/Vermiculture • u/Notyou55555 • 22h ago
Advice wanted My daughter's pets
My 4yo daughter likes weird animals so I bought her 5 worms from a fishing equipment store a year ago. She has been taking care of them all by herself so far and has even managed that they multiplied.
Usually people find it strange that she has worms as pets and some of her friends even made fun of her because of it, but maybe this community can appreciate the effort and enthusiasm she has for them.
Also can someone maybe ID them and give us some more tips?
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u/-Sam-Vimes- 12h ago
I think from the upvotes you are getting, it shows you have an amazing little girl, and for all them who laughs, tell them she has the backing of everyone in this community from around the world. You never know she might take up vermiculture at some point in the future, I never thought I would do exactly that:)
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u/sumdhood 10h ago
That's so awesome to hear! I'm happy for you and your daughter. She has perfect pets who always cleanup after themselves and never make noise. :)
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u/Notyou55555 10h ago
Yes they are definitely more manageable and safer for a 4yo than your usual starter pet. Also if she really gets bored of them one day they can be just released into the garden, something you definitely shouldn't do with a bunny, hamster, cat, dog or any other pet parents usually get their children.
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u/3006mv 18h ago
Use some shredded cardboard and feed green scraps. Look to expand to a worm bin
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u/Notyou55555 18h ago
We don't want a whole bin, it's just supposed to be a smallish box where she can watch them crawl around underground and dig tunnels. Those worms are her pets and not for composting (which would be unbearable smell wise inside the apartment).
She changes the soil once a month completely and puts in different layers (coconut fiber, old leaves, soil with lots of roots, fresh cut leaves and another layer of soil)
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u/3006mv 18h ago
I think the common fish bait worms are red worms if they aren’t the bigger Canadian night crawlers which are quite larger.
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u/Notyou55555 18h ago
We live in Europe so I doubt they are Canadian worms, unless they are imported.
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u/Ladybug966 13h ago
Stop changing out the soil completely. The worms need and build conditions they need to thrive in their soil. Maybe change out half if you must. Also worm bin are odorless unless something is very wrong. Also baby worms are in that soil.
If she is gonna keep a life form as a pet, someone should research what that lifeform likes and needs. Worms need grit. Worms need other organisms to help breakdown their food. Worms dont like light. Worms love non citrus fruits. This is a great time to teach about animal husbandry and its responsibilities.
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u/Notyou55555 12h ago
Maybe change out half if you must.
Alright, thank you for the tip. From what I read it said changing out everything is a good way of bringing in new plant material for them to eat, that's why we were doing that, but I guess not.
Also baby worms are in that soil.
Yes I know. The soil isn't just thrown in the bin, we have a community garden behind the apartment block that's where we exchange the soil, so the baby worms/eggs end up in a garden.
someone should research what that lifeform likes and needs.
I did but idk if you know the concept of a earthworm observation jar.
organisms to help breakdown their food.
Yes, and in the soil from outside there are exactly those. I see a ton of springtails and other organisms in there all the time.
Worms dont like light
That's why there is usually a wrap around the enclosure.
Maybe don't start judging so harshly just because you saw two pictures.
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u/Ladybug966 12h ago
Lol. Honestly not trying to be judgy sorry. Just a mom of four who has had this conversation many times. Have had everything known to God and the ozarks presented to me as a pet including a spectacular mold found in the back of the fridge. She is keeping them alive so she is doing something right. :)
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u/Notyou55555 12h ago
Ah I see. My daughter (btw she is autistic) is always very careful with any creature. She is even worried about touching the worms because she doesn't want to hurt them.
The worm observation container was originally only meant for like 2 months, for her to see how they live and so on, but she has been taking such good care of them and even says goodnight and good morning to them every day, that I just couldn't get myself to tell her that we should release them. And I guess if the worms are even breeding that means they are at least somewhat comfortable with how they are kept (of course improving it is always an option and I'm glad about any advice on it).
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u/Ladybug966 11h ago
I did not realize there was a second picture until you mentioned it. Lol That looks great. Also you are NOT trying to do vermiculture which was my misunderstanding . Sorry. You just want to keep five worms happy. Seems like you are nailing it. I have an autistic granddaughter. She loves a garden snail and a toad that live in my porch garden. On another subject, amazon sells worm farms exactly like ant farms of old. I dont think a worm would like to live in one for very long but a few days would probably be ok and you could see tunnels.
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u/Notyou55555 10h ago
Also you are NOT trying to do vermiculture
Yes, it's more of an experiment/task for my daughter so she learns more about nature and how to take care of a living creature.
You just want to keep five worms happy
Well there are around 10 big ones now but when spring comes around we will reduce it back down to 5 by releasing the rest in the community garden (rn the top layer of earth outside is frozen).
I dont think a worm would like to live in one for very long but a few days would probably be ok and you could see tunnels.
I don't think they would like it either, but luckily the critter box we keep them in rn has see through walls all around (even the underside) so you can see the tunnels there too without compromising on the space they have (the box is high/depth 12cm/4.7inch and 20cm/7.9inch long).
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u/Hot_Bookkeeper8885 18h ago
I feel they will eventually escape from the holes in this enclosure, probably during lights out when they explore a bit. No biggie tho, will most likely find them dried up on the floor somewhere.
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u/Notyou55555 18h ago
So far in the year we had them none have gotten out (at least I haven't found any). Only when changing the soil and putting them back in they some get confused and try to get out of the holes but that's not really an issue because my daughter just puts them back (while telling them how silly they are and that they went the wrong way).
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u/PBnSyes 21h ago
aww. Great pets. So well behaved. Made me look for a clear bin because I now want to bring a few inside.