October 25th, 2006 - The worms died!
We’re down to 1004 pets. One of my worm bin is devoid of worms! A couple weeks ago, the worms were trying to make a run for it. My book had no advice on this matter. I wondered if perhaps it was too wet, even though there are drainage holes in that one. So I added some additional paper on top. It’s in a “dormant” phase when I’m not adding new food but there was plenty to eat. Last week, there were fewer escaping and my hypothesis was that they had overbred and the extra worms were dying back.
But today when I checked, I could find no live worms! I did find a couple dead ones. They looked exactly like the ones that died when I tried the kitty litter–thin and stretched out. Not sure what that means…. I know worms can die in anaerobic conditions, but usually that’s along with a stench from the decaying matter. It doesn’t smell lovely, but the smell is only mild. There’s still plenty of uneaten (but decaying) food in the bin. It was fairly compacted, however so I wonder if that’s an issue. I had added new paper bedding with each addition last time so should have avoided that at least at the top. And the compaction also could have been more that the food was mushy and together instead of in solid pieces. It’s not like it was solid-hard. My notes don’t indicate any strange foods being added either.
I don’t know what to do to fix it. I’m really glad I got those extra worms by accident now! But I want to be sure they remain alive…..
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