Dendrobaena are the easiest of worms to keep, this can be split into two parts – short term storage or long term.
For short term
Say a week or less, the worms can be kept in the container or bag they have arrived in, they are normally sent out with sufficient bedding for the travelling and to keep for a couple of days. On arrival the worms should be opened immediately and checked, then extra bedding can be added, this can be torn up wet newspaper and/or cardboard, moss peat and dead leaves, you can fill the container or bag but don’t “cram” it in, worms like to move around! Always keep the lid on the container or the bag tightly shut but do change the air in the plastic containers every other day. The container or bag should then be kept at a cool temperature, around 10degC is ideal, a cool shed or garage is fine, we do not recommend putting them in a refrigerator but if this works for you, don’t change. Dendrobaena, like all worms will continually feed and the bedding should be topped up as necessary. One of the worst things to do is to take the whole container or bag to go fishing, worms hate changes in temperature so only take what you need for the days outing, on return, put any unused worms into a separate container, do not add back to the original.
Long term
As you would expect, we would recommend a Worm Keeper as supplied by us! this is what it is designed for and will be of the right size with the right bedding materials but if you insist on doing it yourself then read on.
On arrival the worms should be transferred into a larger container, a 2 gallon bucket should be considered as the smallest but it must have a tight fitting, ventilated lid. This or any other container will need to be half filled with a suitable bedding, see short term above, do not use soil. The container must be kept in cool conditions, the shed or garage is the usual place, as said before, the Dendrobaena will continually feed but in this case it would be advisable to feed “extras” from the start, many customers recommend a cupful of cooked, unsalted mashed potato placed onto the surface and this does seem to work very well, other foods to consider would be any green kitchen waste but always feed in small quantities and do not mix into the bedding, when the worms have cleared almost all the first meal, feed again, do not overload or there will be problems! The container should be left where it is and only enough worms for the days outing should be removed, if you are happy with their condition on your return then they can be added back but if you are at all unsure, start another container.
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