I got some phoenix worms for my dragons, and spent a monstrous amount of time and frustration trying to wash the compost material off them, then the REAL fun began,trying to keep them in the dish while the dragons ate them. It was a genuine lesson in frustration for me and the dragons. Poor results getting them cleaned off (the worms) and pissed off dragons that ultimately just got their usual Dubia roaches. How does everybody else separate worms from bedding, and is there a good sized feeding dish with a serious lip on that they won't escape from?
Laura
I pick each worm out with tweezers, then drop them into a plastic container. When in the temporary container, most bedding comes off, and I can pick them out of the second container and place them into a ceramic dish with slippery sides where Loki picks them out. This seems to work for me
I use the ceramic one in Fluffy's 100L tub , too heavy for her to tip over or get under (she loves to get under her paper bedding and hide and even her heavy bits of bark) .
Regarding cleaning the maggots , I simply have some dry expanded peet coir that I have in small (old used) cricket tub, when I receive my orders of BSFL , I simply fish every mucky dirty worm out the "dirt" they arrive in and drop them as is in the dry stuff, they soon rub the dirt off themselves and are quite clean by next day, when I fish maybe 4 - 5 dozen out at a time to keep in home made dish that's in a small 1L Tupperware square tub ready to use.
The worms get much better at climbing when they are wet. Usually a dish with curved sides holds them but if they have been rinsed, it doesn't always work. I've found the best way to clean them is to put them in a mesh sieve and shake the dirt/substrate away from them. This separates most of the soil and keeps them dry which will make it easier to contain them.
OK,awesome ideas! One guy on I had read somewhere, I think it was rating the seller's worms, said you don't have to clean them, that the compost won't hurt t the dragons. I didn't worry too much about Smaug eating some of it, but now he hasn't pooped in a couple days... I'm worried now. He eats what ever I give him, either greens or roaches.
A little bit of the substrate shouldn't cause a problem for them. I try to get as much off of them as I can but it's not always perfect and hasn't been an issue. If you're worried about him being backed up, try dripping water on his nose to lick up. If he is well hydrated it will help him digest and pass everything through.