Here comes MILLIE!!!

CarolM

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Oct 30, 2017
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19,492
Location (City and/or State)
South Africa - Cape Town
Way to go Millie. Don't take any nonsense.
Millie is doing FANTASTIC!!! i was worried about taking on a "special needs" turtle, but I need NOT have worried at all!
Millie eats anything and everything I offer her (her foster mom told me Millie eats well, and boy, was she was right!). Millie gobbled up the Hikari Sinking Carnivore pellets from the very first day I brought her home. When I dropped some of the Mazuri floating turtle pellets in, she didn't even wait for them to soften up at all, but grabbed a pellet, chomped down, :eek: and shattered with with an audible CRA-ACK !!

I had been told that Millie especially enjoys LIVE food, so i dug up an earthworm and dropped it in her tank. I figured she'd eat it but I was unprepared for the EPIC BATTLE and the WORM CARNAGE that ensued!!! The worm was a huge one from my back garden: easily 4 inches long and robust. Millie is 2 and 1/2 inches long. As soon as I dropped the worm in, Millie took about 1.5 seconds to size up her victim, and then she lunged and chomped down on it! The worm immediately reared itself up and wrapped around her head (this thing is twice as long as she is, if you recall) and she RAN BACKWARDS IN REVERSE THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF THE TANK, dragging the thrashing earthworm with her!!! The worm put up an amazing fight, but Millie NEVER released her grip, shook her head from side to side and pawed at it with her only front foot until she managed to bite it entirely in half. The halves continued to writhe and squirm, but it didn't bother her at all! She had quite a feast!!! I got photos of the battle, but I apologize for the darkness of it all-

Millie may be small, she may be immature, and she may have only 3 feet, but don't try to tell her she's handicapped: she won't know what you're talking about!!!

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Moozillion

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I gotta say, I am VERY pleased with how my worm bin has worked out!
All I did was cut the bottom out of a decent sized plastic tub (with its lid), set it in a back spot in my garden, and put mulch around the edges.
That is now the designated spot for all our raw veggie scraps! The veggies rot down to yummy goo for the worms in the dirt, and the lid keeps humidity in so things stay good and wet in there. Sometimes when the weather has been really dry for a while, I'll water around it really well to keep the dirt good and damp. The worms are well fed at all times and reproduce like crazy!!!
Now I can go out any time, scrape back the mulch, spade up some dirt and VOILA: a big fat worm!!! Typically on the first try, otherwise always on the second try.

fullsizeoutput_a41.jpeg


And Millie has a feast!!!

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Turtle girl 98

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Aug 16, 2019
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768
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Sandstone mn
I gotta say, I am VERY pleased with how my worm bin has worked out!
All I did was cut the bottom out of a decent sized plastic tub (with its lid), set it in a back spot in my garden, and put mulch around the edges.
That is now the designated spot for all our raw veggie scraps! The veggies rot down to yummy goo for the worms in the dirt, and the lid keeps humidity in so things stay good and wet in there. Sometimes when the weather has been really dry for a while, I'll water around it really well to keep the dirt good and damp. The worms are well fed at all times and reproduce like crazy!!!
Now I can go out any time, scrape back the mulch, spade up some dirt and VOILA: a big fat worm!!! Typically on the first try, otherwise always on the second try.

View attachment 280571


And Millie has a feast!!!

View attachment 280572
That's awesome Moozillion! I am gonna have to try that! Pretty much they just climb up through the bottom and go eat the veggies? So cool[emoji3526]
 

Moozillion

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Messages
10,744
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Louisiana, USA
Yep: I actually cut 4 BIG squares out of the bottom of the tub- MOST of the bottom. I left the sides that curl under intact and also felt that cutting big squares would leave a bit more structural integrity so the whole thing wouldn't collapse.
Before I set it in the garden, i scraped away the mulch and pulled out any weeds because worms eat decaying stuff, and I wanted minimal live plants. Then I roughed the dirt a bit and nestled the tub in but only about a a half inch.
The rotting goo from the veggies just seeps directly into the dirt so the worms have a buffet delivered directly to them!
The only time I open the tub is to add more veggie scraps. The worms are in the dirt all around it.
Down here in Louisiana it works great about 9 months out of the year. But it seems like it should work at least all summer in your climate...
Anyway, it saves having to go digging for worms all through the garden!
Good luck!
 

Turtle girl 98

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Joined
Aug 16, 2019
Messages
768
Location (City and/or State)
Sandstone mn
Yep: I actually cut 4 BIG squares out of the bottom of the tub- MOST of the bottom. I left the sides that curl under intact and also felt that cutting big squares would leave a bit more structural integrity so the whole thing wouldn't collapse.
Before I set it in the garden, i scraped away the mulch and pulled out any weeds because worms eat decaying stuff, and I wanted minimal live plants. Then I roughed the dirt a bit and nestled the tub in but only about a a half inch.
The rotting goo from the veggies just seeps directly into the dirt so the worms have a buffet delivered directly to them!
The only time I open the tub is to add more veggie scraps. The worms are in the dirt all around it.
Down here in Louisiana it works great about 9 months out of the year. But it seems like it should work at least all summer in your climate...
Anyway, it saves having to go digging for worms all through the garden!
Good luck!
Oh so cool! Definitely going to try this next spring! Thank you for explaining how to make it for me [emoji3526] I read it all to the hubby and he likes the idea to
 

Moozillion

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10,744
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Louisiana, USA
I FORGOT TO MENTION that in making my worm bin, I also drilled HOLES around the top of the sides for ventilation !!!

r2Sbiu80RAq%k9LmtFlf1Q.jpg



1DTQXMg%Rj6G1nWZVaZ4Qg.jpg



This is the underside, and I've scraped away some of the veggie gunk to give you an idea of the size of the holes I cut and what i left on the sides to keep the structure of the tub intact. I hope this helps!

x7oAnBZ4Ts+oBPy7ZCGspw.jpg
 

Turtle girl 98

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Joined
Aug 16, 2019
Messages
768
Location (City and/or State)
Sandstone mn
I FORGOT TO MENTION that in making my worm bin, I also drilled HOLES around the top of the sides for ventilation !!!

View attachment 280576



View attachment 280577



This is the underside, and I've scraped away some of the veggie gunk to give you an idea of the size of the holes I cut and what i left on the sides to keep the structure of the tub intact. I hope this helps!

View attachment 280578
Thank you! I'm going to hop on my computer so I can see the pictures. My phone didn't load them .thank you Moozillion
 

GimpyCutie

Member
Joined
Oct 24, 2018
Messages
25
Location (City and/or State)
Denham Springs, Louisiana
Millie is doing FANTASTIC!!! i was worried about taking on a "special needs" turtle, but I need NOT have worried at all!
Millie eats anything and everything I offer her (her foster mom told me Millie eats well, and boy, was she was right!). Millie gobbled up the Hikari Sinking Carnivore pellets from the very first day I brought her home. When I dropped some of the Mazuri floating turtle pellets in, she didn't even wait for them to soften up at all, but grabbed a pellet, chomped down, :eek: and shattered with with an audible CRA-ACK !!

I had been told that Millie especially enjoys LIVE food, so i dug up an earthworm and dropped it in her tank. I figured she'd eat it but I was unprepared for the EPIC BATTLE and the WORM CARNAGE that ensued!!! The worm was a huge one from my back garden: easily 4 inches long and robust. Millie is 2 and 1/2 inches long. As soon as I dropped the worm in, Millie took about 1.5 seconds to size up her victim, and then she lunged and chomped down on it! The worm immediately reared itself up and wrapped around her head (this thing is twice as long as she is, if you recall) and she RAN BACKWARDS IN REVERSE THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF THE TANK, dragging the thrashing earthworm with her!!! The worm put up an amazing fight, but Millie NEVER released her grip, shook her head from side to side and pawed at it with her only front foot until she managed to bite it entirely in half. The halves continued to writhe and squirm, but it didn't bother her at all! She had quite a feast!!! I got photos of the battle, but I apologize for the darkness of it all-

Millie may be small, she may be immature, and she may have only 3 feet, but don't try to tell her she's handicapped: she won't know what you're talking about!!!

View attachment 280035

View attachment 280036


View attachment 280037


View attachment 280038
Aw! So glad to see shes doing good!! Thanks again. You are doing a great job, i love the setup, I can tell you are gonna be the best mommy for her! :)
 

Moozillion

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10 Year Member!
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Joined
Apr 26, 2012
Messages
10,744
Location (City and/or State)
Louisiana, USA
Aw! So glad to see shes doing good!! Thanks again. You are doing a great job, i love the setup, I can tell you are gonna be the best mommy for her! :)
SO GREAT to see you on the forum again, Kasey!!!
Millie is a WONDERFUL little turtle and you did a fabulous job both rescuing her and nursing her back to health!!! Thanks SO MUCH for my spunky little gal!! ❤️
 

Toddrickfl1

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Joined
Jan 7, 2018
Messages
7,103
Location (City and/or State)
Ga
I gotta say, I am VERY pleased with how my worm bin has worked out!
All I did was cut the bottom out of a decent sized plastic tub (with its lid), set it in a back spot in my garden, and put mulch around the edges.
That is now the designated spot for all our raw veggie scraps! The veggies rot down to yummy goo for the worms in the dirt, and the lid keeps humidity in so things stay good and wet in there. Sometimes when the weather has been really dry for a while, I'll water around it really well to keep the dirt good and damp. The worms are well fed at all times and reproduce like crazy!!!
Now I can go out any time, scrape back the mulch, spade up some dirt and VOILA: a big fat worm!!! Typically on the first try, otherwise always on the second try.

View attachment 280571


And Millie has a feast!!!

View attachment 280572
Nothing attracts worms more than coffee grounds. Give em a try.
 

TammyJ

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5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2016
Messages
7,119
Location (City and/or State)
Jamaica
I FORGOT TO MENTION that in making my worm bin, I also drilled HOLES around the top of the sides for ventilation !!!

View attachment 280576



View attachment 280577



This is the underside, and I've scraped away some of the veggie gunk to give you an idea of the size of the holes I cut and what i left on the sides to keep the structure of the tub intact. I hope this helps!

View attachment 280578
This is beautiful! A work of art for certain. I would call it "Summer Time in the Garden of Earthly Delights". Wow!
 
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