# Can rats eat earthworms bought at the store??? Bait worms?



## jburgess (Apr 13, 2011)

I have a container of these worms in my fridge... I bought them at a pet store... i am giving the odd one to my bearded dragon and wondered if the rats could have 1 as well??


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## jburgess (Apr 13, 2011)

Well i gave them all a peice a few nights ago and they seemed to love them! Will only give very rarely!


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## calisphere (Oct 25, 2011)

I've wondered myself. I have turtles that eat earthworms and it would be cool if I could feed smaller worms to the rat (mine's still a baby).


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## CarolineRose (Nov 18, 2011)

I'm not an expert on these things, but I would think they are ok. I doubt it will be toxic for them if other animals can eat them too. I've heard of some rats eating meal worms for the protein, not earth worms though. This might just be me being paranoid, but I'd test the soil in the container with them/ in them because it would have pesticides or other chemicals in it if they were bred outdoors/ in unsanitized soil. I've also heard of soil having mold/fungus spores if not sanitized. I'm not trying to scare you as again I am probably just being paranoid. If you gave it to them a few nights ago and they are still ok then the worms are probably safe in moderation (as is everything)


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## binkyhoo (Sep 28, 2008)

I have read of a few people that feed crickets or meal worms. I would stick to the petstore worms tho. They must be clean of some sort if you are feeding them to the reptiles, etc. I would stay away from bait shop or wild caught. Who knows what they are carrying. May be even parasites or salmonella.


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