from hearsay, they really need constant 70-80° temps to survive, let alone thrive, hopefully you're set up indoors .... they tend to skip town for no apparent reason, and they like the pH more alkaline than the usual redworms

Bill

Thanks squeeze. They have settled in and show no signs so far of an exodus. They are indeed inside in a room with the rest of the 'inside' worms. Hopefully the environment will stay to their liking and they stay home. I did find a little more information since I posted this and it appears leaving them alone and feeding small amounts in a surface trench is the right move. Only time will tell if I am getting it right.

I found this sight by accident, and wanted to mention that in northern Minnesota worms are not native and do incredible damage to the forest floor. Fishermen are told to destroy any leftover bait as not to add to the problem. Might want to read the DNR site regarding worms. I also grew up being told that worms were beneficial. Importing worms sounds like a problem for the future.