about the only thing that eats worms are birds .... they may have cashed in when it was too wet, then if the bedding got too dry, the remaining ones up and moved to greener pastures - moisture level is probably the most critical variable .... and a 10 gallon bin is a bit small to easily maintain a good environment

Bill

Okay, guys help me out. I am totally lost as to what could have happened to my worms. I was raking through it to show my husband, and noticed a very strong ammonia odor. Does this give any more clues? I'm feeling like such a failure. Should I not have had so many in such a small container?

sounds like excess nitrogen and anaerobic conditions ... have to be careful about quantity and type of material you're adding so that you don't wind up with hot bacterial composting taking place, and with excess moisture, anaerobic bacterial composting, both of which create conditions that'll, at the least, drive worms away, and at worst kill them

you can have quite a pile of worms in a small area if the conditions are always right

Bill