Your guy should be fine. It is hard to tell if he is an EF. Everything else you describe looks OK, assuming you put in enough cardboard. You don't need a lot of dirt. In fact, you really don't need any at all. The banana and the lettuce should start breaking down very quickly, especially with whatever microbes came in with the dirt. If you don't have too much moisture in this bin, in a couple of weeks, this should be a worm paradise.

great news! I did add a lot of cardboard and paper. In fact I was worried I may have added too much.

thanks!!

Karen, leave the little fella be. He will be like "Lion King" some day. You cannot add to much cardboard, IMHO. You will need more than one worm to make a herd. Good luck!
Pete

Not if he is preggers.

"You cannot add to much cardboard, IMHO."
Correct, IMHO too :-)
It balances the bin from extreems.
At the worst it can be tossed back on top and help innoculate new additions more quickly.

Thanks!

It would be great if the worm was preggers! You never know :)

I did add a lot of cardboard cause the bananas were a lot of mushy wet stuff.

I looked last night again and the bin looks ok. It is starting to smell better. It was not real stinky but did have an odor.

If he is happy I will leave him alone.

This is so much fun!!

Karen

"I did add a lot of cardboard cause the bananas were a lot of mushy wet stuff."

She is just getting started, and she already understands good bin management.

sbryce thanks so much!! I can't take all the credit cause I read a lot here about VC.

Found a baby worm too! I must have dug near a worm nursery! The baby was 1/2 inch long and red.