Welcome Aussie from Oz! I have only limited experience, but that experience is in Alaska, so I am 'sensitive' to temperature issues with worms. As sbryce pointed out, the PRIMARY issue is really just TIME. Even at an ideal temp of 70F/21C, I would expect it to take monthS - PLURAL - for "things" to get "cooking" worm-wise in your bins. (My bins are at 72F and it was AT LEAST 3 months before they started showing signs of "increase".) I have found that reported "doubling" times AND how much compost worms - like Eisenia fetida - eat per unit time are GREATLY exaggerated by those who would part one from one's money. "Keep on truckin' " as we used to say in the '60s when we were encouraging people to stick with something. I have only one 'thing' to add: others with far more experience than I recommend "LEAVE THEM ALONE". I would add my limited-experience voice to theirs in that recommendation. Paul

You might want to consider a worm farm system. These systems can allow you to manage you compost and worm production in a more systematic way. I suggest avoid the smaller systems you find at large chain stores. These smaller kits don't seem very well equipped to deal with the large amount of green compost waste generated by typical households. I suggest for the average household, you consider a domestic worm farm system in the order of 240 litres capacity or more, that works on the never fill principle. As well as producing what they call worm castings or 'worm poo', which is basically like refined garden soil, worm farm systems also have the ability to produce liquid worm concentrate, that can be diluted with water and used as plant fertilizer. Worm farm systems are a very environmentally responsible way to manage green waste. There are certain food waste that should not be place in worm farm systems, ( such as citrus fruits and peels and other acidic food waste etc.. ) however worm farm systems can handle most other plant based food waste, like vegetable scraps, banana peels etc... These worm farm kits usually come with worm farm care instructions to guide you through the process of establishing your worm farm. Regards, WormsRUs www.wormsrus.com.au Here is a link that might be useful: WormsRUs - Worms & Worm Farm Systems

Luke, not sure you still have the worm farm, but I will respond for others out there. I had mine for nearly a year. Got my composting worms from a competent worm farmer and she answers my questions when something pops up. I freeze all my worm food before I serve it. It breaks down the cells and make it nice and mushy for them when it thaws out. The worms eat through it much faster. If the apple core is not starting to rot, the worm will wait for the decomposition to start. If you get different types of worms, read about them and their favourite habitat. Some worms are for fishing and will not survive in a bin. Outdoors worms don't feed on the surface and are not good for the bin either. I got 1/2 a pound of European night crawler. They are not big, but they are awesome. They make babies and eat a lot. They are small to medium in size. Very easy to care for because when I started I knew very little about vermicompost. Good Luck, Gale

Is the rest of your bedding also cardboard? If not, seems they just like the cardboard. Anyway, no, normal and you should not be concerned. They'll move around when they want to and get used to their new digs (pun intended). Bury a small amount of shredded vegetable or fruit and they'll probably migrate to that soon.