I recently started a worm bin and bought something called "red worms" at the pet store. They looked a lot like earthworms but I tried them out anyway. They do not like my worm bin. So I ended up buying 500 red wigglers from Uncle Jim's worm farm and they look totally different! They're much skinner and more active and finally the food in my worm bin is starting to get eaten. It is very confusing that red wigglers are also referred to as red worms, because they are not the same thing. Just a heads up to any potential new vermicomposters. Buy red wigglers, not red worms.
My red wigglers got to work very quickly and were able to consume quite a lot of food in the two days that I've had them.
http://katejardiniere.blogspot.com/2011/08/worm-bin-update.html
Red worms vs. Red Wigglers
like a lot of things, you have to know more than local common names. The red worms (I call them) or the red wigglers/wrigglers have to be ensinada fetida fo work with a diet of house veggies and damp newspaper. I got mine from a country "filling station" in NC for $2.25 in a styrafoam cup (but I already knew what redworms looked like).
ps. I think the ensinada is mis-spelled but the fetida is correct.
Anyhow, congratulations, you are well on your way to being a full fledged worm wrangler!