LUBBOCK, Texas—A judge on Wednesday said newborn twins would remain in state custody, joining seven siblings were removed last year from a rat-infested home.

Judge Kevin Hart said the parents of the twins, Gloria Ramirez and Anthony Moya, have made progress since July when the seven children were taken from their home after authorities found the body of a miscarried fetus in the refrigerator.

He called the conditions in the home “deplorable.”

“It’s a wonder we didn’t have a more serious condition arise,” Hart said.

But evidence shows there was “conscious indifference” to caring for the seven children—six of them Moya’s—and that “my concern is that the underlying cause that led to that conscious indifference ... has not been remedied fully,” Hart said.

When authorities arrived at the dilapidated house July 7, they found stacks of dirty diapers—nearly 4 feet high in closets—throughout the house, along with rat, roach and lice infestations, according to documents.

There was little food, and some of the children told Child Protective Services investigators they ate only a hot dog out of the freezer for breakfast that morning, having been prohibited from opening the refrigerator, documents show.

The twins were born May 16. Wednesday’s hearing was on whether an emergency removal by CPS three days after the birth should be continued.

Ramirez and Moya each face seven counts of child endangerment related to last year’s removal of the children.

“We’re disappointed,” said Angela Baskerville, the attorney representing Moya. She also spoke for Ramirez’s attorney. “They’ve been doing everything they’ve been asked to do from the beginning. They’ll continue what they need to do until they get them back.

Hart called the situation with the twins, Abigail and Timothy Moya, and the other children “rectifiable.”

“This is probably not the end of the case by any means,” he told the parents.

But, he added, there is sufficient evidence “that there’s an urgent need for removal of the children.”

In his closing statement, Neal Burt, the attorney representing CPS, told the court the parents’ asserting their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in answering questions not related to the criminal case spoke volumes.

Ramirez asserted hers about a dozen times; Moya more than 25 times.

“These children are not a science project, a goldfish or a hamster,” he said at the close of almost 10 hours of testimony. “They have extensive needs.”

A status hearing on the case will be held June 18.

Six of the seven children removed in July remain in foster care; the oldest child is staying with her biological father.