New Velvet Worms!

[velvetundergrowth]

Well, the moment has finally come and I am ecstatic to once again be in possession of some Velvet Worms! It's been over 5 years since last I kept these marvelous nocturnal predators, as I'm sure many of you know these are almost non-existent in the hobby and are famously difficult to procure. But, thanks to fellow AB member @AbraxasComplex, I have a small group of Barbados Browns (Epiperipatus barbadensis), larger and more colorful than the Peripatoides novaezealandiae more "commonly" offered. But perhaps the biggest plus for this tropical species is their tolerance of warmer conditions than their Kiwi counterparts. No wine cooler or chilly cellar needed here!



For now I have them in a small terrarium with rotten wood, moss, liverwort and some other tiny plants, but as they become more established I will be upgrading them to something a bit more high-end.

Now for some photos. Please excuse my less-than-stunning shots, my camera is out of action and I'm stuck with an awful Huwawei smartphone cam...

Anyway, I hope you guys will find them as fascinating and beautiful as I do!

 

[Dawsy14]

They look amazing

 

[basin79]

I wish these tropical velvet worms where available in the UK.

 

[velvetundergrowth]

I wish these tropical velvet worms where available in the UK.

If they successfully breed, and apparently they do so without much trouble, I will be providing them to other Velvet Worm-lovers
My dream is to see them established in the hobby.

 

[AbraxasComplex]

I'm glad they made it. They took a lot of stops and days of stop overs in other cities just for this import to happen. I wish you the best success!!

 

[Polenth]

Hope it goes well for you. It'll be great to see some with higher temperature needs. I keep my room cool, but not cool enough for the other species.

 

[SonsofArachne]

If they successfully breed, and apparently they do so without much trouble, I will be providing them to other Velvet Worm-lovers

You can count me in! I've wanted to try velvet worms but have never found a source. And Peripatoides novaezealandiae always seemed really delicate. Hopefully your Epiperipatus barbadensis will prove easier to work with.

 

[velvetundergrowth]

You can count me in! I've wanted to try velvet worms but have never found a source. And Peripatoides novaezealandiae always seemed really delicate. Hopefully your Epiperipatus barbadensis will prove easier to work with.

Sure thing And I would not let the delicate nature of the NZ onychophorans put you off. I managed to find a small wine cooler for not too much money and I will be using it to house P. novaezealandiae as soon as I get them (have managed to get a hold of a group but must wait until the weather cools in Autumn before shipping them over). They are a small but very beautiful species and fascinating to observe. The key to success seems to be consistent temps, as little disturbance as possible and making sure mould doesn't become a problem.

I kept a small group for a while but they eventually succumbed to what must have been a mould/bacterial infection. They seemed to be thriving, their temps were well within parameters and they were accepting both live and pinned crickets without hesitation. Then one day I was inspecting them only to find all but one had perished (they deflate and turn black when dead). The surviving one followed them the next day. Very disheartening. But that was almost 8 years ago and I was less informed on the subject as well as there being less husbandry information available.

This time I will be keeping them in a more minimalist setup to make cleaning more effective, disturbing them as little as possible and housing them inside a cooler which will prevent any temperature fluctuations happening.

 

[SonsofArachne]

Sure thing And I would not let the delicate nature of the NZ onychophorans put you off. I managed to find a small wine cooler for not too much money and I will be using it to house P. novaezealandiae as soon as I get them (have managed to get a hold of a group but must wait until the weather cools in Autumn before shipping them over). They are a small but very beautiful species and fascinating to observe. The key to success seems to be consistent temps, as little disturbance as possible and making sure mould doesn't become a problem.

I kept a small group for a while but they eventually succumbed to what must have been a mould/bacterial infection. They seemed to be thriving, their temps were well within parameters and they were accepting both live and pinned crickets without hesitation. Then one day I was inspecting them only to find all but one had perished (they deflate and turn black when dead). The surviving one followed them the next day. Very disheartening. But that was almost 8 years ago and I was less informed on the subject as well as there being less husbandry information available.

This time I will be keeping them in a more minimalist setup to make cleaning more effective, disturbing them as little as possible and housing them inside a cooler which will prevent any temperature fluctuations happening.

I'd like to start with something easier (Epiperipatus barbadensis hopefully) then work up to Peripatoides novaezealandiae once I get some experience. I don't want kill them because of a rookie mistake.

 

[velvetundergrowth]

I'd like to start with something easier (Epiperipatus barbadensis hopefully) then work up to Peripatoides novaezealandiae once I get some experience. I don't want kill them because of a rookie mistake.

I get you Although when I kept them first "rookie" mistakes were more common due to some pretty shaky and at times downright incorrect care advice available. IIRC a post on here or perhaps Tarantula Forum stated that you had to be careful with humidity because too much would cause them to explode! What a load of old rubbish XD I also read that they are cannibalistic and should never be housed together... Also very wrong (At least for P. novaezealandiae).

Hopefully more of the larger tropical species, such as Peripatus solarzanoi will enter the hobby soon, as having these creatures established in captivity may be the only way to keep them alive in the age of deforestation and climate change. What a truly awful tragedy it would be to see these living representatives from the very dawn of animal life disappear at our hands... after almost half-a-billion years of resilience!

Long live the Onychophora!

 

[wizentrop]

Just a minor correction to the above. After seeing Peripatus solarzanoi in the wild - they are located in a private nature reserve and are well protected. Believe me when I say this, there is no immediate risk for their survival from deforestation. When it comes to climate change however, we are all on the same boat.

Also when it comes to velvet worms (as well as other organisms) - keeping them in the hobby does not ensure their conservation and survival. Protecting their natural habitat combined with organized breeding AND reindroduction back to it, do. I am a little tired of hobbyists thinking they are saving the world by keeping something in their basement. You are keeping them because you like them, and that's fine. But no need to sugarcoat it - I don't think you will travel to Barbados to release the babies.

 

[SonsofArachne]

Just a minor correction to the above. After seeing Peripatus solarzanoi in the wild - they are located in a private nature reserve and are well protected. Believe me when I say this, there is no immediate risk for their survival from deforestation. When it comes to climate change however, we are all on the same boat.

Also when it comes to velvet worms (as well as other organisms) - keeping them in the hobby does not ensure their conservation and survival. Protecting their natural habitat combined with organized breeding AND reindroduction back to it, do. I am a little tired of hobbyists thinking they are saving the world by keeping something in their basement. You are keeping them because you like them, and that's fine. But no need to sugarcoat it - I don't think you will travel to Barbados to release the babies.

I generally agree with you, but there are cases where hobbyists have kept species alive. Simandoa conservarium for instance.

 

[wizentrop]

Of course, there are several success stories, Simandoa roaches (btw, I know the story and the people involved. I don't believe the species is really extinct but it's a nice tale to tell), crested geckos etc'.
It's good to have a healthy captive population, I'm all for that. But in my opinion it is worth while only if the wild populations are receiving a similar amount of support. Otherwise, you are risking a species to become domesticated over time. Think Bombyx mori. I'm sure everyone would love a domesticated velvet worm, but not at the price of losing the wild ones I'm exaggerating here on purpose. I support the hobby in all my heart. However, I do not like when the concept of conservation is flagged without context. This word is overused these days.

 

[velvetundergrowth]

I am a little tired of hobbyists thinking they are saving the world by keeping something in their basement. You are keeping them because you like them, and that's fine. But no need to sugarcoat it - I don't think you will travel to Barbados to release the babies.

Of course I'm keeping them because I like them. I'm not a scientist, nor am I a conservationist. Just a hobbyist with a particular interest in Onychophora. I don't see the part where I claimed to be single-handedly saving anything? Perhaps my claim about the importance of captive rearing to conservation was ill-informed, and I appreciate your apparent deep knowledge of and experience with these creatures, but I don't see the need to put such a negative spin on my comment.

Anyway, I learned a lot from your comment so thanks for the education

 

[wizentrop]

I hope my comment wasn't rude. Blame it on my short fuse!
Happy to see more people keeping onychophorans. I keep a group of 60 E. barbadensis myself, obtained directly from @AbraxasComplex . They are hardy and fun compared to the other 10 species of velvet worms I have kept in the past. I rate the NZ species the worst in terms of sensitivity. I hope to go back to breeding Oroperipatus from South America next year - my workplace managed to kill them all.

 

[SonsofArachne]

Actually, any captive breeding can considered conservation, even when done for the pet trade. It reduces or even eliminates the need for animals to be removed from the wild for the pet trade.

 

[wizentrop]

Actually, any captive breeding can considered conservation, even when done for the pet trade. It reduces or even eliminates the need for animals to be removed from the wild for the pet trade.

In an ideal world, maybe. But in reality... no, not really.
The pet trade is full of different people, many of which are not interested in conservation. Even those who deeply care about it, do nothing substantial to promote it. If you want the pet trade to benefit conservation, then the way to do is to allocate some of the profits from sales to the protection and restoration of natural habitats.

I know this sounds harsh. But I'm not the only one saying this. If you want proof, here's something to read, hot off the press:
https://news.mongabay.com/2019/05/the-worlds-biggest-reptile-fair-is-also-a-hub-for-traffickers/

 

[AbraxasComplex]

I hope my comment wasn't rude. Blame it on my short fuse!
Happy to see more people keeping onychophorans. I keep a group of 60 E. barbadensis myself, obtained directly from @AbraxasComplex . They are hardy and fun compared to the other 10 species of velvet worms I have kept in the past. I rate the NZ species the worst in terms of sensitivity. I hope to go back to breeding Oroperipatus from South America next year - my workplace managed to kill them all.

I'm glad they exploded for you. Especially since you started with 10. They really are prolific when comfortable.

I'm currently sending a group of 20 to the Paleobiology lab at Harvard University as well as a small group to the Royal Alberta Museum.

This species will be used for research and educational purposes and I am quite happy about that.

 

[squidkid]

i wish you the best of luck starting a sustainable colony! i would be overjoyed to see them apear in the hobby. Keep up the good work!
Cheers

 

[SonsofArachne]

In an ideal world, maybe. But in reality... no, not really.
The pet trade is full of different people, many of which are not interested in conservation. Even those who deeply care about it, do nothing substantial to promote it. If you want the pet trade to benefit conservation, then the way to do is to allocate some of the profits from sales to the protection and restoration of natural habitats.

I know this sounds harsh. But I'm not the only one saying this. If you want proof, here's something to read, hot off the press:
https://news.mongabay.com/2019/05/the-worlds-biggest-reptile-fair-is-also-a-hub-for-traffickers/

I wasn't really talking about the intentions of those involved (which are actually irrelevant), I was talking strictly about captive breeding for the pet trade, which, whether intentional or not, helps conservation efforts by reducing or eliminating the demand for wild caught animals. The prime example in the invertebrate trade would be lasiodora parahybana. No one would bother trying to take wild caught L.p.'s from Brazil because cb ones are cheap and easy to come by.