velvet worms

[Razmattan]

My question is ,whats the current status of these little buggers in the hobby?How easy would it be to get one,pricing etc.

Thanks ,Daniel

 

[JoP]

From what I've seen, they're pretty rare, usually expensive, and very fragile, care-wise. They're super cool, but the few keepers I've seen with captive specimens have had a hard time keeping them alive for long.

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

Apparently they're very sensitive to disturbance and prone to fall prey to bacterial infections.

 

[schmiggle]

Velvet worms are very temperature sensitive, so your ease of care is largely dependent on how easy it is to keep your species at the temperature it wants. People have a lot of trouble with the common New Zealand species because they need to be kept cooler than most people can easily manage year round.

 

[Myrmeleon]

Expensive, expensive, expensive, be prepared to encounter several dead ends in your search.

 

[velvetundergrowth]

These are my absolute favorite "Bug", but sadly they haven't been much of a success in the hobby. Difficult/impossible to acquire, difficult to keep, expensive to setup. You may find Peripatoides novaezealandiae offered occasionally. I managed to keep them for a while. They were hugely rewarding to look after and observe (Onchophorans are my favorite creatures) but demanding. They require consistent low temperatures, very high humidity and as little disturbance as possible. They are also highly sensitive to mold/fungi and other environmental pollutants in their enclosures.

I will be keeping the larger, more colorful Epiperipatus barbadensis, a NW species, in around a month or so. They are apparently more temperature-hardy, not being adverse to warmer climates. They are not yet available in the hobby but if I successfully breed them I might be willing to give some to other Velvet Worm lovers

 

[Arthroverts]

@JoeRossi, @AbraxasComplex.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[AbraxasComplex]

@JoeRossi, @AbraxasComplex.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

Yep, Velvetunderground is grabbing a small group from me when I do an export to Germany for the June Hamm show.

 

[schmiggle]

I am really hoping that with tropical velvet worms being spread around they'll become more popular. @AbraxasComplex is really doing us all a favor. (I very nearly got some myself, but life has gotten in the way for now)