# velvet worm enclosure



## crashergs (Jun 20, 2006)

just wanted to show you guys my velvet worm enclosure, i had some of these species imported into u.s. Approx 9 of them, including babies.

im trying to find out what exactly they eat. I can throw in some argentine ants, but I dont know if argentine ants will be predatory to velvet worms, so for now I threw in baby silk worms.

Below is a sub-adult species of the pariapatus, I believe they are species . P. sympatrica, I could be wrong. The enclosure is a wine refridgerator, which can go to temps of 57 degrees, I have it set to 65 degrees to mimic their habitat.


----------



## crashergs (Jun 21, 2006)

*more pics..*

heres one that squirted some very sticky string on a silkie.


----------



## Galapoheros (Jun 21, 2006)

Weird!  Let us know how long you can keep them alive.  How long are they when adult?


----------



## crashergs (Jun 21, 2006)

ive heard 2.5 inches, but not certain. Im trying to find out the scientific name of these particular species.  the sub adults i have, when they stretch, they stretch 3/4 distance of my finger and retract again to that stumpy position you see the paripatus doing on my finger there.

I will definatley keep people informed how long they live, ive been told the reason why they are hard to keep is due to temperature. for me to keep them in a regular aquarium with moss and soggy substrate would not be sufficient, so I thought of the idea to get a wine fridge from target.

you think flightless fruit flies would be a good diet?


----------



## Galapoheros (Jun 21, 2006)

I have NO experience with those.  I've only seen pictures and I've seen them on TV shows.  But they look pretty strange and strange is good.


----------



## beetleman (Jun 21, 2006)

wow,those are really cool little buggers,flightless fruitflies should work for them,also tiny pinhead crickets,i guess you will have to experiment with the food items,just courious how much does a wine fridge cost like the 1 you got,i'm thinking of getting 1 for when i get more banana slugs,good luck with those awesome velvet worms!


----------



## crashergs (Jun 21, 2006)

this one i purchased from Target for 79.99+tax i believe, very low on electrical consumption so shouldnt hurt your electricity bill


----------



## crashergs (Jun 21, 2006)

i saw some online shops that sell those annoying springtails, but since they live in moist soggy substrate, im afraid they will flourish and create an overwhelming colony.

but those spring tails would be a good choice for the smaller worms.


----------



## cacoseraph (Jun 21, 2006)

i wouldn't be suprised if the vworms would scav prekilled of slightly larger prey. always something to consider


----------



## crashergs (Jun 21, 2006)

good point caco, thats something id have to watch closely. I dont think it has been written in studies if they eat corpses. I look today in their containers, and they really do seem to love the 66 degree weather in there, they are walking about, even the smaller ones, there are some deceased silkworms in there, ill let you know if they do actually see or sense dead meat and eat it.


----------



## Steven Gielis (Jun 21, 2006)

The species is Peripatoides novaezealandiae from New Zealand. I had them a while ago also in a winecooler. They eat easely small crickets. In the wild they live in decaying wood and eat termites.The wood has to have a certain saturation of water. They are very sensitive to mould! That caused their dead overhere. So keep them as sterile as possible and maybe add some woodlices to keep it clean.


----------



## crashergs (Jun 21, 2006)

thank you for your research on the worms...

the wine cooler u have, what temps did u set it at whre they would thrive? I have it set to 66.
how long did they survive in ur enclosure? 

I would like to add some pill bugs in there to remedy the fungus/mold situation.

Under low temps are enclosures capable of getting mold quickly?

you just gave me an idea. cut out a hole on side walls and get plastic mesh and hotglue it for airflow/ventilation. ill se if that works.  woodlice? where can I get those from?


----------



## rattler_mt (Jun 21, 2006)

flip over boards and rocks that have damp soil undernieth, you should find critters that look like this and are 1/4-1/3 of an inch long or so. they are extreamly common, i catch them by the hundeds to feed dart frogs.


----------



## zinto (Jun 21, 2006)

You can also purchase some really neat looking pill bugs from Paul at "Planet Porcellio."  He specializes in them and therefore extremely knowledgeable about them.

http://www.angelfire.com/planet/porcellio/pix/


----------



## Steven Gielis (Jun 21, 2006)

I kept the velvet worms at 18°C. That's the moderate temperature of Wellington, New Zealand. They lived for 2 months and I had several younglings. This species is ovoviviparious. The mould is a problem because it is foreign. I had the animals on vermiculite and the moss that's on the pictures. I sprayed only with soft bottlewater (Spa).


----------



## crashergs (Jun 21, 2006)

so when the 2 months came by, fungus arose from your setup?


----------



## Steven Gielis (Jun 23, 2006)

Yes it did. Maybe some more woodlices could have kept it clean. They are big eaters and hunted together on crickets and they aren't very clean eaters. They just eat the parts they like.


----------



## 236260 (Jun 26, 2006)

rattler_mt said:
			
		

> flip over boards and rocks that have damp soil undernieth, you should find critters that look like this and are 1/4-1/3 of an inch long or so. they are extreamly common, i catch them by the hundeds to feed dart frogs.


I have read of concerns over introducing parasites to an animal by feeding it wild caught prey. I feed my scutigera coleoptrata wild prey, but it was wild caught, itself. I only feed my scolopendra captive bred prey.

Am I being too paranoid?


----------



## Steven Gielis (Jun 26, 2006)

The woodlice is not for food buth they are a good cleaning crue! Maybe you can also try some springtails. These are good cleaners too and many species feed on mould.


----------



## Richard Moore (Aug 28, 2006)

*For Steven Gielis*

Please contact me regarding the Peripatus I sent you


----------



## Richard Moore (Sep 26, 2006)

*For Steven Gielis*

I really would appreciate you paying for the Peripatus I sent you months ago.


----------

