Velvet Worm Chat

[xxalexohxx]

I use a space heater set at 74 ℉ to keep them within their ideal temperature range, so that's something you could consider.

Ah okay that helps a lot thanks! In the case if E. rowelli, should you ever start keeping them, they do well in between 60F and 68F degrees. The sweet spot that I aim for is 66F.

 

[catboyeuthanasia]

I think I've finally been able to get my Epiperipatus barbadensis colony to produce releatively consistently now; I have 3 juviniles past 1.5 inches fully extended and hunting crickets on their own, with another few newborns

I had to retool their setup many times and this is what I settled on:

• 5 gallon glass aquarium with loose fitting acrylic cover
• Substrate is about 2 inches of reptisoil with sphagnum mixed into the top inch. The worms do not dig very deep into the reptisoil
• I have a substrate barrier and drainage layer to prevent the bottom soil from becoming too wet. That leads to springtails. However, the worms tend to get stuck under drainage layers if they can easiely dig through substrate (i.e. if it is high in coco fiber)
• The plants (mosses, clubmosses, ferns, macguivera) are all from understory enterprises, a company that sells plants for dart frog tanks. I kept them in a seperate tank for a month or two to minimize risk of springtail or planaria hitchikers. I also added homegrown sphagnum
• I added schizomids in case springtails get into the tank. I started with 2 last year, but I rarely see any, so I added more.
• Light cycle of 8 hours (sunblaster LED grow light)
• Misting cycle is 15 seconds of mist every 8 hours
• Heat is provided by a room heater set at 20C (70F), active during the day. Additionally, the tank is placed between two aquariums set at 24C (75F), so that may also contribute to heating.
• For ~8 worms, I feed 2-3 large crickets twice a week. Sometimes they all get eaten, but sometimes none are touched. I pick them out the next morning
• Once in a while (~2 weeks) I add flightless fruit flies and powder blue isopods (Porcellionides pruinosus) for some diversity. They seem to enjoy isopods. I was hoping the babies will hunt the fruitflies, but I've never caught that happening. If nothing else, they feed the schizomids.

 

[xxalexohxx]

I think I've finally been able to get my colony to produce releatively consistently now; I have 3 juviniles past 1.5 inches fully extended and hunting crickets on their own, with another few newborns

I had to retool their setup many times and this is what I settled on:

• 5 gallon glass aquarium with loose fitting acrylic cover
• Substrate is about 2 inches of reptisoil with sphagnum mixed into the top inch. The worms do not dig very deep into the reptisoil
• I have a substrate barrier and drainage layer to prevent the bottom soil from becoming too wet. That leads to springtails. However, the worms tend to get stuck under drainage layers if they can easiely dig through substrate (i.e. if it is high in coco fiber)
• The plants (mosses, clubmosses, ferns, macguivera) are all from understory enterprises, a company that sells plants for dart frog tanks. I kept them in a seperate tank for a month or two to minimize risk of springtail or planaria hitchikers. I also added homegrown sphagnum
• I added schizomids in case springtails get into the tank. I started with 2 last year, but I rarely see any, so I added more.
• Light cycle of 8 hours (sunblaster LED grow light)
• Misting cycle is 15 seconds of mist every 8 hours
• Heat is provided by a room heater set at 20C (70F), active during the day. Additionally, the tank is placed between two aquariums set at 24C (75F), so that may also contribute to heating.
• For ~8 worms, I feed 2-3 large crickets twice a week. Sometimes they all get eaten, but sometimes none are touched. I pick them out the next morning
• Once in a while (~2 weeks) I add flightless fruit flies and powder blue isopods (Porcellionides pruinosus) for some diversity. They seem to enjoy isopods. I was hoping the babies will hunt the fruitflies, but I've never caught that happening. If nothing else, they feed the schizomids.

What species is this for?

 

[catboyeuthanasia]

What species is this for?

Epiperipatus barbadensis, sorry forgot to mention