- Joined
- Oct 23, 2007
- Messages
- 1,145
15 years ago I saw a photo of a velvet worm (peripatus) in the back of a book about keeping tarantulas as pets. From that moment on I was infatuated. For the next 3 years I searched and could never get my hands on any. One day I managed to find a source of a few captive bred New Zealand velvet worms, but due to bad shipping (they squeezed through the air vents) and the joys of summer weather I lost all but one. It remained in the cool room of my basement hiding away and sadly never produced any offspring. After a heat wave and my lack of a controlled environment, like a wine cooler or cheese fridge, I ended up losing this last one when I was away for the week for work.
So in order to avoid this situation again I decided to search out a source of tropical peripatus that could be legally exported and raised easily in the warm, subtropical temperatures of my terrarium filled apartment. Another 12 years went by full of fruitless searching, dead ends, and so many scam artists pulling photos off of google.
Until today.
Ladies and Gents, I present my new acquisitions and their new home. These are Epiperipatus barbadensis. I managed to snag a group to try a breeding project.
A larger one crawling across my hand after unpacking them. They handled the shipment surprisingly well due to the great packing job of the supplier. He had each one in an individual container with rotting leaf litter, wet paper towel lining, and a small moist sponge.
Here is a group of 4 in one of my quarantine containers. I've used spaghnum moss, a substrate mix similar to their future terrarium, leaf litter, and cork bark. I've also added lots of springtails to keep it clean and prevent mold.
Their vivarium and soon to be permanent home. It isn't finished and I will be adding more plants at the top to add shade, but since this species is nocturnal the bright light should not be a problem during the day. The ferns, mosses, liverworts, and peperomias are growing in nicely. Also a stable population of several springtail species is keeping it clean.
Top view.
Side view showing off crevices where I hope the velvet worms will hide. They can't burrow due to how soft they are, so tight spaces need to be provided.
So in order to avoid this situation again I decided to search out a source of tropical peripatus that could be legally exported and raised easily in the warm, subtropical temperatures of my terrarium filled apartment. Another 12 years went by full of fruitless searching, dead ends, and so many scam artists pulling photos off of google.
Until today.
Ladies and Gents, I present my new acquisitions and their new home. These are Epiperipatus barbadensis. I managed to snag a group to try a breeding project.
A larger one crawling across my hand after unpacking them. They handled the shipment surprisingly well due to the great packing job of the supplier. He had each one in an individual container with rotting leaf litter, wet paper towel lining, and a small moist sponge.
Here is a group of 4 in one of my quarantine containers. I've used spaghnum moss, a substrate mix similar to their future terrarium, leaf litter, and cork bark. I've also added lots of springtails to keep it clean and prevent mold.
Their vivarium and soon to be permanent home. It isn't finished and I will be adding more plants at the top to add shade, but since this species is nocturnal the bright light should not be a problem during the day. The ferns, mosses, liverworts, and peperomias are growing in nicely. Also a stable population of several springtail species is keeping it clean.
Top view.
Side view showing off crevices where I hope the velvet worms will hide. They can't burrow due to how soft they are, so tight spaces need to be provided.
