Velvet Worm Vivarium - Epiperipatus barbadensis

[VolkswagenBug]

Awesome man, congrats! Really hope it's not stressed induced labor, or if it is, I hope it's just from the shipping and that they'll pull through! Beautiful creatures, so unique, hope more babies will follow!

If at all possible, would love to get some from you in the future, (if you are successful breeding them and have a sizable culture that is ), so put me on the waiting list! How much do these usually go for BTW?

I'd also like these, depending on the price. Not sure how easy it is to get them through customs into the US. Maybe I'll have to buy from Hisserdude if he can breed them, just to be safe.

 

[AbraxasComplex]

Just an update to be transparent and share my knowledge. The birth was unsuccessful and most likely stress induced. Both the young and mother did not make it. She discharged a large amount of white fluid that had a metallic sheen. I'm a bit upset, but after consulting with others a live birth should be a relatively dry occurence. The baby pretty much walks out dry and with legs and antenna extended and active. This baby was likely underdeveloped and not ready to be expelled. On another note they seem to take fresh prekilled crickets and isopods. The isopods were consumed almost completely, yet the crickets left behind a lot of uneaten debris and exoskeleton.

 

[AbraxasComplex]

Also none will be for sale unless young are successfully produced in sustainable numbers for my colony. Even then the price will not be low since these took me so long to find and cost an excessive amount to bring in. If they do become for sale they will be around $100 US each.

 

[Hisserdude]

Just an update to be transparent and share my knowledge. The birth was unsuccessful and most likely stress induced. Both the young and mother did not make it. She discharged a large amount of white fluid that had a metallic sheen. I'm a bit upset, but after consulting with others a live birth should be a relatively dry occurence. The baby pretty much walks out dry and with legs and antenna extended and active. This baby was likely underdeveloped and not ready to be expelled. On another note they seem to take fresh prekilled crickets and isopods. The isopods were consumed almost completely, yet the crickets left behind a lot of uneaten debris and exoskeleton.

Aww, sorry to hear that, such a shame. Really hope the rest do better, and hopefully reproduce successfully, keep us updated!

Also none will be for sale unless young are successfully produced in sustainable numbers for my colony. Even then the price will not be low since these took me so long to find and cost an excessive amount to bring in. If they do become for sale they will be around $100 US each.

Of course, definitely be sure to get them well established in your collection before selling any!
OK, honestly not too bad considering how hard these are to come by, hopefully I'll have enough to get a few if/when you ever have them available!

 

[Tleilaxu]

Good luck dude, hopefully you can get some more to replace the losses and keep a varied genetic stock.

Sorry for the loss

 

[AbraxasComplex]

More good and bad news. Looks like I had another stress induced birth on day 2. While the mother didn't make it her offspring did and is alive and active. When one passes it is hard to tell if the velvet worm was robust and healthy looking since the dying velvet worm stretches out into a gangly, limp mess. The other adults seem to be active and feeding so I'll disturb them as little as possible besides mold control. I did however add a few isopods with zucchini to give the chance for the velvet worms to hunt if some are not taking the prekilled food (which looks like half the isopods are already gone overnight). The zucchini should keep the isopods fed and occupied without bugging the velvet worms. Also this might act as both mold control and food. I want to stress these guys as little as possible.

 

[Staehilomyces]

How many do you have left?

 

[VolkswagenBug]

Oh man, that's rough. Sorry you're having problems. Maybe these are animals that should only be picked up in person, not shipped?

 

[Tleilaxu]

Oh man, that's rough. Sorry you're having problems. Maybe these are animals that should only be picked up in person, not shipped?

And how is he supposed to do that?

 

[grimmjowls]

Following this thread! I'm sorry about the losses.

 

[AbraxasComplex]

19 are left and seem to be settling in.

 

[RTTB]

The enclosure is stunning.

 

[VolkswagenBug]

And how is he supposed to do that?

I mean in the future for people looking to buy from him.

 

[wizentrop]

I feel have to say something here, because people are getting the wrong idea, and this is something so common that someone has to speak up.

I see people already making plans to buy velvet worms from @AbraxasComplex , and it is nice and must be flattering. However, if you think these animals are likely to become available soon let me stop you right there. It takes forever to stabilize a colony of onychophorans. Hell, I have been working with them for 4 years now I still don't have a stable colony. They are difficult to understand (which is why I am working with them), and the same goes for their requirements. If you want these animals this much, why don't you try to source them out yourself? Then you will get a taste of the whole process, along with the many pains and moments of sadness that accompany it.

Someone inquired about pricing once and I said no lower $100 a piece. They were surprised and asked me to reconsider. I replied - 'Yeah, you know what. You are right. After all all this effort and time, they are worth over $300 a piece.'
And just so we are clear, I am not selling any.

 

[Thistles]

The enclosure is stunning.

Abraxas has a lot of neat enclosures he's shared with us. Search his post history for more eye candy.

Don't mind me; I'm just watching this thread.

 

[AbraxasComplex]

@wizentrop is more than correct on this issue. I spent over a decade finding a source and spent an excessive amount to get in a group and I didn't bring them in to profit. I brought in 20 knowing that I may loose a large portion just to shipping stress. When I said I'd sell them that is only if my colony wasn't just stable, but producing far too many for my enclosures. I've had them less than a week and each day has been stressful with a few rewarding moments. I want to establish them, but with so little knowledge and each species being different I am basing my care on very little concrete info and from parameters of other species. Wizentrop has been patient enough to answer my many questions, but has cautioned me that his knowledge was obtained from his experience with other species. I'm personally trying to find a way that I can have a biologically active enclosure where small bugs will keep mold and other issues at bay, but this may end up being a failure if they introduce pathogens or simply just stress out the peripatus. This is a huge learning process for me and I'm posting all my failures and successes in order for there to be a record for the next person that may attempt at raising these animals successfully.

 

[Umbra]

I'll add to @wizentrop and @AbraxasComplex with my 2 or more cents as well. There is very little published information pertaining to the majority of these species (sometimes nothing beyond a general physical description and where they were collected) never mind the natural history and proper husbandry so the majority of what is being covered in this thread is completely new ground. These are also very different than things like spiders, insects, etc. that have exoskeletons - they have fluid filled cavities that form a hydrostatic skeleton. For these creatures skin condition is paramount to their survival and as a result they are far more sensitive to the surrounding environment. I would almost rather draw comparisons to very sensitive species of amphibians as opposed to the more usual invertebrates that are available in the hobby.

I don't have velvet worms but I do keep terrestrial nemerteans and terrestrial planarians. I will give a short example using Rhynchodemus sylvaticus, a small (2-3 cm tops) terrestrial planarian often observed by dart frog keepers. They can easily overpopulate those vivariums but all attempts I've made to culture them using more "traditional" methods like vials, pill boxes and quart containers have resulted in failure. All of my success has been found in living vivariums that are heavily planted and have well established microfauna populations that are constantly being replenished which creates a relatively stable environment that doesn't have many fluctuations in terms of conditions. They have produced best for me when I found the right conditions for the vivarium and then left them alone as much as possible. Tap water can kill them over time as mineral buildup in their vivariums is no good so I only mist with distilled. To maintain humidity I use a false bottom and multiple layers of substrate as well.

I have an inkling that velvet worm husbandry may prove very similar in this regard - they tend to be found in old, well established forested areas with minimal human disturbances. @wizentrop mentioned that they should not be handled at all and I would definitely agree with this, my worms have proven very sensitive to oils and pathogens on my skin. If I have to move them, I let them crawl onto a leaf and move the entire thing. This already creates an issue with culturing in the traditional manner of moving individuals to tiny containers and growing them out like you would slings or other arthropods. They are messy feeders and corpses would need to be removed almost immediately after feeding in a small enclosure or else you risk mold developing. As mentioned before velvet worms are extremely sensitive to mold and pathogens, but to remove the corpses in a small container would mean opening it and drastically changing the ambient humidity which could stress the animal. Also, in such a small enclosure substrate changes would have to happen quite frequently regardless of how diligent you are with removing corpses as the animals produce waste material. This requires physically moving the worm which would likely be stressful as well, particularly with juveniles. Remember these animals come from microcosms that have relatively stable conditions, plus they have the option to move freely and find another suitable area as conditions change, ie. crawl deeper into a rotting log or under a bed of moss if the ambient air temperature rises and humidity drops. To me, the easiest way to maintain a relatively stable environment is to have an established vivarium.

Now take all that into account and realize that velvet worms are far larger creatures than the tiny Rhynchodemus that I'm culturing. They might not need much space in terms of activity but keeping them in smaller enclosures even if it's well planted might prove difficult in the long run. If you've ever kept a planted freshwater aquarium or a saltwater aquarium, smaller habitats are far more difficult to maintain long term than larger ones and the same goes for vivariums. Microfauna populations in smaller enclosures are prone to booms and busts and critters like springtails and dwarf white isopods are essential to clean up corpses and keep harmful molds from developing. Then there's the issue of plants and the substrate itself - most plants draw nutrients from the substrate which if not replenished will become nutrient deficient. Fertilizing may be difficult as the skin of velvet worms is again, very sensitive and contact with fertilizers might very well prove fatal. Also, because the vivarium must be kept humid, the substrate itself will eventually break down and need replacing. I always try to mix tree fern and orchid bark into my substrate to make sure it's well ventilated which minimizes the chances of stagnant pockets forming within which can release harmful gases over time. That all needs to be sorted out just to maintain the health of the initial specimens not accounting for additions from breeding. If you plan on culturing them in large enough numbers that you'd feel comfortable letting go of a few you'd likely either have to invest in multiple separate grow out enclosures that can maintain very similar conditions to the primary long term or start with a very large enclosure that can provide stable conditions for a multitude more. The latter might not even be an option if there is a large size disparity between young and adult as live prey items for the adults might harm the juveniles.

All in all this could turn out to be quite the undertaking, at least initially until we really learn more about the husbandry of the animals. I would echo the sentiment that it's not likely we'll see captive bred stock of any tropical velvet worm species established in the pet trade for a good amount of time.

EDIT: I'm not saying that what I posted above will prove to be necessary for husbandry and culturing of velvet worms. I'm just making somewhat informed assumptions based on available published information, anecdotal information from individuals like @wizentrop who have kept velvet worms and were generous enough to share their experiences plus my experiences keeping other sensitive invertebrates that are found in very similar habitats within their respective ranges.

 

[wizentrop]

Words of wisdom here from @Umbra , and lots of it.

Velvet worms in captivity are indeed very similar to terrestrial flatworms. While the exact requirements (temperature, humidity levels, preferred substrate and hiding spots etc') vary from species to species, I have to agree that these animals are probably some of the most sensitive out there. The comparison to some delicate amphibians is spot on.

I will try to give my input without repeating things that were mentioned. Please bear in mind that sometimes people come up with different solutions for keeping similar animals. What I write here is my own experience and might not work for others.

My experience with the setup has been different than @Umbra 's. When I started working with velvet worms, I took what my colleague calls "the dirty approach": an enclosure with as many natural attributes as possible, like live moss, some ferns, decomposing wood, tree bark, real forest soil, springtails and isopods. You get the idea. But as time passed I noticed that the busy enclosure just made things more difficult. There were just too many factors to control, and it was not self-sustained like I envisioned. So I changed my approach and today I am working with minimalistic enclosures. If you saw my posts about how I keep whip spiders then you know what I am talking about. There are no live plants, no moss, the substrate is simple coco fiber, and everything has easy access. Does it work? Well, so far so good.

Water quality is an interesting topic. I found that velvet worms are not very sensitive to it, and tap water can be used with them. However, eventually salts will start to accumulate on the substrate and it has to be changed. Even if distilled water is used, the substrate still has to be changed after some months because of waste buildup. The substrate change will stress the animals. So you want to find the balance between keeping the onychophorans healthy and changing the substrate as infrequently as possible.

Regardless of how difficult it is to pinpoint the right conditions for velvet worms husbandry (I am not even mentioning breeding at this point), I cannot stress enough the fact that they are messy feeders. This is something that potentially can create many problems. Velvet worms leave a lot of leftovers behind, regardless of prey type. Even when I feed them with soft-bodied silverfish they still leave a shrunken corpse. These remains MUST be removed ASAP. They do not harm the velvet worms directly, but they attract trouble. I think everyone who keeps invertebrates will agree that at some point you are going to have to deal with one of two problems: mold or mites. These two usually alternate (although I will say that if you are experiencing both mold and mites in the same enclosure, then you probably don't know what you are doing) and there are ways to decrease their severeness. Generally speaking, in the case of mold it can be done with the help of a "cleaning crew" (isopods, springtails), whereas with a mite infestation you can change the substrate, dry it out or use predatory mites. So far so good, but I will argue that things are a little different when keeping velvet worms. A "cleaning crew" can stress the animals and even cause injuries if they start feeding on the onychophorans hemolymph. You cannot dry the substrate if you have a mite infestation because the velvet worms will die. Predatory mites seem to work for a bit, but when their numbers increase then again this stresses the velvet worms. Quite annoying, right?

For me what works best is to first clean after the velvet worms. I never let any food leftovers stick around for more than a few hours. I still get some mites in there because there is always some obscure leftovers that I missed, and also because of the waste. I found that schizomids are great for keeping the mites under control without stressing the velvet worms. Yes, they are sometimes preyed upon by the young velvet worms (but I don't care). How did I get to keep schizomids? Well, that's another story.

Maybe one day it will be nice to put up a sticky post with all the acquired info about velvet worms husbandry. At the moment I'm afraid it is all experimental, and it would be unfair to lead other people into false hopes that it is easy. That road isn't paved yet.

And @Umbra , maybe we should meet for a chat sometime

 

[Umbra]

Once again thank you for sharing your experiences @wizentrop! Your use of Schizomids is very interesting - I wonder if pseudoscorpions could potentially fill the same niche?

The chat sounds like a great idea!

 

[Xafron]

These creatures are so mesmerizing...whether met with longterm success or not I hope you learn a lot about them and enjoy keeping them as well.

Once again thank you for sharing your experiences @wizentrop! Your use of Schizomids is very interesting - I wonder if pseudoscorpions could potentially fill the same niche?

The chat sounds like a great idea!

Funny you mention that as I actually was wondering last night about pseudoscorpions as a cleaning crew for Ts. Not sure if people do that but it sounded neat.