Velvet Worm Vivarium - Epiperipatus barbadensis

[Arthroverts]

The Velvet Worm Club is sort of on the low-boil right now, I've actually been meaning to talk with @AbraxasComplex about how to best keep it going. I will update here once I have something more to add.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[Edan bandoot]

Interesting animals that I've been wanting since I was a kid, after reading about the care it seems they're a bit high effort for me though.

They'd be nice to see in someone else's collection someday though

 

[Chinverts]

I have a group that has been producing for about 6 months. I've sold a handful of the young and a are doing well I've heard. Looking to aquire another group and maybe other species if possible in the future.

 

[PoHsun]

I'm a life science student with a strong interest in Onychophora. I'd love to connect with the community involved in studying and caring for these incredible creatures. Sorry for hearing about that, but do you have any suggestions on how I can get in touch? Thank you!

The Velvet Worm Club is sort of on the low-boil right now, I've actually been meaning to talk with @AbraxasComplex about how to best keep it going. I will update here once I have something more to add.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[PoHsun]

@Arthroverts Can you please PM me with info on the Velvet Worm Club of the USA? I've been fascinated with the animals for quite some time and am hoping to acquire some in the future if I'm able to!

Edit: I forgot to add: I literally just made this account after reading this thread and wanting to learn more about the logistics of acquiring the animals in the US :3

Me too

 

[NarcedCeph]

Me too

Hey! I’m a biology undergrad and I’m raising onychophorans as we speak! I’ll DM you and we can talk all about them

 

[catboyeuthanasia]

Hi all! Somewhat new to the velvet worm club, and my worms are probably the descendents of some of the ones posted about here. I've notices some interesting behavior in my worms:

There's a little pocket of space against the glass that a large female comes to every so often. The female would sit there for several days and not eat anything before venturing out again. Sometimes, there would be a smaller worm with her, but I don't know if this is a baby or a male. Today, I found what looks like worm glue in this little crevasse. Do y'all think this is some sort of worm den? Any similar behavior from your worms?

("Den" and glue circled in blue in the photo, the female, just leaving it, pictured to the right)

 

[catboyeuthanasia]

Extremely lucky to have my worms nest near the glass! I caught one grooming its antenna with its jaws

(Sorry for bad quality)
View attachment 20230813_205041_1.mp4

 

[AbraxasComplex]

Hello everyone. I've been down and out for some time and haven't really checked this forum. I've been trying to get new species through legal means with no success. Manage to get permits and then my collector disappears or I find a collector, but can't get permits for export. I may however put a legal export to the US in October for those who'd like some. But this is pretty last minute.

 

[Introvertebrate]

Hello everyone. I've been down and out for some time and haven't really checked this forum. I've been trying to get new species through legal means with no success. Manage to get permits and then my collector disappears or I find a collector, but can't get permits for export. I may however put a legal export to the US in October for those who'd like some. But this is pretty last minute.

On an unrelated note, do you still have those vivariums or Wardian Cases like the old days?

 

[catboyeuthanasia]

Man, I hope that lab in Germany could get a long-term colony of those blue ones. I'd get a wine cooler just for those!

A day in the life of an onychophoran lab - the Node

What are onychophorans and why do we study them? My name is Sandra Treffkorn, and I recently finished my PhD in the department of zoology lead by Georg

thenode.biologists.com

They are not tropical species, but they keep theirs a lot different than you... I wonder if the stress of the regular rehoming and not letting the mothers feed the babies is why they are having less success...

 

[Jabberjay]

Man, I hope that lab in Germany could get a long-term colony of those blue ones. I'd get a wine cooler just for those!

A day in the life of an onychophoran lab - the Node

What are onychophorans and why do we study them? My name is Sandra Treffkorn, and I recently finished my PhD in the department of zoology lead by Georg

thenode.biologists.com

I corresponded with that article's author. She told me that her team obtained Australian collection and export permits for E. rowelli because they're researchers. She was under the impression that academic research is the only legal reason in Australia. You're better off ignoring anything from there because researchers would be breaking laws by distributing their velvet worms to non-researchers.

Costa Rica has very restrictive export laws from what I've read, but I know less about that. In other words, P. hitoyensis may be off the table.

I also corresponded with CONAF (an organization within Chilean Ministry of Agriculture) about the legality of collecting Metaperipatus inae and exporting it from Chile. The response said organisms can't be collected in CONAF protected areas (SNASPE) but can be collected on private property with the property owner's permission. Since it's not covered by the CITES treaty, it's not subject to export prohibition. Germany's import restrictions are another matter.

 

[catboyeuthanasia]

I corresponded with that article's author. She told me that her team obtained Australian collection and export permits for E. rowelli because they're researchers. She was under the impression that academic research is the only legal reason in Australia. You're better off ignoring anything from there because researchers would be breaking laws by distributing their velvet worms to non-researchers.

Costa Rica has very restrictive export laws from what I've read, but I know less about that. In other words, P. hitoyensis may be off the table.

I also corresponded with CONAF (an organization within Chilean Ministry of Agriculture) about the legality of collecting Metaperipatus inae and exporting it from Chile. The response said organisms can't be collected in CONAF protected areas (SNASPE) but can be collected on private property with the property owner's permission. Since it's not covered by the CITES treaty, it's not subject to export prohibition. Germany's import restrictions are another matter.

Wow! Thanks for the very informative post!

Yeah, for the Germany stuff, I was mostly hoping they would have a stable enough captive population to start exporting from Germany, like what happened with hamsters. More of a dream than anything of substance.

Looks like Chile is our best bet though!

 

[Jabberjay]

Wow! Thanks for the very informative post!

Happy to help.

Yeah, for the Germany stuff, I was mostly hoping they would have a stable enough captive population to start exporting from Germany, like what happened with hamsters. More of a dream than anything of substance.

I'm unfamiliar with hamsters' legal status in Germany. What's the story there?

Looks like Chile is our best bet though!

There may be other options for you, but I've only researched Chile in depth. Anyway, if you like blue, M. inae is a rather striking species (a deep and sometimes grayish blue with orange spots). Unfortunately, Peripatoides indigo (New Zealand) is a vulnerable species.

 

[catboyeuthanasia]

hamsters

Oh, I was mainly just referring to the fact that pet hamsters mostly come from a population of lab animals that got integrated into the pet trade (too delicate, not as nice as rats to work with)

There may be other options for you, but I've only researched Chile in depth. Anyway, if you like blue, M. inae is a rather striking species (a deep and sometimes grayish blue with orange spots). Unfortunately, Peripatoides indigo (New Zealand) is a vulnerable species.

These are some amazing pictures! Are you a velvet worm researcher (onychophologist??) by chance? It's things like these that make me regret going into physics instead of biology. Maybe I might asked around with Chilian farmers when I go to a conference in Chile, there's still cosmology research there even if the telescope is decommissioned

 

[Jabberjay]

Oh, I was mainly just referring to the fact that pet hamsters mostly come from a population of lab animals that got integrated into the pet trade (too delicate, not as nice as rats to work with)

Ah, understood.

These are some amazing pictures! Are you a velvet worm researcher (onychophologist??) by chance? It's things like these that make me regret going into physics instead of biology. Maybe I might asked around with Chilian farmers when I go to a conference in Chile, there's still cosmology research there even if the telescope is decommissioned

Unfortunately, I can't take credit for the photos. I get many of them from iNaturalist. I'm just an enthusiast that's good at finding authoritative sources of information ("research"). I studied and work in Accounting. I love my work, but I feel the same way as you sometimes. I don't keep any onychophora but would seriously consider doing so when my financial situation permits. They are very unique organisms and quite beautifully colored sometimes. The photo attached to this post was from an observation in Colombia I found on iNaturalist today. Not sure what genus, but probably Epiperipatus or Oroperipatus based on the white spot on the head.

By the way, M. inae is found in Chile's Bio-Bio region and probably some regions immediately south, rather far from the major astronomical observation facilities in the Atacama. Just something to keep in mind if that's your destination. iNaturalist is an excellent resource for narrowing the search: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&subview=map&taxon_id=780207.

Most observations have attached geographic coordinates. You might be able to cross-reference those coordinates on land registries to find land plots and, by extension, their owners. Land registries and property tax databases aren't always user-friendly, but the information is usually available in developed economies like Chile.

 

[AbraxasComplex]

On an unrelated note, do you still have those vivariums or Wardian Cases like the old days?

Yep. All my vivariums are enclosed vases. I don't have anything else except temporary bins. I really should get a bunch of new photos one day.

 

[AbraxasComplex]

Unfortunately, I can't take credit for the photos. I get many of them from iNaturalist. I'm just an enthusiast that's good at finding authoritative sources of information ("research"). I studied and work in Accounting. I love my work, but I feel the same way as you sometimes. I don't keep any onychophora but would seriously consider doing so when my financial situation permits. They are very unique organisms and quite beautifully colored sometimes. The photo attached to this post was from an observation in Colombia I found on iNaturalist today. Not sure what genus, but probably Epiperipatus or Oroperipatus based on the white spot on the head.

Would love that Colombian species. Nearly had everything in place to get Macroperipatus from Trinidad, but then the world ground to a halt with Covid. I should try again.

 

[Jabberjay]

Would love that Colombian species.

Me too. Unfortunately, I didn't figure out to what species the Colombian individual belonged. The iNaturalist user who posted it had a separate observation of a very similar looking individual on a different date but in the same area. Might be the guy to talk to as far as finding them.

Nearly had everything in place to get Macroperipatus from Trinidad, but then the world ground to a halt with Covid. I should try again.

Cool, you mean M. torquatus? Speaking of Trinidad, has anyone in the hobby imported Epiperipatus imthurni? Parthenogenesis might be useful for captive breeding projects, especially if they're close enough w/ E. barbadensis to produce fertile offspring.