Caecilian worms

[Waterlife]

Where can I buy at a fair price?  $7 in 1994 locally.  

[Tihshho]

Just a heads up Caceilian's are not really worms, and they are not fish. They are actually a species of amphibian. Be careful with them as they are impressive predators and can take out smaller fish once they get larger. They have been known to inflict a wicked bite as well. Someone I knew years ago was captively breeding them and mentioned that you had to becareful with cleaning and watch where they were in relation to your fingers since they can mistake fingers for prey. Also, be sure to have them setup adequately in something like a paludarium as they will need to escape from the water and burrow at times. 

[Waterlife]

Wow thank you I did not know all that.  I knew they were amphibians though.  I’ll give it some thought.  I really appreciate your input.  

[Biotope Biologist]

Export of Caecilians is illegal. I don’t think you will be able to find them. Unless things have changed since the early 2000’s. 
 

@OnlyGenusCaps might be able to support or refute this. If I’m not mistaken he has history with keeping herps.

[Waterlife]

Thank you, I was wondering about that. 

[OnlyGenusCaps]

On 5/3/2022 at 10:08 AM, Biotope Biologist said:

Export of Caecilians is illegal. I don’t think you will be able to find them. Unless things have changed since the early 2000’s. 
 

@OnlyGenusCaps might be able to support or refute this. If I’m not mistaken he has history with keeping herps.

Sorry I was a bit slow to reply @Biotope Biologist.  Things have been busy here, and I've put myself on an internet timeout for the most part after an unfortunate post I made here.  I was unintentionally inconsiderate because I was just rushing out a quick post and just decided a break was in order.

I have kept and bred (just Typhlonectes natans) caecilians, but that was when I was a kid back in the 90's.  I am not sure of their legal status for import currently.  They were caught up in the 2016 Lacey Act amendments that restricted salamanders and newts.  I believe this was because they were suspected of being able to asymptotically tolerate Bsal, but I don't know if that has born out after further examination. 

There are dedicated breeders, and thanks to the successful litigation by USARK, you can buy them across state lines again.  However they will run you $150-$200 per individual on the herp equivalents to AquaBid (not sure I am allowed to link them here as they are not explicitly listed as allowed).

This is what happened when the Lacey Act was amended.  Same is true for newts.  They were cheap, and now only a few dedicated breeders have persisted though the legal turmoil, making them incredibly expensive now.  It's why when people say they are "unconcerned" with the new Lacey Act amendments, I feel like they aren't paying attention, because we've literally seen what happens with smaller scope changes like the ones proposed as a test case, and it was devastating.   And those changes were actually proposed for a good reason (we need to do our best to keep Bsal out of North America) with some data supporting them.  These latest are on a whim. 

I digress.  If you are looking for animals, and willing to pay those prices, please feel free to DM me here and I'll gladly point you in the right direction. 

[Biotope Biologist]

Awesome thank you! I admit my data is a little stale for keeping herps which is why I mentioned you as I didn’t want to lead @Waterlife astray.

 

Welcome to the forum Waterlife I hope that you do enjoy yourself here and if you do find some caecilians I would love to see them! 

[Waterlife]

On 5/4/2022 at 6:58 AM, OnlyGenusCaps said:

Thank you, great recap!