# Leopard slug in Southern Ontario



## inkl (Jul 10, 2009)

I live just East of Toronto, and found a Leopard Slug crossing the bike path in my town.  I brought it home and now it's munching away on some red pepper.  I gave it some cauliflower and cucumber as well (the only vegetables in my fridge...).  

I'll upload pictures if anyone's curious but I'm fairly certain it's a Leopard Slug.  I'd like to keep it, considering I don't want to kill it and it's an invasive species.  Does anyone know what types of food are best for these guys?  It's pretty awesome, about 6 inches long and was moving across the bike path at a pretty good clip when I came across it.  The slime trail it leaves behind is incredible.


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## inkl (Jul 10, 2009)

Apologies for the cell phone picture!


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## koolkid98 (Jul 10, 2009)

Nice they usually eat basicly any plants and need moisture they can also be quite the exscape artists.


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## Exo (Jul 10, 2009)

We probably have them where I live, but I've never seen one, unfortunately.


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## blazetown (Jul 10, 2009)

Yeah that's definitely not local lol. I used to get these guys and a few other goodies that would come in on plant shipments when I was a little guy. My father worked for an importer at the time. It's likely that your slug escaped from someone else or went unnoticed on a shipment of exotic plants.


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## beetleman (Jul 10, 2009)

i used to keep these slimeballs also ,along with the banana slugs too,very cool animals and yeah easy to keep,keep them moist all the time,good sized containers will do,moss on the bottom(keep it very moist)and yeah make sure the lid is on good,or the'll be out and about:drool: all types of veggies(romain lettuce is a favorite)also dry dog food.they are not picky.hope this helps alittle,oh yeah ofcourse keep them cool and out of the sun they will sizzle up like bacon.


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## inkl (Jul 10, 2009)

I only have a smallish container at the moment but I'll change that - at least the lid is very tight.
For a nocturnal animal, it sure has been active today, it still seems to prefer the red pepper (apparently cauliflower is confusing and cucumber is not worth exploring).  I had Giant African Land Snails a few years back and found that they'd go crazy on iceberg lettuce but would turn their noses up at romaine, or only eat the ribs.  Lettuce snobs, the lot of them.

When I had it sitting on my arm I could look into its body via the "lung" on the side, and actually see the green hemolymph!  Too cool!

Thanks for the advice!  Now I want to find another to see them mate.  Has anyone else seen that clip from "Life in the Undergrowth"?

Oh, another question.  Do slugs like beer as much as snails?


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## koolkid98 (Jul 10, 2009)

Yes they do like beer.


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## beetleman (Jul 10, 2009)

beer...........oh yeah they love it(slugaholicks) you put some bottles/cans of alittle beer out,and they will come a crawlin.


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## Endagr8 (Jul 10, 2009)

inkl said:


> cool!
> 
> Thanks for the advice!  Now I want to find another to see them mate.  Has anyone else seen that clip from "Life in the Undergrowth"?


I just watched a slug mating video on Youtube; it was awesome!  

Considering that you find another one, and it happens to be of the opposite sex, won't you need an arboreal (or at least something hanging from the roof) setup?


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## koolkid98 (Jul 10, 2009)

I think slugs are both female and male.


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## Endagr8 (Jul 10, 2009)

~demon said:


> I think slugs are both female and male.


I think you're correct. :8o  


...considering you find another sexually mature slug, won't you need an arboreal setup?


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## koolkid98 (Jul 10, 2009)

Nah all you need is a stick and that is it then they mate on the stick.


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## inkl (Jul 11, 2009)

Slugs are hermaphroditic, so no need to find the opposite sex.  I saw two garden slugs mating in my backyard a little while ago, it was very cool.


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## blazetown (Jul 11, 2009)

Yeah it's weird to see. Make sure you don't give it too much beer. The slugs, snails and earwigs will all come drink from a saucer of beer but they also drown. I've used set-ups with beer to kill off garden pests in that fashion. Oh yeah and make sure you wash your hands after handling it or else CFIA will have no reason to have banned giant slugs and snails....


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## Dreamslave (Jul 11, 2009)

The link to the awesome leopard slug mating video! Truly amazing!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhVi4Z6CjZk&feature=fvsr


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## OldHag (Jul 11, 2009)

awwwwww we used to have those where I grew up!! I always had a pet slug or 10.  I fed them cucumbers.... they loved them. They liked paper too as I recall... though I wouldnt suggest that.


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## GailC (Jul 12, 2009)

I used to have a big slug like that, it lived under the porch and was out every night for a few months. I would feed it raw potato or what ever I had laying around at the time. I wouldn't mind having one to keep indoors now and I wish giant land snails were legal in the states


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## arachyd (Jul 12, 2009)

Around here they are public enemy #2 (mosquitoes are #1). They get into everything leaving slime on the handles of my trash cans, defoliating my garden, trailing ickiness through my home and all over the dogs' food bowls. They even climb up into my rabbit hutches and help themselves to the bowls of pellets leaving slime on everything. I thought they were cool when I moved here but now they are the enemy.


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## Malhavoc's (Jul 13, 2009)

arachyd said:


> Around here they are public enemy #2 (mosquitoes are #1). They get into everything leaving slime on the handles of my trash cans, defoliating my garden, trailing ickiness through my home and all over the dogs' food bowls. They even climb up into my rabbit hutches and help themselves to the bowls of pellets leaving slime on everything. I thought they were cool when I moved here but now they are the enemy.



if I remember correctly a small pie tin of Wine left in the garden is great for these guys. as often they will fall in and drown (attracted to it for whatever reason) I am not exactly sure if that is the trap layout. but I believe so. quite effective trap.


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## Scythemantis (Jul 14, 2009)

These were everywhere in Maryland where I lived from birth to 2007, but I nevr fully appreciated them until I spent the past two years in Florida where slugs seem incredibly difficult to find. I'm back in Maryland now and have found dozens of these under rotting wood, it feels so good to see them again.

I have NEVER seen one as large as your photo, unless you have uncommonly tiny hands and arms. I wonder if I can nurture any of these into such monsters 

I have read that they are also part-time predators of smaller slugs, and will cannibalize one another. It's commonly claimed that the Banana Slug is the largest, but these do get bigger by around an inch or two.


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## inkl (Jul 14, 2009)

I'm told my hands are pretty tiny, but they're not freaky carnie hands by any means.  I measured the distance it stretched on my arm in that picture, and it's about 7 1/4 inches.  It's a pretty awesome slug.
That mating video is wonderful, I almost cheered when my invertebrates prof put it on last year!


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## pavel (Jul 14, 2009)

Damn that slimeball is HUGE!  Bigger than the black slugs I used to slip on in Hawaii when walking at night.  Was just like stepping on a banana peel ........


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## koolkid98 (Jul 15, 2009)

I just found some slug babies i might keep em.


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## inkl (Jul 16, 2009)

Slug babies :3


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## Scythemantis (Jul 24, 2009)

Just found the largest I've ever encountered last night! It looks like a wimp compared to yours....but we still might have differently sized arms. Maybe we should compare them to a no.2 pencil


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## inkl (Jul 24, 2009)

Yours looks about the same length of mine, never underestimate the stretching power of a slug.

I just found a (relatively) tiny one on the same stretch of bike path this morning.  It's just shy of 2 inches long.  I have a few little cousins who like bugs and slimy things, I think I'll see if one of them wants a new pet.


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## Scythemantis (Jul 30, 2009)

Nevermind my previous one....I think this is bigger :0


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## inkl (Aug 5, 2009)

Woah!
I'm heading to Maryland this Friday, I should keep an eye out for more of these things!

A little while ago I found four more huge ones, a smaller 1-inch one, and I've also seen two other large ones that were squished by bikes   .  My aunt and uncle are also into "interesting" pets, so they have all the slugs now!
I wonder if someone dumped out some soil with eggs in it, I'm finding them all in the same small section of bike path, it's crazy!


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