# Keeping snails



## schnautzr (Jun 15, 2010)

Anyone kept snails before? I didn't think I could get so attached, but I fell in love with this one last night! I'm thinking I should probably stick some pebbles in the jar and add some water. I'm not sure what it eats, though.

Sorry for the strange focus problems-- this was done using a FinePix photo camera and a 9X magnifying glass. I only had two hands to hold the camera, magnifier, and snail, so it's a bit shaky and the focus is inconsistent.

[YOUTUBE]DEHviiN8_8Y[/YOUTUBE]


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## lunashimmer (Jun 15, 2010)

That is so cool!!!  We don't have those kind of snails down here, or at least not that I've seen. Yours is like a fairytale snail!!!    Thanks for sharing!  I hope you find someone who knows how to care for them so you can enjoy it for a little while.


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## schnautzr (Jun 15, 2010)

Ha, I wasn't aware there were "fairy tale" snails here, myself! In fact, most of the critters I found last night were serendipities...I had no idea I had toads or frogs so large around here! I was out on the porch last night, hunting for moths to feed my recluses, when I got distracted by a few night creatures that were enjoying the moistness since it had just rained. Moths were harder to come by last night, but I did find a big toad, a large frog that let me hold him and pet him for about five minutes (then he decided he'd had enough and hopped away), and this snail. It's amazing how something like a moist night changes the whole world around me, literally on my front porch!







I suggest if you live in a rural area, try leaving your porch light on after a storm and see if you can't attract some amphibians and mollusks. Having plants on the porch makes it more attractive and also makes for a great photo op.

But I'm still looking for snail advice


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## Obelisk (Jun 15, 2010)

I've never kept terrestrial snails. But, from what I've read, you need to provide them with humidity (of course), as well as a source of calcium to build their shells (I think people use cuttlebone for that). I'm sure spraying the tank each day would keep them crawling around. There are several care sheets that you find find through google. 

I hope this helps. I like simple pets like snails, but I never got around to keeping a land-dwelling one.


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## bugmankeith (Jun 15, 2010)

I've kept those snails before! They were living in my garage so I bought a few in and kept them in a mix of soil and peat moss. They love being misted each day.

I fed them romaine lettuce,carrots,apples,bananas, dog/cat kibble, white bread, other fruits and veggies, and I always kept pieces of cuttlebone in for them.

But be warned, they breed profusely and each snail can lay 50 eggs or more.
Any that hatched I let go in the garden, they are VERY small!


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## schnautzr (Jun 15, 2010)

Promiscuous little things, huh? Oh wow, thanks for the heads up! What sort of container would you recommend for breeding?

I wonder if Tums are a good source of calcium....


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## super-pede (Jun 15, 2010)

we have those snails all over my house.we also have some that get at least 3 inches across.


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## schnautzr (Jun 16, 2010)

What I'm reading online says that snails love red and pink Tums...I dropped a grape flavored offbrand antacid tablet into his jar, where it is dissolving in the heavily moistened pebbles...he hasn't come down from the lid, though. It's so neat letting a snail crawl on you...kind of tickles. Plus it grosses Mom out, just like the spiders do.


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## ribonzz (Jun 17, 2010)

What i think that it's food for me ! haha just kidding.. Hmm snails are an easy pet to take care of, but that would make some of girls throw up..


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## Toirtis (Jun 17, 2010)

I have kept the colourful _Cepaea nemoralis_ garden snails that were ccommon in Britsh Columbia where I grew up, and most recently have kept _Achatina marginata_, one of the largest terrestrial snail species. Both were quite enjoyable, particularly the margies, which were pretty interactive thanks to their size and activity.

Food was washed produce, with cuttlebones to provide calcium...I used a sterilised soil and coco-peat substrate.


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## Dragoness (Jun 17, 2010)

I used to have some of those _Cepaea nemoralis_. They were introduced in Michigan (where I used to live) by a scientist who was fond of them.

At work, we have maintained Channel Apple Snails (_Pomacea canaliculata_) and Rosy Wolf Snails (_Euglandina rosea_).


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## GiantVinegaroon (Jun 24, 2010)

I found some large terrestrial snails in NJ and tossed them in a pretzel stick container with half soil, half coco fiber,and my isopods.  They eat apple cores, banana peels, and dead bugs and arachnids(the snails are especially fond of dead arthropods).  They currently get calcium from a dead hermit crab in there.

BTW, the isopods seem to help keep the snail shells clean.  Very often I see them climbing on their shells, nibbling scraps that get stuck on the shells.


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## schnautzr (Jun 25, 2010)

Update:

The snail hasn't come down from the peanut butter jar's lid since day one, even after adding the grape-flavored antacid tablet. The base of the jar has a few pebbles and shallow water where the antacid tablet has been dissolving. I might change the water soon.

I added a bit of storebought lettuce out of the fridge. We'll see soon enough if it was treated with molluscicides...


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## ZergFront (Jun 26, 2010)

*giant African land snail*

You might want to try some giant African land snails if you enjoy these animals. There are some available as pets and as the name implies they get insanely big! 

[YOUTUBE]<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GCF3NKKatjw&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GCF3NKKatjw&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>[/YOUTUBE]


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## spydrhunter1 (Jun 26, 2010)

Exotic snails and slugs are illegal in the United States.


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## Toirtis (Jun 26, 2010)

spydrhunter1 said:


> Exotic snails and slugs are illegal in the United States.


Yes, and the bug gestapo are pretty serious about tracking down and eliminating any Achatina ssp....but they are introduced in Hawaii...


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## ZergFront (Jun 26, 2010)

spydrhunter1 said:


> Exotic snails and slugs are illegal in the United States.


 Oh wow, that sucks. Guess I should pay more attention to the owners' locations. :wall:

 I could see why though. Even a little garden snail eats so much.

 I still have a garden snail that was given to my water dragon a long time ago that he didn't eat. Last night I heard a strange kind of scratching sound and turned the light on. The snail got out and had been munching on the outside of a cardboard box. There was a wide trail of missing paper on the outside.


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## Toirtis (Jun 26, 2010)

ZergFront said:


> I could see why though. Even a little garden snail eats so much.


Three Achatina marginata can make a head of romaine lettuce disappear faster than David Copperfield. I can only imagine what a few hundred could do to a farm...


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## schnautzr (Jun 26, 2010)

The lettuce is disappearing  First I've seen that snail come down from the lid.

Lol...the snail ate your cardboard box?


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## Obelisk (Jun 30, 2010)

Have you guys had any difficulties or issues in keeping them? I'm probably going to collect a Zachrysia provisoria (Cuban garden snail) or a Leatherleaf slug to keep.


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## schnautzr (Jul 2, 2010)

Obelisk said:


> Have you guys had any difficulties or issues in keeping them? I'm probably going to collect a Zachrysia provisoria (Cuban garden snail) or a Leatherleaf slug to keep.


So far, so good. The lettuce leaf, rainwater, pebbles, and antacid tablet haven't killed it yet, and it's still living strong. It's shell has also transformed quite amazingly from an ugly, rough, rocklike structure to an amazingly detailed spiral like it ought to be, so I'm guessing I'm doing something right.


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## ZergFront (Jul 3, 2010)

schnautzr said:


> The lettuce is disappearing  First I've seen that snail come down from the lid.
> 
> Lol...the snail ate your cardboard box?


 Yup. Hehe, they'll eat about any plant-based material if nothing better is around.


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