# Pet Snails?



## Fuzzy (Jun 16, 2011)

Recently, I stumbled across a few web sites with information about pet snails, and I'm considering getting one as a pet. Has anyone here ever owned one?

My only concern is the amount of maintenance that they require. The cages have to be kept damp constantly which also makes cleaning often (anywhere from once a day to once a week) a must. I've read that a live planted, custodian dwelling tank is a good choice but it sounds like it would still be a lot of work and attention. Besides that, the animals used as custodians in terrariums honestly disgust me  (I know that's a strange thing to say for someone that wants a giant snail as a pet...) and I don't want them to escape. I already have some silverfish and other pests in my bathroom.

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## Pssh (Jun 16, 2011)

Illegal in the US from what i understand. Large Garden snails can be neat pets. They poop a TON though. Isopods can usually take care of the poop. Plus you'll probably get lots and lots of little babies


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## Entomancer (Jun 16, 2011)

I have a large garden snail I found about two months ago.

They really aren't as messy as people say, aside from the poop. I check for poop and pick up what I see, but otherwise I don't do a ton of "cleaning".

I put its food in a dish (a repurposed, cleaned relish jar lid), and pick up the food if it gets knocked out of it. I replace the food every few days to keep mold away.

As for food, I just use (all washed) apple, spinach, carrot, grapes, etc. and I've heard that they like the occasional dead insect.

It's being kept in a medium critter keeper with a substrate consisting of a 1 : 1 : 1 mixture of coco fiber, potting soil, and clay soil from outside. It has a shallow water dish (another repurposed lid, this time from tupperware), and a hide consisting of an overturned brick pot full of peat moss. The soil ramps up and goes over the hide, and is bridged by a piece of cork bark. I mist the enclosure once or twice a day to keep things moist.

So far the snail is doing fantastic. It laid eggs recently, about a dozen of them, which really took me by surprise. If they all hatch, I might need a bigger enclosure...


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## Toirtis (Jun 16, 2011)

Pssh said:


> Illegal in the US from what i understand. Large Garden snails can be neat pets. They poop a TON though. Isopods can usually take care of the poop. Plus you'll probably get lots and lots of little babies


Yes, all species of _Achatina_ and _Archachatina_ are illegal in the US, and the authorities are pretty active in enforcing that, as a few previous incidents have shown.

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LordRaiden said:


> I have a large garden snail I found about two months ago.


Speaking of keeping natives...

The _Cepea_ species, particularly _Cepea nemoralis_ are quite pretty and native to at least the West Coast, and quite legal to keep. As well, I would look into the legality of harvesting and exporting from Florida the_ Liguus_ species of tree snail, which are stunning.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/C...tes/File:Cepaea_nemoralis_(Linnaeus_1758).jpg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11949140@N07/2453931011/

http://liguusdiscussionboard.yuku.com/directory#.TfqtKkfAxGw


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## Fuzzy (Jun 17, 2011)

LordRaiden said:


> It laid eggs recently, about a dozen of them, which really took me by surprise. If they all hatch, I might need a bigger enclosure...


Oh dear. Snails are hermaphrodites, and have been known to self-fertilize occasionally. They also breed/inbreed like crazy, which is probably part of the reason some exotics are banned in the U.S. That said, I would mind having about a dozen of them if they aren't too big. You can always just crush/freeze the eggs before they hatch, you might have a problem with doing it but it's the only way to control the population. Another alternative is just setting them in a damp place outside and letting nature decide.


On a related note, here's some legal info I found (I don't live in Oregon but I thought it was interesting):
http://www.oregon.gov/OISC/docs/pdf/calendar_april09_riskassessment.pdf?ga=t

Ugh. The sentence "Such snails are also promoted as good subjects for school projects. As long as they are never released and promptly killed once the projects are completed, there is no problem" is disgusting.
I know that invertebrates don't experience emotions, but they're still pets to some people. Cats are a huge threat as an invasive but I doubt that anyone would dare speak the same way concerning people's precious kitties. Maybe I'm getting too worked up about it. >_>


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## Pssh (Jun 17, 2011)

It's illegal to move live snails over state lines without a permit. 

Pet or not, releasing an illegal/invasive animal into the wild is irresposible and should never be done. If you must, take the animal to a local shelter or vets and have it put down.


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## zonbonzovi (Jun 17, 2011)

Toirtis said:


> Speaking of keeping natives...
> 
> The _Cepea_ species, particularly _Cepea nemoralis_ are quite pretty and native to at least the West Coast, and quite legal to keep.


I had no idea they were so varied.  Every so often I find good-sized snails(50mm across) while collecting leaf litter.  Anybody have enclosure pics?  I'm kinda interested in keeping them, but am nervous about very moisture dependent animals(e.g., slugs) during the summer months.


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## Pssh (Jun 17, 2011)

(Garden) Snails stay inside their shells and create a hard seal over the opening of the shell to keep moisture in when it is warm/dry. They are very neat.


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## Louise E. Rothstein (Jun 22, 2011)

Fuzzy said:


> Oh dear. Snails are hermaphrodites, and have been known to self-fertilize occasionally. They also breed/inbreed like crazy, which is probably part of the reason some exotics are banned in the U.S. That said, I would mind having about a dozen of them if they aren't too big. You can always just crush/freeze the eggs before they hatch, you might have a problem with doing it but it's the only way to control the population. Another alternative is just setting them in a damp place outside and letting nature decide.
> 
> 
> On a related note, here's some legal info I found (I don't live in Oregon but I thought it was interesting):
> ...


Some people think that invertebrates "can't" experience emotions...but I am not the only person who has seen them reacting as if they do.

However,newly fertilized eggs or animals torpid from cold might not notice that many fish,certain insects and others enjoy eating them...which could be as "responsible" as automatic slaughter after "projects" are "completed."


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## Tarantel (Jul 2, 2011)

> "I know that invertebrates don't experience emotions"




 Cephalopods are very smart, probably moreso than many vertebrates and lobsters and other crustacens have been shown to experiance and remember pain. I think personally that some invertebrates feel emotion on some level.


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## Ashlin (Sep 15, 2017)

Garden snails are nor illegal, only land snails that originates in Africa, illegal due to the massive populating they do. Garden snails you need to be aware that they carry fatal disease such as meningitis: wiki says In humans, Angiostrongylus is the most common cause of eosinophilic meningitis or meningoencephalitis.[1] Frequently the infection will resolve without treatment or serious consequences, but in cases with a heavy load of parasites the infection can be so severe it can cause permanent damage to the central nervous system or death.[2


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## efmp1987 (Sep 15, 2017)

Pulmonate (air-breathing), terrestrial snails are some of the most colorful gastropods alive today, even exceeding most marine species in variability and vibrant coloration.

Genera of interest include: Helicostyla, Liguus, Polymitas, the Papuina genus (Papuina pulcherrima)

The only issue is getting them alive. Polymita sp picta. below.

Reactions: Love 1


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## MatisIsLoveMantisIsLyf (Sep 16, 2017)

Yes, they are easy to keep, just give them any veggie to eat, and mist them twice  a day, so they dont burmate.


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