A little idea to do with snails

[mantiscatamp]

So I've been re searching and I thought I'd share this idea

Painting on a snails shell

Of course this would be with non toxic paint but if you do it carefully it can help in many ways if you want to help snails


1 they are less likely to be stepped on
2 predators try to avoid bright colours as they signal danger and normally means they are poisonousn
3 it's a unique way to express art

Well if you try this post pics bellow and make sure to not get paint on the actual snail and use non toxic paint

 

[Andrea82]

So I've been re searching and I thought I'd share this idea

Painting on a snails shell

Of course this would be with non toxic paint but if you do it carefully it can help in many ways if you want to help snails


1 they are less likely to be stepped on
2 predators try to avoid bright colours as they signal danger and normally means they are poisonousn
3 it's a unique way to express art

Well if you try this post pics bellow and make sure to not get paint on the actual snail and use non toxic paint

What paint did you use?

 

[mantiscatamp]

i think its kids tempera colour made of colour water and suprisingly egg yolk

 

[AuroraLights]

Personally I would worry that even if the paint is non-toxic it could have other unforeseen consequences. For example, I don't know if snail shells are partially permeable to air and/or water but if they were it might be detrimental to the snail's health to cover them. The added weight of the paint might also be significant to an animal as small as a snail, and could increase the energy cost of movement.
I have also read a study on pill-millipedes which found that even bee-markers (which are specially for use on invertebrates) had negative effects on their behaviour. Without proper research we can't say if the same thing might happen in snails.

Behaviour of pill millipedes can be affected by external marking

External or internal marking techniques are often used in various studies of invertebrates to distinguish individuals. Although the potential influence of marking agents on survival is often evaluated, a possible effect on behaviour is usually neglected. We evaluated the influence of two...

ijm.pensoft.net

Plus, if you're planning to release them into the wild you would also have to evaluate whether the paint could have implications for any predator species. Just because something is non-toxic or even edible to humans doesn't mean that all animals can eat it safely.

That being said, I think it might be fun to paint some empty snail shells and leave them lying around. Some people at my university painted pebbles with nice pictures and happy messages and left them lying around for others to see. Every time I walked past one it made me smile, and it was always fun to find a new one tucked away in a hidden spot.
As long as you use environmentally friendly impermanent paints I think it's a great idea, I just wouldn't do it on live animals.