Help with snails and slugs!!!

[james]

Trying to set-up colonies of both of these and need help. What is the best cage set-up and the best foods to feed them? Any other advise would be appriciated.
Thx,
James
www.blaberus.com

 

[8 leg wonder]

Keep it moist and feed them fruits and veggies. The snails will need cuttle bone or another source of calcium in order for their shell to grow. They also love beer, just don't give them too much or too often

 

[Randolph XX()]

pretty much the same way u did to the roaches, but a lot more humidity

 

[james]

Thanks!!

Thanks for the info!! Always fun trying new things.
James

 

[hermitman64]

Clean the walls of the slug enclosure frequently and thoroughly if you want to see them. Their slime can be a big problem.

 

[David_F]

I'm setting up a forest floor enclosure with millipedes, snails, pill bugs, sow bugs, and whatever other interesting inverts I can find locally so I have a question about calcium for the snails and millies.

I have a tub of calcium powder that was to be used with some geckos I decided not to buy. Is dusting the veggies for the snails and millipedes sufficient or is something like cuttle bone needed? What about crushed egg shells?

Hmmm...would using the vitamin powder I have be beneficial?

One more question that's not about calcium or vitamins. I've got a huge mite population in one tub that's set up as a communal forest floor setting. How unhealthy is this for the millies, snails, pill bugs, etc.? Should I worry about them or just accept the fact that they're going to be there too? They don't seem to be killing off any of the "good" bugs yet so I don't think they're predatory but they're annoying to say the least.

 

[padkison]

I raised a bunch of garden snails on moist eco-earth in a 10g tank feeding mainly cucumber. I dusted the cukes with calcium powder.

The snails grew from about 1/2" in diameter to about 1" in diameter over the winter, about a 4x fold increase in volume. Shells looked solid.

They laid a bazillion eggs and we had lots of baby snails in the enclosure. The babies were also growing and thriving when we tired of the process and released them all this spring.

 

[David_F]

I raised a bunch of garden snails on moist eco-earth in a 10g tank feeding mainly cucumber. I dusted the cukes with calcium powder.

The snails grew from about 1/2" in diameter to about 1" in diameter over the winter, about a 4x fold increase in volume. Shells looked solid.

They laid a bazillion eggs and we had lots of baby snails in the enclosure. The babies were also growing and thriving when we tired of the process and released them all this spring.

Sounds cool. Thanks for the info. I'll just dust the vegetables then.

 

[Stylopidae]

Could slugs be potential feeders?

I've been thinking about raising some larger slugs for fishbait.

 

[cacoseraph]

Could slugs be potential feeders?

I've been thinking about raising some larger slugs for fishbait.

heh, i've had a "colony" of garden snails for about 2-3 weeks now that i am trying to breed as feeders. from what i have read, numerous bugs eat some form of gastropod in the wild

 

[OldHag]

Clean the walls of the slug enclosure frequently and thoroughly if you want to see them. Their slime can be a big problem.

I was going to comment on that as well!!
Keep them in an enclosure that will allow you to overhaul the whole thing once a month, if not more. As a kid I kept those huge leopard slugs. Some would get up to 6 inches or more when they were out oozing around. The holes in their sides facinated me to no end. I ended up letting them all go, much to my dads dispare, because they were to hard to keep clean. Im sure theres a better way than the way I did it. I just kept them in a 5 gal bucket with holes in the lid.
They slime everything, then it dries and flakes and just gets horrible!! The smell is kind of nausiating, to me anyway.
I just dont do slime.. I see a kid pick their nose and eat it and it about does me in . Snail slime isnt much better. Ugh... now I feel sick..

 

[beetleman]

hee hee i just luv these balls of snot i keep snails,land,water,slugs and yeah they are dirty!they slime everything mine are in critterkeepers and large deli cups,when they get slimed up i just put them all in new containers(have alot of extra for this purpose) i just love these slim beasties