Post by AlienSnail on May 19, 2008 19:32:02 GMT
Commonly asked questions..
1) What should / shouldn't I feed my snails?
2) How warm should I keep my snails?
3) How often should I clean up my tank, and how is it done?
4) How do I tell if my snail is ill?
5) What are those little critters in my tank and are they harmful?
6) I have a snail with a broken shell - what should I do?
7) How do I euthanize a snail?
8) I've found a clutch of eggs - what should I do now?
9) Where or how can I buy or re-home snails?
10) How do I pick up a snail?
11) What species can/can't live together?
12) Can I put any other type of animal in with my snails?
13) Is it cruel to keep just one snail?
14) I'm unsure about some of the names given to snails, please could you clarify them?
15) I'm unsure about some of the terminology used with the anatomy of the snail, please could you clarify?
1) What should / shouldn't I feed my snails?
Snails vary from species to species, and even between individuals so it's best to try them on a variety and get to know what they like. Please note that snails do well on a mixture of fresh and slightly spoiled food, it is best to let old food stay in the tank for a little while.
Generally speaking though:
Algae Flakes (well soaked untill thoroughly mushy - this can take hours - or at least it does with mine!)
Apple
Artichoke
Banana
Basil
Beans
Blueberries (cut in half so snails can get to the juicy insides)
Butternut squash (Cucurbita moschata)
Cabbage
Carrot (peelings are good, sometimes preferred)
Cauliflower
Celeriac (root celery)
Cherry
Clover
Courgette
Cress
Cucumber (a snaily favourite but has little nutritional value)
Dandelion Leaves
Dog Biscuits (some use Boneo brand - soak thoroughly and mash)
Fish Food Flakes (e.g. Goldfish Flakes - misted with water and served on top of their other food is good)
Leafy vegetables/salad in general - darker greens generally equates to better nutrition.
Lettuce (though people have found that snails are not keen on Iceburg Lettuce. Romaine is good to try)
Kale (Curly Kale has a high caclium content)
Kiwi
Mango
Marrow
Mushrooms
Nettle
Passion Fruit
Peach
Peas
Pears (ripe)
Pepper
Plantains (Musa paradisiaca - banana-like fruit) (when very ripe - totally black and mushy)
Plum
Potato (peelings are good to use)
Pumpkin seeds
Raisins
Spirulina
Strawberries
Sweetcorn
Sweet Potato
Tangerine
Tomato
Turnip
Watermelon
The following are wild plants and/or plants often grown in gardens. If you cannot positively identify it then it's best to leave it alone. Also, for nature conservation, you need to be certain that it is ok to pick certain plants. Most snail keepers will NOT have tried these plants with their snails, therefore PetSnails cannot recommend them.................
yarrow, henbane, thornapple, alyssum, aster, carnation, mums, hollyhock, larkspur, lily, nasturtium, pansy, petunia, phlox, sweet-pea, zinnia, rose, chive, leek, elder, camomile, bindweed, sorrel, radish, mulberry, mountain ash, magnolia, California boxwood, hibiscus, rape, nightshade berries, thistle, Plantains (ribwort and broadleaf plantains: Plantago lanceolata ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantago_lanceolata )and Plantago major ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantago_major )
All foods have their merits and a varied diet is best, but it's worth noting that Algae flakes, fish food and sweet potato are especially high in nutrients.
Calcium.
This is essential to add to your snail's diet, for proper bodily function, shell growth and for the proper development of eggs and embryos.
Sources include cuttlefish bone, limestone flour, liquid calcium sold for aquarium pets, crushed oyster shells, egg shells. Most captive bred snails do well on cuttlefish or limestone flour. It is best for the snails if they can choose by themselves how much calcium they have at once, so there should be a permanent calcium source in the tank.
Sometimes a snail doesn't understand cuttlebone at first. If that happens, don't panic. Many snails have been successfully encouraged to rasp cuttlebone with the help of their favourite taste. Rub a bit of something you know they can't resist onto it, such as very well soaked fish food or cat/dog food, or maybe a drop of dilute beer. Usually the good taste needs to be added just once with each snail so it's certainly worth it giving it a try.
Food safety for your snails: Some folk choose to give their snails mainly home-grown or organicially produced vegetables to avoid pesticides, and some folk simply buy standard produce and wash it well. These are points that you may wish to consider when choosing food for your snails.
Suggested ideas for providing fresh produce is to buy living plants and place them in the tank, or to plant seeds in there.
Fussy eaters Snails fed on a wide variety as hatchlings are not likely to be so fussy later. refrain from giving their familiar favourite food for a few days and give them something else, see if they eat it. You could try sprinkling their favourite food with damp fish flakes, then a few days later sprinkle something different with damp fish flakes.
Food to avoid - may be deadly
Onion and members of the Onion family
Salty food
Processed starch such as pasta, bread etc (the reason is that these foods may expand within the gut, causing a blockage, water retention, bloating and often death).
Caution required
Celery, Leek unsure - caution advised
Parsley, Spinach and Rhubarb(they're high in oxalates and can interfere with the intake of calcium, however it shouldn't harm to give it on odd occasions)
Grapefruit, Pomelo, Lime & Lemon - caution required due to the high citrus acid content
Avocado - unsure about his. People have given this to their snails without any noticeable problems, however it is poisonous to many animals ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avocado#Toxicity_to_animals )
Oxilate content - www.lowoxalate.info/recipes.html Scroll down to Food Lists to see PDF files to download
Snail Mixes
Basically you can vary the ingredients, you can use most cereal grains, Pumpkin seeds, Sunflower seeds, Hemp seeds Algae flakes, Fish food flakes
For further information please check out the diet section supersnails.proboards76.com/index.cgi?board=diet , a sub-board located within the Care section
2) How warm should I keep my snails?[/size]
A range of between 18-30 °C (64-86 °F), preferably between 21-23 °C (70-). This is comfortable room temperature, but unless your room is consistently within this range it is worth buying a heat mat, especially during cold weather. Some snails, e.g. Achatina reticulata and Achatina achatina (Tiger) snails thrive at higher temperatures of up to 26°C. (or around 807°F
Achatina and Archachatina snails cannot tolerate cold and will seal themselves up (Aestivation) if the temperature drops too low.If left like this tool ong they will die....warmthem up using a warm bath and increasing the tank temperature . The eggs and young are more sensitive to temperature fluctuations.
The best place for a heat mat is on the side of the tank.
Placing your mat so there is a warm side and cooler side gives the snails to regulate their own temperature by moving to most comfortable part of the tank
A good way to gauge the heat level is by the behaviour of the snails. If they huddle near the heat mat is may be worth turning up the heat.
Likewise if they congregate on the opposite side it may be too high.
For more information please refer to the care sheet,
supersnails.proboards76.com/index.cgi?board=caresheet&action=display&thread=1620
or the Housing section, a sub-board of the Care section
supersnails.proboards76.com/index.cgi?board=housing
3) How often should I clean up the tank, and how is it done?
If your snails are healthy, the tank doesn't smell bad, and there are no pests (see section 5), pick up poops and food that has mold or flies on it once every couple days, or whenever you feel like it, and wipe down mucus trails from the walls so it's easier to see into the tank. That is really enough! Don't do full soil changes without a very good reason, and don't use chemicals, as both are damaging to snail health.
As already mentioned in section 2, food that's going slightly spoiled but doesn't have hairy mold or flies on it doesn't need to be changed, many snails love their food that way.
There are many webpages that talk about changing all of the soil even up to once a week, but doing it that often is dangerous. You may have seen your snail eat soil. It's completely normal, they need to be able to do it to regulate their gut bacteria. If the soil is sterilized too often, they will lose the gut bacteria and their condition will be similar to starving. This kills snails.
This is also the reason why there's no rush to obsessively pick up poops right when they appear - snails need to be allowed to take a bite of their own or each others' poops if they want to. If you see this happening, don't stop them from doing it.
Some soil is likely to disappear when you clean up, in which case it's good to mix in a bit of new soil once in a while.
4) How do I tell if my snail is ill?
A healthy snail should be alternating between active periods and inactive periods. The active periods (often at night, but not always) usually consist of moving around, responding to each other, and feeding.
An ill snail may be inactive, or 'wake up' only briefly
Healthy snails eat regularly and heartily, though some days more than others, and should be growing well, or maintaining it's weight / body size if adult.
An unhealthy snail may lose it's appetite for several days, and may lose weight / body size
A healthy snail will spend much of it's time out of the shell, and will often rest with some of it's body poking out, or sometimes retracted just to the shell entrance, and will awaken readily.
An unhealthy snail may retract further into the shell , for longer periods, and may be slow to respond to stimuli such as food/touch/warm water, and quick to go back into it's shell again.
A dead snail with either go hard and dry, or wet and mushy, and will often smell quite strongly of dead fish.
For more information please refer to the care sheet
supersnails.proboards76.com/index.cgi?board=caresheet&action=display&thread=1620
Or the Illness / Problems section, a sub-board of the Care section
supersnails.proboards76.com/index.cgi?board=illness
5) What are those little critters in my tank, and are they harmful?
Some commonly found and harmless little creatures include little black fruit flies and fungus gnats (sciarid flies). These are roughly 2mm long and are poor fliers. They readily breed and lay eggs in warm moist soil, and feed from fruit and vegetables, so a snail tank is ideal for them. They will not harm the snails, though they sciarid fly larvae can eat young seedlings.
You may find VERY tiny grey-black creatures, roughly 1mm and slim, they may jump and crawl around old food, or anywhere else for that matter. These are likely to be springtails, which are actually useful to have, as they help to clear waste in the soil, including snail poo!
Small white or pale mites, round, slow moving, found on the snail, especially around the body near to the shell - these are likely to be parasitic snail-mites and can harm the snail. At best they are irritating and at their worst can kill the snail, or weaken it to a degree where it simply doesn't have the energy to eat. These suck the blood of the snail, and the young are particularly vulnerable to them.
If you find any of these your first step is to wash / bathe each snail, preferably in gently running warm water, wash all ornaments / tank equipment, the tank itself, and completely change the substrate.
Next purchase some Hypoaspis Miles predatory mites, this is easily done on-line, and use them straight away. This will often clear the problem, but you will need to keep checking for a while, and a second application may be necessary.
Useful link to several websites selling Hypoaspis Miles, generally sold as Sciarid Fly control........
supersnails.proboards76.com/index.cgi?board=links&action=display&thread=1054
6) I have a snail with a broken shell, what should I do?
Hmmm - good question! It depends upon how large the break is, where abouts, and whether or not the membrane is still intact underneath the shell.
Snails can be amazingly good at healing themselves in a surprisingly short space of time.
To help your snail to acheive this it's advisable to place it on it's own, in a low container, with a plentiful supply of calcium and food.
Keep the environment clean, it may be useful to use damp kitchen roll as a substrate.
Keep the air moist, you may need to mist it's environment often.
A snail with a badly broken shell is prone to drying out, though if the membrane is still intact this should help a bit.
Some snails just don't make it, it's often pretty difficult to judge whether a snail will recover or not.
7) How do I euthanize a snail
I don't wish to upset anyone, so please feel free to skip this section!!
It may sound like a strange question, but it's one that pops up on various forums fairly regularly.
If it appears very likely that the snail in question will not survive then many people opt for ending any potential suffering (the jury is out on at what level a snail can suffer / feel pain, if at all, etc, but that's another issue/debate).
For a heat-loving cold sensitive snail one method is to place the snail in the fridge first to cool it into dormancy, then the freezer.(I do know some people do not afgree with this method)
For small snails, and for those that may be able to withstand freezing point (I have no data on this, but I simply do not know if a British or North European snail can survive the freezer, as they survive in hibernation when the outside temerature is below freezing), then thoroughly and quickly crushing the snail, or the use of boiling water is very quick option.
8) I've found a clutch of eggs, what should I do now?
First you need to make a decision on how many you would like to keep. It's always wonderful to watch eggs hatch, and baby snails grow, but.....
* have you got room for them all when they are adults?
* Can you afford to feed them all?
* Are you certain you can re-home them?
Certain species, such as Achatina Fulica, and Achatina Immaculata, can lay 200 - 300 eggs in a clutch, some even more!!!! Sometimes not many survive, but quite often the vast majority do.
It really can be very difficult indeed to find homes for hundreds of young snails, especially with Fulica. They are already so common that there's more snails to go round than there are peole looking to buy them.
I STRONGLY ADVISE YOU TO FREEZE UNWANTED EGGS.
I can't stress that enough. If you simlpy throw them out there's a chance that some may hatch and survive in the wild. Compost heaps for example often stay warmer at the core due to bacterial activity, if any of these snails manage to survive the winter and become hardy the consequences can be disaterous. Nope, I'm not being dramatic, introducing a foreign species can cause havoc with the environment and native wildlife (and has done with Giant African Snails in certain parts of the world). It may be unlikely that they'll survive, but it's not worth the risk
Also it's illegal.
To hatch the eggs. There's no exact science here, and it varies from species to species. I would recommend looking through the Species Specific threads to try to find this information out.
Leaving the eggs in the soil sometimes works, as can removing the eggs and incubating them in a small tub.
Keep them warm, moist and try not to disturb them. Depending upon the species it may take a few days to many weeks, even months to hatch (some species over a year!!!)
Check your tub for babies often, but don't remove the babies straight away. They will usually eat the shell, and this is valuable for the snail's health.
Simply place some food in, as you would with an adult, and when the babies are clearly not interested in the shells any more you can move them into a larger tub.
9) Where or how can I buy or re-home snails? How do I choose which species?
Pet shops,
On-line shops,
Forums
eBay
Sometimes find them on other general advert sites.
I'm unsure as yet whether or not to provide some links here, as I don't want to favour anyone or miss others out.
The widest variety you are likely to find are on forums. Also many on-line shops will advertise on forums, and the people behind the online shops are often active members.
If you wish to buy from people on forums please:
* read their buying and selling rules
* be aware that some folks like to get to know you before trading with you
* you may not see what you want straight away, sometimes you need to be patient for months for the right snail to be advertised.
* read any reviews you find on the seller.
For re-homing a snail please include the correct species name, it's approximate age, the price and postage costs. A photo would also be of benefit. Make sure you are reliable and send out on time, in excellent packaging. Remember you may end up with reviews and feedback, and people may not wish to trade with you if you are not reliable.
If you advertise your snail on sites such as FreeCycle, or any other general advert sites, please remember to make potential new owners aware of how to keep the snails, and how it may be best not to let the snails lay and hatch 100s of eggs!
Choosing which species:
BIG TIP: Do your research first! Whilst many species require similar care to the familiar Achatina Fulica (these are commenly kept as a first snail and are easy to keep), some are more specialised. Some create a challenge even to those who have been keeping many different snail species for years.
* Please take note of whether they can be housed with other species or not
* How easy they are to keep
* The cost of buying any special equipment, don't forget you need this in place first (sounds obvious but it's all too easy to impulse-buy).
This forum has a Species Infoprmation section, you may find out the information you require by reading up on the different species on there.
supersnails.proboards76.com/index.cgi?board=species
10) How do I pick up a snail?
If it's on soil or simply isn't stuck to anything, then you can pick it up by the shell, but make sure you don't crush the new growth at the shell opening as this is a delicate area on a snail. Alternatively you can scoop it up by scooping your hand underneath it.
If the snail is stuck to something, e.g the side of the tank, don't just pull on the shell, this is likely to damage where the snail's flesh is attached to the shell. It can cause a tear round this area (the mantle), or even detachment. Either way it can be fatal.
In order to pick the snail up gently nudge the flesh where it meets the surface, until it starts to let go, then you can gently slide the snail (by it's flesh) until it lets go completely.
If you have enough time and the snail is active, then you may encourage it onto some food and simply lift it up that way.
11) What species can/can't live together?
If you would like to keep a communal tank there are some things to bare in mind.
Choose snails which require similar conditions
Choose snails who's size difference are not too great that one may accidently damage the other (I've not seen snails crush each other, but they DO hang off each other. When you have a little snail stuck to the lid and a large snail hanging off it this can damage the matle of the little snail, causing a tear, the snail may come partially away from it's shell which can be fatal)
Make sure each species is not negatively affected by living with others Some species like to live only with their own klind. These include Limicolia falmmea and Megalobulimus species.
Make sure one species isn't predetary. That may sound a little odd, but some species do have a taste for the flesh of other kinds of snails. One such species is Achatina Immaculata ssp Panthera
So which species can be kept together?
Through collective experience it would appear that several species do thrive when kept with other compatable species.
These include
Achatin Achatina (Tiger snails)
Achatina Fulica (and all it's colour variations)
Achatina Reticulata (though sometimes they won't breed when kept with others)
Archachatina Marginata (in all it's variations)
Archachatina 'Lagos'
Caracolus Marginella
This is not a complete list...
12) Can I put any other type of animal in with my snails?
There aren't many pets that can be kept with them, but woodlice, worms and springtails are commonly kept in the tank. These actually benefit from each other as these creatures will eat spoiled food and even snail poo! They don't appear to have any adverse effects on the snails at all. With the springtails though I do find that their numbers explode very quickly, but are harmless and do not escape the tanks.
13) Is it cruel to keep just one snail?
Oooh wouldn't you just love to be able to ask a snail if it's lonely?
No-one knows (as far as I'm aware).
A snail on it's own does not appear to pine for company, neither is it's lifespan or health affected as far as we can tell. It may be that if it doesn't mate and lay eggs it will not suffer any fatigue that this can sometimes cause a snail.
However, when you watch snails interact they appear to respond positively to the touch of another snail, coming out of their shells further, investigating each other, 'sleeping' in huddles, I have even known a few of my snails to pair off and were very often seen specifically together, even with many other snails around. Snails do react to other snails in their environment, I suspect by chemical signal but don't quote me on that! It sometimes seems that sleepy snails are awoken by active snails around them, and if you've ever seen one snail in the mood for mating you do notice that others respond the same way...
It could be said that snails kept together would be able to behave more fully.
But are they happier with company? Well there's no evidence to suggest that a snail can feel any kind of emotion, so I really wouldn't know.......
14) I'm unsure about some of the names given to snails, please could you clarify them?
This can be confusing, especially when people talk about snails using their nick-names or shortened names, and many of us do so.
The proper names of snail species kept in captivity, along with a few of their nick-names can be found here supersnails.proboards76.com/index.cgi?board=species&action=display&thread=1791
If you want to see pictures and find out more about these species take a look at this link supersnails.proboards76.com/index.cgi?board=species&action=display&thread=2386 , a photo reference guide with links to specific species topics and information sites.
Jade. This is simply a colour variation of Achatina fulica. It's the albino form. ( Achatina fulica albino body (white jade) )
Hamillei, Hamms or HamsThere is a variety of fulica called 'Achatina fulica var. hamillei', these look like normal fulica with dark bodies and stripey shells. But they carry the genes that can give rise to stripeless oranage-shelled offspring, form Rodatzi
Rodatzi / Rods Another colour variation of an Achatina fulica var. hamillei. These stripeless snails are called 'Achatina fulica var. hamillei f. Rodatzi'
Jadatzi Yet another colour variation of the achatina fulica. They have a plain sandy shell and an albino body, and are an 'artificial' variation, meaning none are known to exist in the wild. They were produced by breeding a rodatzi form with a Jade form, and then by mating the first generation offspring. Four colour combinations resulted, many people refer to all these as Jadatzis, but really only the plain shelled albinos should be called Jadatzi, and then it's an unofficial name coined on this forum so probably isn't recognised else where.
Retics refer to Achatina reticulata
Tigers refer to Achatina achatina
Queens refer to a sub species of achatina achatina which has a stripeless orange shell, Achatina achatina ssp achatina depravata, though Queen is sometimes used to describe other species with a stripeless shell (where the species usually have stripes)
Margies is the shortened nickname given to Archachatina Marginata, in any of it's forms.
The names of Suts and Ovums are often used to refer to Marginata ssp Sutralis and ssp Ovums
Limis are really Limicolaria flammea
Megas are Megalobulimus species, but as the species most common in captivity is Megalobulimus oblongus haemastomus it generally refers to them.
Within the proper names you may come across abbreviations...
ssp. - sub species
var. - variety
f. - form
15) I'm unsure about some of the terminology used with the anatomy of the snail, please could you clarify?
Snail anatomy is very interesting! Here are some very basic things about it (much more will be added with time):
- Eye stalks are the snail's upper pair of soft tentacles that protrude from the head. Land snails have a simple eye at the tip of each stalk. They're understood to be near-sighted and to have poor colour vision, but what helps with that is that their foot is full of light receptors so they can sense the shadow of a predator above them. The eye stalks are also full of receptors for smell, and they're used for all kinds of touching.
- Feeler tentacles are the lower pair of tentacles below the eye stalks. They're a lot like the eye stalks, except they're much shorter and without eyes.
- Radula is the snail's "tongue" that's used for rasping food. Snails don't have teeth, but there's a hard edge in the front area of the mouth that the snail can push against with the radula when eating. A snail may rasp at you too, and the feeling might remind you of a cat's tongue.
- Snails don't breathe through their mouth. Instead, if you peek under the edge of their shell, you may see a hole slowly opening and closing. This is the so-called breathing hole. It may stay open or shut for several minutes at a time.
- If the time is just right, you may see developing egg clutches through the breathing hole. This is the easiest with giant snails, but even with them you need a strike of luck, and a lamp that doesn't heat up.
- A snail's genitals are located near the head, in the area that you could call cheek or neck. They may bulge even if the snail's mate is not near, and you'll see a white organ coming out and going back in again. This is normal and healthy.