Young Tiger Meets Younger Tigers

[etana]

I got some wonderful snail mail yesterday. Itty-bitty mini albino Achatina achatina babies that just melt my heart (well, Tiger snails always do that to me). After making sure everyone was okay, I let them meet Gaius, who I approximate to be 1 year old these days, which in Tiger snail world is still the age of a child. Click to get bigger versions!


Gaius wasn't impressed about me removing him from the tank, and he wouldn't come out for minutes. Finally he did though, and the reactions of the minis were priceless!


They gathered to watch as Gaius came out! "Hey! Look! The big one is awakening!"


The mini snail kisses and the general attention that Gaius got! After just sitting there receiving all the kisses and pats, he did pat the babies back and gently touch their eye stalks with his own. So all in all it went very well.

My cheeks are starting to hurt from smiling over these pictures.  

[jolovessnailies]

Thank you for these wonderful photos love, they are just so cute and gorgeous. I Love the way they are all looking in one direction, any minute I expect them to start talking to each other as indeed they might LOL!!

Hugs
Jo xx

[etana]

Thanks Jo! You know, they probably did communicate, with foot touch, eye & feeler stalk pat, and sign language. It's great to see, only I can't understand quite enough of it!

Two of the smallest babies are already rehomed, to a snailkeeper friend who lives a walking distance from me. I plan to keep three or so permanently and rehome the rest, but I won't mail anyone out before they're much stronger. So, I'll put up a classified ad next year or something.

[Zorst]

Great Photo's Etana and I just love it when greetings like that happen and they sure do communicate its just us daft humans got to advanced and forgot the international language all things use. Now we've got a heap of home work to do trying to relearn it lol.

Zorst

[etana]

Thanks Zorst. You're very right! Some of the Language makes a lot of sense, such as the eye stalk pats on a sleeping snail's shell as an invitation to come out, and the courting rituals seem very familiar too in an amusing way.... (What, Tauno wooing Halonen resembles a beautiful little lady going after a huge clumsy teenage boy who pretends not to be interested, despite being aroused like there's no tomorrow ) But there's so much subtlety that's not so easy.
It's beautiful to see either way.

[snailcrazy]

Fab photos, I love tigers the albino babies are so cute. X

[jolovessnailies]

I cannot wait to get mine and study their little snaily antics.

Hugs
JO xx

[cliath]

They look lovely Etana! I love the last pic

[etana]

Thank you!

The tigers are growing nicely, including Gaius of course, so I may make a photo update to this thread. One has slight growth problems but I think he'll sort it out with time.

[jolovessnailies]

Poor little love, I hope he is able to sort his little problem out.

Hugs
Jo xx

[GrandTouringShell]

Wow, so many albinos! 

[etana]

Yeah! Ahhh so many photo updates I should do, gosh darn there are not enough hours in a day!!!

[etana]

Update on the Tigers - everyone's much bigger now, but Gaius still gets kissed in the face. The little ones love him, they're often found pressed against his shell when sleeping. 

Eight of the originally ten albinos are still here with me and going strong. Nobody has shell problems anymore either, and I successfully taught them to eat their protein snacks, too - they came from a breeder who didn't use any, and I was scared of upsetting their tummies with such a dramatic change, but they had also grown extremely slowly for the first few months of their life. My solution was to feed egg to the adults separately and let the babies get to the poops, for many weeks. Now they are able to have their egg in a form that's not already once eaten anymore.  

[jolovessnailies]

Oh I bet that is is something to behold, I know I have three babies cuddled up to one grown up at the moment and it is so sweet. Mine are very good at eating their little pile of calcium I put in there every day Etana love, which reminds me I have to order some more. Cannot risk running out as I know it is so important to them. Eggie day for them tomorrow. When you talk of other protein snacks Etana hun, what are these please as I would love to get some for my babies? Mine seem pretty good at sharing but I do keep my eye on things.

Hugs
Jo xx

[etana]

Protein snacks mean for example egg, so you've been giving it all along. Also good quality meat, or good quality dog/kitty/fish food will work - everything always unseasoned, and with dog/kitty/fish food you have to also watch for fillers, salt, sugar, copper and some other ingredients, as snails can't have much of any of those.

I find that if I want to give my snails some variety to the egg, it's simplest to get some low-fat mince meat or something and give them a spoonful before you cook the rest for yourself, lol. However egg will suffice a long way.

I'm sure my snails would have shared the food fine too, I was just scared for the tummies of the littlest ones as they'd never had animal protein before arriving to me. I thought that if it comes already partly digested and full of gut bacteria from the bigger ones, it'll help them adjust. Which worked, and I'm so glad.