Types of snails and varieties of Achatina. Domestic snails

Coconut substrate is very cheap. It is an earthy-colored briquette, similar in shape to ordinary brick. To turn the substrate into soil, you need to soak it in hot water, preferably boiling water (this will disintegrate the compressed mass faster). One briquette produces a huge amount of soil, so before setting up a terrarium, cut off 1/3 or 1/4 of the briquette, place it in a basin or large pan and pour boiling water over it. Naturally, the soil must be cooled before placing it in the terrarium.

So, you will have an idea of the amount of soil in the terrarium, which you can add if necessary, or, if there is too much, put it in a plastic bag. The crumbled soil will dry out, but will not lose its properties; Having wetted and thoroughly mixed this mass, you can use it after cleaning as fresh filler.

To avoid such troubles, it is better for novice snail keepers to buy snails and resist the temptation to take home wild animals. Now let’s touch on the most important issue – feeding land snails. Without exception, all snails eat plant foods in the form of fresh food. These are lettuce leaves, raw zucchini, cucumber, apple, pear, banana. Experienced snail breeders do not recommend giving your pets raw potatoes and beets. Usually the mollusk sits on a piece of vegetable or on a leaf of lettuce and methodically grinds it with its “grater”, and then calmly crawls over everything that has not been eaten. It is clear that after such food the snails will “paint Khokhloma” on the entire terrarium so that it will be practically impossible to wash it - the walls and lid will become sticky, beet-purple or starchy-cloudy.

In spring and summer, snails should be fed daily, and in the cold season - as the pets eat food and are active. Adult snails are fed once every 2-3 days in winter and autumn, and young snails are fed daily, regardless of the time of year. The next morning, the remaining food is removed from the terrarium, since snails are active at dusk and at night, and that is when their appetite awakens. Snails that tend to hibernate do not necessarily fall asleep completely: they may not close their shells or burrow into the ground, but their locomotor activity and appetite decrease. Snails, which are active all year round, need to feed regularly.

The list of “allowed” products for snails is huge. What snails are absolutely not allowed to eat in any form and under any circumstances are fried, pickled, baked foods, as well as salt and foods with added salt. Salty food leads to their death; not a grain of salt should enter the snail’s body! I will share my bitter experience. One day, when I was going on vacation, I left snails with my friend. Among other things, I said that they needed calcium for shell growth, and that a mineral supplement might be suitable for other animals, but in my haste I forgot to say which one.

A friend took excellent care of her pets, but gave them... a mineral salt stone for rodents! Huge Achatina reticulates lasted a long time. They showed no signs of illness, however, when I arrived, I found a terrible picture: lethargic, darkened bodies, completely covered with cloudy foam. I tried to wash the snails, “soaked” them in water for long hours in the hope that with bathing and drinking liquid their salt balance would be restored, I slipped all sorts of goodies into the terrarium, but they refused to eat and died a few days later.

As a mineral supplement for normal shell growth, you can use:
- finely crushed eggshells (in no case from dyed Easter eggs!). The shells can be mixed with bone meal, or they can be given in their pure form;
- a mineral stone for birds from the shell of cuttlefish (some manufacturers call it sepia, Sepia is actually the name of cuttlefish), which is sold in pet stores;
- natural (in no case school!) chalk;
- children's vitamin tablets "Kaltsinova".

Calcium supplements should be kept in the terrarium at all times. It doesn’t matter if the snails crumble, scatter these pieces, bury them in the ground, etc. – they eat them when the body requires it. The thinned, soil-darkened, gnawed cuttlefish shell must be removed from the terrarium and replaced with a new one. Do snails need feeders for food and mineral supplements? There is no clear answer. Some people don’t really want to bother with constantly washing bowls, while others, on the contrary, are annoyed by the need to constantly pull out the half-eaten remains of a snail’s meal from the ground with their bare hands.

Mandatory snail care procedures

In addition to feeding, cleaning the terrarium, and, of course, the owner's love, the snail needs water treatments. It is useless to place a container for drinking water or a bathing suit in the terrarium - the snail will certainly knock it over, dirty it, or cover the water with soil (however, for some types of snails this is desirable). Therefore, pets must be periodically taken out of the terrarium and bathed. It is better to bathe young animals in a shallow plate or saucer so that the tiny snails do not choke or drown. The water in the bathing container should be cool or at room temperature.

However, it is not at all necessary to bathe snails every day. When feeding, it is enough to spray the shell and body of the snail with water from a spray bottle, because the snail’s skin needs regular moisturizing.

If you need to remove a snail from the wall or lid of the terrarium, do not grab it by the shell under any circumstances! The snail's leg is powerful and muscular. In addition, to facilitate movement, the mollusk secretes mucus, which serves as a shock absorber between its soft body and the surface on which it crawls. Both mucus and a powerful grip - all this contributes to the fact that the mollusk stays on the surface, like a rubber suction cup.

The snail does not need to be pulled off; It is better to force her muscles to contract in the desired direction delicately and gently, gradually moving her leg with your fingers. Do not pry the attached snail with your fingernail or any sharp object under any circumstances, be patient! It is better to spend extra seconds than to injure your pet.

The main indicator of the health and comfortable behavior of a snail is the condition of its shell. Scuffs and scratches on the surface of the shell are a consequence of the fact that snails are blind, as you remember from the first part of our story, so they often “test” each other’s shell. The shell of a single snail is much more beautiful than the shells of those kept by a couple or a small family. But thinning and layering of the shell is already an alarming sign!

Most likely, the snail is uncomfortable in this soil or calcium supplements are not enough for it - you should change the soil to fresh one and enrich its diet. Chipping of the shell mouth occurs due to injury or careless handling of the owners: the outer edge of the shell is very vulnerable: it is thin, tender, and growing. However, the chips are quickly smoothed out, since the shell constantly grows throughout the snail’s life. It is not recommended to grasp the snail by the mouth with your hands.

If something irreparable happens - for example, a sink breaks, or a hole forms in it as a result of an injury, try gluing it together with BF medical glue and... pray that everything will be fine. The chances of survival for such a snail, although very small, still exist. In young animals, all damage to the shell heals without problems, while adults suffer more severely (but their shell is much more durable). A shell split into pieces indicates that the snail, alas, is doomed.

From everything said above, one thing is clear: a snail is not a “living toy” for a child. Do not allow him to touch, and especially not to roughly grab the snail, take it out of the terrarium, or drag it around the house. Watching your pet, helping to wash the terrarium, laying pieces of food on the ground - this is the child’s feasible contribution to the procedures for caring for the mollusk.

All snails are hermaphrodites. Keeping two or more snails in one terrarium can lead to fertilization of either one or both of the mated individuals. Most land mollusks lay eggs, but there are also viviparous species (for example, snails and edal snails). Usually the snail buries its clutch in the ground, and it is better not to miss this moment. The masonry is removed from the terrarium and placed in a separate container - the same humidity and soil consistency should be maintained as in which adults live.

After a certain period of time (different for each species), the small snails hatch and crawl to the surface. They are completely ready for independent life and feed on the same food as their parents, however, until their shells become stronger and they grow up for at least 1-2 months (preferably even 4-5), it is better not to place them with large snails.

Mollusks are not prone to cannibalism, but they can accidentally tear up a clutch or crush small cubs with their weight, so if you want to raise healthy and unharmed offspring, both eggs and young animals need isolation. Some species of snails lay several hundred tiny eggs. Others produce quite large eggs - but in tiny quantities (3-5 pieces). We must also be prepared for the fact that not all of them were viable: some eggs will never hatch. The fewer eggs in the clutch, the greater the probability of 100% survival of the young.

And they take care of the masonry like this: a small (about 2 cm) layer of slightly damp soil is poured onto the bottom of a small container, on which the eggs are placed, after which they are sprinkled with exactly the same layer of soil. Additional ventilation for masonry is not needed - the air that is in the container is quite enough. Once every 3-4 days you need to open the “nursery” and feel the soil to see if it has dried out, if necessary, spray the top layer of soil with a spray bottle, and close the lid back. It is better not to stir up the soil unnecessarily and not to touch the eggs.

Despite the fact that snails are hermaphrodites, having a full “set” of germ cells, when they mate, an interesting phenomenon such as hybridization can occur. For example, if you want to get albino snails with a snow-white body, do not keep them in the same terrarium with ordinary snails of the same species - most likely, the result of uncontrolled mating will disappoint you. Related species (for example, different types of Achatina) are capable of producing hybrids with an indistinct appearance, which will be an extremely unsuccessful experiment for the breeder, because the value of this or that subspecies of snail lies precisely in their unique appearance. Speaking of appearance... Beginner snail breeders usually look at the size and beauty of the shell: they are fascinated by the bright giant snails. After looking at many photographs and studying information on the Internet, over time you will be able to appreciate the other beauty of snails: body color, stripes, iridescence, “pattern” on the skin of the mollusk, etc. Albino snails with a brightly colored shell and an absolutely white body look especially impressive, simply magical.

Now, having received a general idea of caring for snails, you can choose those beauties that you like. Don’t rush to buy the first mollusk you like, look carefully at the photos and read the information about each species. Unpretentiousness, ease of care, a rich variety of species, spectacular appearance and interesting behavior of snails can turn your hobby into a mania. This is more encouraging than catastrophic, but do you have room in your home for a large number of terrariums? Can you care for more pets every day? Are you able (financially) to provide snails with fresh food all year round? Will your family agree to share this hobby with you?

Anna Kurtz.
Photos courtesy of Alexander Onkin,
group "Happy Snail / Happy snail =)"

Proper care of Achatina snails at home is an important topic for lovers of exotic pets. These African beauties are considered the largest of the mollusks, have a shell up to 25 cm in size, a heart, kidney, lung, brain and have conditioned reflexes. They are unpretentious, but some conditions must be met when caring for them.

Achatina - contents

African Achatina snails are land snails; care and maintenance at home do not require much trouble. Many aquarists consider them ideal domesticated pets. Achatinas do not smell, do not bite, do not cause pain, do not require communication or walking, even on vacation or a business trip you don’t have to worry about them - the snail can easily live alone for a week or two.

What is needed to keep Achatina snails?

For the unassuming Achatina, when kept at home, you will need a transparent container. Suitable vessel:

made of plastic;
made of plexiglass;
old glass aquarium.

In order for the mollusk to feel comfortable, the volume of the container must be at least 10 liters; if a family of snails lives in it, this means more. To allow fresh air to enter, the terrarium must be equipped with top covers with small holes through which the inhabitant cannot escape. Caring for Achatina snails at home - how to fill the container:

The bottom is covered with a layer of substrate 10 cm high; floral or pure peat is suitable. You can add sand, hazelnut shells or walnut cores to it. The substrate is needed so that the snail can burrow into the ground - they love to do this and lay there. The compost needs to be moistened a little from a spray bottle every day.
Additionally, you can put large stones, driftwood, coconut halves in the aquarium - the snails will hide in them. Green vegetation (ferns, ivy) will decorate the living area and become useful food for the inhabitants.
A plastic feeder with low edges and a drinker made of a plastic lid are placed in the vessel.

Temperature for keeping Achatina snails

When cared for and kept at home, African Achatina will feel comfortable at a temperature of 20-30°C and a humidity of 80-95%. Such conditions are close to their natural environment. The activity of the mollusk depends on sunlight, humidity and ambient temperature. They go for walks mainly at night or during rainy periods. If gastropods climb up the walls, it means there is high humidity in their house; if they hide in the ground, it means it’s very dry. The container should not be placed in direct sunlight or near heating devices.

Caring for Achatina at home

When caring for unpretentious domestic Achatina snails, in addition to maintaining optimal temperature and humidity, they require cleaning the aquarium, balanced feeding, and care during the period of breeding mollusks. Close attention should be paid to your pet's shell - it is its protection from diseases and external damage. When caring for Achatina snails at home, you can give them water treatments:

Place a bath of cool water in the terrarium; there should not be much liquid in it in depth.
Occasionally give your pets a warm shower, holding them in your hand over the sink for about 3 minutes.

Caring for Achatina snails at home - cleaning the terrarium:

The container is cleaned 2-3 times every 3 months.
Cleaning includes washing it completely and replacing the substrate.
If the walls of the aquarium are covered with mucus (it is left by crawling gastropods) or an unpleasant odor is heard from it, an unscheduled cleaning is necessary.

Caring for Achatina in winter

The giant Achatina snail requires special attention when caring for and maintaining it in winter. During the cold season, at low temperatures and insufficient humidity in the terrarium, the mollusk can go into suspended animation - hibernation, while covering its shell with a protective film. Many breeders do not recommend allowing Achatina to hibernate for more than 2 months, otherwise the individuals may die.

For young animals, suspended animation is generally harmful - they are going through a period of active growth and need to constantly eat well. To wake up your pet, it is recommended to hold it under running warm water or simply sprinkle it. After a few minutes, he himself will break the protective film and appear in the light. To prevent the snail from hibernating, the home must have the recommended temperature and humidity.

Achatina – sink care

Large Achatina snails need special shell care; you need to pay attention to the following points:

For good growth and development, the mollusk must receive a sufficient amount of calcium. Otherwise, your pet may begin to have problems with the shell - it will begin to peel off, become fragile, and the snail itself will never reach the gigantic size for which it is so famous. The inhabitant also needs calcium if she is pregnant or her shell is damaged. Chalk, powdered eggshells, or sepia, a mineral stone for birds, are used as feeding.
Another common problem is chips and cracks in the sink. Sometimes a mollusk crawling along the upper edge of the house falls down, which can lead to injury to the shell. In this case, you need to treat the damaged area with an antiseptic and place the pet in a separate vessel so that it does not rub against its relatives (Achatina loves to do this).

Achatina eggs - care

When caring for Achatina snails at home, you need to know that these mollusks are hermaphrodites. Each individual has both female and male reproductive organs and, upon reaching the age of 6-7 months, they can reproduce. To produce offspring, a pair of adult individuals are placed in a separate vessel for a week. Achatina are hyperfertile; they bury eggs in the ground approximately 2 weeks after mating. At one time, a clutch can contain 50-400 eggs. Their size is 4-5 mm, their shape resembles that of a chicken.

Many breeders care for the Achatina clutch in a separate container. They transfer them with a plastic spoon into a separate transparent vessel and sprinkle them with a 1-2 cm layer of soil so that the eternally digging adults do not harm the offspring. The substrate and the walls of the vessel must be irrigated daily, and the container must be covered with a lid. Egg development occurs at a temperature of 25-27°C and a humidity of 70%; it is important to prevent changes in the values of these indicators.

Newborn Achatina snails - care

African newborn Achatina snails, whose clutches were cared for in comfortable temperature conditions, are born a month after fertilization. The shell of eggs becomes thin, all the calcium from it is used to form the shell of the babies. During the birth process, the mollusk separates and tries to get out of the ground. In this case, it is advisable to dig up the soil around the masonry to help the newborns get out. During the first few days, the snails eat the remains of their shell.

Little Achatina - care

Basic principles of caring for small Achatina:

A temporary home for newborn snails can be an 8-10 liter food container; they do not need a spacious home.
The lid of the container must have holes to allow air to enter.
For the first few months, it is best to place a thermometer and hygrometer in the container. The optimal temperature for keeping small Achatina is 25-27°C, humidity is 65-70%.
An incandescent lamp will help maintain the desired temperature, and a spray bottle will help maintain humidity.
For small Achatina, cabbage and lettuce foliage serves as soil. If they live in a terrarium with a substrate, then preference should be given to flower soil and coconut shavings. Moss, sand, sawdust and stones are prohibited.
It is better to place the container with babies on a shelf or bookshelf, rather than on a window.

What can you feed Achatina snails?

When caring for African Achatina snails at home, it is important to feed them correctly and in a timely manner so that the mollusk grows healthy and does not get sick. Their diet should consist of plant foods, mineral supplements and animal protein. Achatina – proper nutrition and care:

Basic diet: lettuce, dandelion, plantain leaves; various greens; shoots of vegetables and grains.
Vegetables: cucumbers, spinach, pumpkin, carrots, zucchini, tomatoes, peas.
Fruits and berries: apples, pears, watermelons, melons, bananas, apricots, plums, strawberries, raspberries, cherries.
Proteins: pureed meat products, fish food, meat and bone meal, boiled egg.
Mineral feeding: feed chalk, eggshells, small shrimp, special mixtures for reptiles, sepia.

There are a number of foods that should not be given to snails. Salt poses a mortal danger to them. We must ensure that it does not enter their diet in pure form or in large quantities. It is prohibited to give gastropods spices, sweet, smoked, spicy or sour foods, or fried foods. You should also avoid pasta, raw potatoes and citrus fruits; the latter do not have a very good effect on your pet’s shell.

What to feed Achatina in winter?

In the cold season, the diet of shellfish should not be meager. Winter food consists of: oatmeal, wheat bran, bread soaked in milk. The menu is supplemented with bananas, beets, and carrots. Most snail breeders grow green grass on windowsills, which they sell in veterinary stores for cats. Many people do not know whether it is possible to feed Achatina canned products. The answer is no, salt is bad for your pet’s health. It is better to replace pickled vegetables with frozen ones from the supermarket, defrosting them before feeding;

What to feed small Achatina snails?

The first few days after birth, a few lettuce leaves generously sprinkled with eggshells or chalk are enough for them.
After a week, you need to add chopped greens, grated vegetables, calcium and grain mixtures, ground in a coffee grinder, to the baby’s diet.
They need minerals to grow and form a beautiful and strong shell. Vegetable protein will help the formation of a healthy shellfish faster.
From the second week of life, you can add animal protein to the menu.
Starting from one month of age, grated fruits and vegetables are replaced with cubes.

How many times should I feed Achatina?

If an African Achatina lives in the house, it must be fed and cared for correctly. It’s better in the evening, because these mollusks are nocturnal creatures and in the evening they become active. For adults, one feeding per day is enough; it is allowed to give them food every other day. Young animals need to have 24/7 access to food. Food should not be placed on the ground so that it does not mix with the substrate and spoil or become moldy. For food you need to use a bowl or, in extreme cases, a lettuce leaf.

If for another 10-15 years mollusks native to East Africa were considered exotic, today keeping Achatina snails as pets is available to almost everyone. Unlike anyone else, possessing their own “extraterrestrial” charm, they won the hearts of millions of people and won the right to be considered true friends of man! The owners call them touching and charming creatures and are simply delighted with their charges!

Achatina snail as a pet

If you are partial to all kinds of exotic things, but are also a fairly busy person, then the giant Achatina snails (Latin: Achatina fulica) can be ideal pets for you. They are undemanding in maintenance and unpretentious in food; they do not need to buy any special food - they are content with vegetables, fruits and eggshells. Of course, you cannot expect the same affection from them as from dogs, and they cannot be trained, but caring for these mollusks is much simpler - they do not make noise, do not require walks, do not take up much space, are hypoallergenic and have absolutely no smell. Another significant advantage of these snails is their sociability. In your own snail's way, of course. They recognize the owner, greet him, crawl out of the shell and reach out to him with their horns, and when they see a stranger, they hide. They don’t mind when the owner takes them in his hands, however, provided that these hands are clean and wet. And the lifespan of giants is impressive - with proper care, snails live up to 7 or even 10 years.

About 100 species of giant snails are known to science, about 20 species are popular among breeders - they differ in the shape and pattern of the shell, as well as the color of the body - from milky white to dark brown. In specialized stores and from the owners of these animals you can purchase from 30 rubles per individual, but it is still better to buy them from professional breeders.

By the way, in some US states keeping Achatina is punishable by five years in prison, and they themselves are destroyed when discovered. Americans are playing it safe: at one time, these cute creatures literally devoured the whole of Florida - from crops to plaster on houses! In our climate, these mollusks do not survive in the wild, and therefore there is no danger to the surrounding world.

Achatina have a rather impressive appearance. The shell of this largest representative of land mollusks can grow up to 25 cm with a body length of up to 30 cm! Particularly large individuals weigh like a loaf of bread and barely fit in the palm of your hand.

Home for a giant snail

For one snail you need a terrarium (both plastic and glass will do) with a volume of at least 10 liters and with a wall height of at least 40 cm, and it is better, of course, to have more space. The terrarium must be tightly covered with a lid with holes for ventilation, otherwise the snail will easily go on a journey around the apartment. A snail's home can also be made from an ordinary aquarium, even an old one that has leaked - after all, you don't need to pour water into it.

Climate

As a native of Africa, Achatina naturally enjoys warmth. The temperature in the terrarium should be constantly maintained at 26-27°C. For heating, it is better to use external sources such as thermal mats: after all, inside its home, a mollusk crawls on absolutely all surfaces and can easily get burned. Despite the fact that snails are tropical inhabitants, you cannot place a terrarium next to a battery.

A slight decrease in air temperature is not critical for mollusks - without heating in the terrarium at room temperature, Achatina will simply be less active. But if your pet’s home is too cold or too hot, or during sudden temperature changes, she can hide in the shell and go into suspended animation (or simply hibernate). In a sealed shell, it can sleep for up to one and a half months without harm to its health. To wake up your pet, it is usually enough to pour warm water on it. In addition to the uncomfortable temperature for mollusks, they can hibernate for other reasons, namely: poor quality, unhealthy nutrition, change of soil, acclimatization in a new place, stress, painful condition.

Achatina loves humidity: regularly spray the walls of the aquarium and the soil with water. But don't confuse humidity with dampness: if it gets too wet, the snails will think it's rainy season and will try to hibernate as well.

Pets do not need a light source - they prefer a nocturnal lifestyle.

Remember that direct sunlight is harmful to Achatina, so in no case should you leave the terrarium in the open sun on a hot summer day.

Priming

The most preferable soil is coconut substrate, garden soil or high-moor peat - it will be convenient for snails to bury themselves in it. All this is sold in flower or gardening stores. Coconut substrate and peat can be changed less often than soil, but they will have to be moistened more often.

Do not skimp on the soil: Achatina should be able to completely bury itself in it to sleep. If your pet is already too big for this, you can add special moss to the landscape. Important: garden soil cannot be used with fertilizers!

Feeders and drinkers

Achatina loves water, so they should always have access to clean water, but do not place a container that is too large. After all, your pet is a land mollusk and does not swim in water. Water can be poured into a plastic jar lid. Do not place feeders and drinkers made of glass, stone and other hard or breakable materials in the terrarium: its inhabitant may not calculate her strength when climbing a steep slope, fall, break her shell and die! You can use plastic bowls for rodents as feeders.

Bathing Achatina

Don’t forget to bathe your pet once a week, or better yet more often! To do this, you can fill a shallow plate with lukewarm water (no more than 25°C) and send the snail there, or you can simply take it to the sink and bathe it directly under the tap with a stream of warm water. By the way, this is one of the most pleasant moments in caring for the Achatina snail - you will see how she will enjoy the water procedure!

Snails eat, if not everything, then a lot, still preferring plant foods. Any vegetables and fruits, cereals, and fresh mushrooms are suitable for them. For greens, shellfish can be given dandelion leaves, plantain, clover, lettuce, and spinach. Tradescantia is highly respected. Sometimes you need to offer meat, poultry, fish, and egg whites. All food is finely chopped so that the pet can safely swallow it.

It has been noticed that Achatina has selectivity for certain types of food. This may depend on taste preferences or habituation when feeding the same foods. Typically, snails prefer cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, bananas and are not particularly fond of cabbage leaves, beets, chicken and beef.

When feeding clams with brightly colored vegetables (tomatoes, carrots, sweet red peppers), their shells will become beautiful and bright.

After the pet finishes its meal, any remaining food should be removed so as not to contaminate the soil.

Young individuals are fed daily, adults - once every few days. It is better to feed them in the evening.

You should not give your snail sweet, spicy, sour, smoked or fried food. Citrus fruits are also prohibited. Under no circumstances should you offer salty food - salt can kill shellfish.

In addition to food, snails need calcium. A deficiency of this element can lead to curvature and deformation of the shell. In nature, these mollusks obtain calcium by passing soil through them. At home, to replenish Achatina’s body with calcium, chalk (natural or feed) and crushed eggshells are mixed into the soil. For the same purpose, eggshells ground into powder are mixed into the snail’s food. You can also use crushed shell rock.

It is necessary to remove pet waste every day, and carry out general cleaning once every two weeks.

Precautions when dealing with a snail

When decorating a terrarium, do not use hard or breakable objects - stones, driftwood, glass feeders and drinkers, etc. A snail falling from the lid or wall of the terrarium onto a hard object can cause the mollusk to break its shell. But there should be more soil and moss.

You should pick up your pet by following its body, do not pull the snail by its shell!

Do not knock on the shell or squeeze it; the shell of Achatina is quite fragile.

Do not under any circumstances try to “tear” a snail from any surface by its shell. In this barbaric way, it is easy to injure the body of the mollusk (and then it will die) or push through the shell (and it will end up with an ugly scar). It’s better to wet the Achatina with water and take it under your head with wet fingers - it will easily end up in your hands.

That, in general, is all the basic wisdom of caring for giant snails. If you have prepared a terrarium, you can safely bring Achatina into the house and start growing and raising this funny mollusk.

In contact with

Land snails are cute, unpretentious and very economical pets to keep. According to many breeders, the intelligence of these gastropods is very high, and watching them is a pleasure.

Land snails kept as pets are not uncommon these days. The popularity of these gastropods is determined by several factors. Firstly, snails are not at all as boring as they might seem at first glance. Secondly, they are very easy to maintain, do not require special care and large financial costs.

Types of land snails

Several types of land snails are suitable for home keeping. The most popular inhabitants of terrariums are Achatina- the largest and most diverse of domestic land snails.

Achatina fulica- a large snail, the shell of which reaches a length of 20 cm. It is not picky in its diet, but is quite inert. Spends most of his time relaxing.

Achatina reticulata- an active and curious representative of land snails.

Achatina immaculata It is distinguished by a characteristic stripe along the head and a pinkish rim along the shell.

Achatina vulgaris- a giant tiger-colored snail, the shell of which in nature reaches a length of 20 cm. At home, ordinary Achatina have more modest sizes - up to 22 cm in length.

In addition to Achatina, they are popular among domestic breeders grape snails. They are distinguished by a wide variety of colors, but are much smaller in size compared to Achatina. Their shells reach 5 cm in length and 4.5 cm in height.

It is better to place heating sources on the outside - these can be thermal mats or thermal cords. Internal heat sources pose a danger to land snails - they can get burned.

Best used as a primer coconut substrate. The thickness of the flooring should correspond to the size of the snails and allow gastropods to burrow completely into it during daytime sleep. It is important to maintain the soil wet: To do this, it will be enough to lightly spray it with water once a day. The soil should not be over-moistened.

The soil should be loosened periodically. You can plant non-toxic green plants in the terrarium, such as cat grass or lettuce.

A land snail aquarium needs spring cleaning once a week. Every day it is recommended to wipe the walls with a damp cloth without using any household chemicals.

Land snails love water treatments. You can offer them take a bath in the sink under a thin stream of warm (but not hot) tap water, or pour water into a separate shallow bowl. The snail shell requires special care - during bathing, it is cleaned of dirt with a soft brush.

Feeding land snails

The basis of nutrition for land snails is plant food. They enjoy eating a variety of greens, as well as vegetables and fruits. Soft fruits and vegetables are served sliced, while hard ones are pre-grated.

As a supplement to a plant diet, it should be given to snails protein food- meat and seafood puree, fish food, daphnia, gammarus. This feeding should be offered to snails several times a week.

Under no circumstances should you offer snails salty foods. Salt is poison for gastropods!

For strength and proper development of the shell, the diet of domestic snails includes: calcium in the form of crushed eggshell or sepia.

Land gastropod mollusk from the subclass of pulmonate snails. Widely distributed in countries with tropical climates, it is a highly invasive species and is a pest of agricultural plants, especially sugar cane. Currently, further expansion of the Achatina range has been stopped due to strict quarantine measures. An ongoing snail infestation in the United States was prevented. In Europe, including Russia, where Achatina survival in nature is impossible, they are often kept as pets.

A terrarium for Achatina can be made from a simple aquarium. The minimum size is 10 liters per snail. The larger the aquarium, the larger your snail will grow. The terrarium must have a lid, because snails can crawl out of it. It is advisable to arrange small holes in the lid for better gas exchange. As a last resort, you can simply lift the lid to create a small gap. You need to put bedding on the bottom of the aquarium. The bedding can be Begonia soil, or ideally a coconut substrate 5-7 cm thick. You can build a small bath with fresh water; Achatina loves to swim. The main thing is that the depth of the bath does not allow the snail to choke. In general, Achatina crawls well under water, but if it accidentally falls into the bath from above, a small snail can drown from fright. You also need to make sure that the bath does not turn over if the snail starts to burrow into the soil next to it, otherwise the water will spread out, which is not good.

The temperature and humidity required by Achatina are approximately the same as those in an ordinary city apartment. Soil moisture is determined empirically. If the snails sit on the walls of the terrarium all the time, it means there is too much water. If they prefer to be sealed (the evidence is hidden in the sink and closed with a lid), on the contrary, it is too dry. When the soil moisture is normal, snails crawl along its surface at night and often burrow into it during the day. To maintain humidity, it is enough to spray the soil and walls of the terrarium with a spray bottle twice a day.

To awaken a clogged snail, you can pour water over its mouth and carefully remove the cap, or simply place it in a terrarium with normal humidity. It is recommended to wash the terrarium at least once a week. The exception is a terrarium with a clutch of eggs, which must be cleaned without water so as not to change the humidity and not damage the clutch.

It is better to keep small snails without soil, covering them with cabbage or lettuce leaves, thereby increasing the chance of the snail finding food and making it easier to care for the terrarium.

Feeding the Achatina snail

It is better to feed as food is eaten and dried and remove any leftovers. Achatina eats vegetables, fruits and herbs, but in nature they do not refuse meat. Usually in captivity they are fed cabbage, carrots and cucumbers, but it is preferable to give them a more varied diet. This is necessary first of all so that at any moment you can switch to another available type of food. It is known that snails have certain food preferences, including many who prefer cucumbers and lettuce to other foods and, if they are fed only cucumbers from childhood, they often refuse to eat anything other than them, which can cause some inconvenience. Large snails can be given whole cores; they process food waste surprisingly quickly. Soft foods should be given only for a short period of time, otherwise they will flow and spread across the soil, causing it to become contaminated. It is generally not recommended to give soft foods to small snails. There was a case when snails buried themselves entirely in a banana and suffocated there. It is better to give very small newborn snails greens, grated carrots, and after a few days lettuce and an apple.

Can:

Fruits: apple, apricots, pineapple, avocado, bananas, pear, wild strawberry, strawberry, cherry, mango, papaya, plum, bunch of grapes, fig, watermelon, melon.

Vegetables: pumpkin, rutabaga, zucchini, broccoli, champignons, lettuce, cucumber, potatoes (boiled), carotel carrots, red peppers, celery, spinach, tomato, cabbage leaves.

Beans, peas (cooked or fresh), oatmeal.

Other: mushrooms, meadow plants/trees, nettles, daisy flowers, elder flowers, clover, dandelion, plantain, yarrow, sprouted oats, alfalfa, fruit tree blossoms (apple, apricot, peach...), bread (softened), milk (powdered) or natural), dairy/lactic acid products (without sugar, salt, spices), minced meat (minced meat, raw or boiled meat), egg (boiled), compound feed, meat and bone meal, peanuts (chopped), vegetable and meat baby food, gammarus.

It is important that the plants are not picked within the city, factories or enterprises, wastewater, or landfills. After you bring it home, rinse thoroughly in warm water!

You can’t (very important!):

Spicy, salty, sour, sweet, smoked, fried, pasta, potato eyes.

Effect of calcium on shellfish

Snails need calcium to build their shells. Calcium is a very common chemical element.

Lack of calcium in the snail's diet leads to curvature and deformation of the shell. The snail shell becomes softer due to lack of calcium; it is not protected from the environment. Since all internal organs are attached to the walls of the shell, any damage to it can lead to improper functioning of the organs or death. A mollusk that does not receive calcium from food, as a rule, lags behind in development: shell growth is disrupted or stops altogether, and puberty fails.

In order to prove how important calcium is for snails, I conducted an experiment.

Two groups of snails of the same age and species were taken and placed in the same conditions, but they were fed differently: some with food with added calcium, others with its complete absence.

Soon the snails of the second group stopped growing. It follows from this that calcium is indispensable for mollusks.

Breeding the Achatina snail (Reproduction of Achatina snails)

Snails are hermaphrodites, meaning each individual has both male and female reproductive organs. In the absence of a partner, self-fertilization is possible, but it is quite rare.

The snail can store sperm for two years after mating, using it to fertilize maturing eggs. The number of eggs in a clutch is about 200 (in some cases up to 500); the snail can lay 5-6 clutches annually. The size of one egg is 4.5-5.5 mm, its shape resembles that of a chicken. Egg development is possible at temperatures from 22°C and lasts from several hours to 17 days.

Discussion

I have such problems with snails...)

I bought sepia at a pet store and started giving it to the snails....and they gradually began to die.....)
the same situation with wild snails found on the street. fed... cucumbers and apples. I started giving sepia and 2 snails died immediately. At first they went limp, then they swollen and died.) There is 1 snail left and I don’t feed it sepia. I feed them the same apples and cucumbers. grass. and she’s fine....thank God) the conditions are the same....
Sepia is not so harmless. you can kill snails in a month....._ they really swell and don’t even hide in their house and die like that....)

07/22/2017 15:50:57, Lena

Hello, I bought turtle food at the pet store with minerals to strengthen the shell. I read the ingredients and I doubted it. Here is the composition: gammarus, granules containing shrimp meal, seaweed, fish meal, wheat flour, soy protein, mollusk shells, tubifex, vitamin and mineral complex. Do you think it is possible to feed Achatina snails?

01/11/2017 20:50:16, Ulka Akhatina

Hello! I have two Akhatinkas. Only for some reason they began to become clogged and did not come out for three or four days. I bathe them to wake them up and pamper them with treats! I would like to know more about them! How and where can I buy vitamins for my pets and everything they need for their prosperous life? Help me please!

10/16/2016 17:52:00, Guzel Khasieva

Thanks a lot! The article was very helpful!

01/02/2014 16:29:00, Ksyukha)

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