• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

Giant land snails?

Pet Corn Snake

Pet Corn Snake

New member
Hey guys, well I'm looking into keeping geckos at around December and I'm keen to make my collection of prehistoric pets get bigger and bigger, I guess giant land snails would fit this nicely, I'm really interested in reptiles and other animals that have a kind of prehistoric look to them, and also make good pets, has anyone here kept giant land snails before? will they be hard to look after? I have read they can grow pretty big, that's not a problem.. I have lot's of spare tanks around the house, they are selling on ebay for around £5. they would be sent in little tubs so they don't get killed, however I'm not sure on buying from "ebay" they are listed as food for reptiles because ebay does not allow people to sell pets, so there listed as food, but what do you guys think?
 
I've had land snails before- they were really fun, easy to care for, and bred very easily!!

Nanci
 
Nanci said:
I've had land snails before- they were really fun, easy to care for, and bred very easily!!

Nanci
Click to expand...
cool, so do they need heat? and will any kind of green grass or maybe vegetables be good for it's food? I'm really tempted to get one, do they handle well? what substrates best?
 
The ones I had ate iceberg lettuce. They were in a bare tank, no substrate, with potted plants that they climbed on and laid eggs in. I bet you could make a really nice natural viv for them, though. Terrarium moss would be nice. And some logs and stuff to climb. The hardest thing to clean was the lettuce after if got rotten. Oh- they had a glass lid and would climb upside down on that.

Nanci
 
Ohh, snails sound cool. I have never had them, but I don't think I would buy them from ebay.

I bet they are pretty easy to care for and you have the awesome Nanci who has kept snails.
 
Why not buy them on eBay? I bought my (nice) bike and my laptop on eBay, as well as a thousand other things...Only got burned twice-DVDs.

Nanci
 
bill38112 said:
AND they're really good with garlic and butter! :dancer:
Click to expand...

If you don't mind eating something that looks like popped out dogs' eyes...

:puke01:

Nanci
 
Nanci said:
Why not buy them on eBay? I bought my (nice) bike and my laptop on eBay, as well as a thousand other things...Only got burned twice-DVDs.

Nanci
Click to expand...

Just my opinion but...I wouldn't buy them from ebay because I really don't trust online websites like that. They are also listed as food so that just makes be wonder. And...ebay isn't a pet website so I was just thinking get one from a breeder.

There is nothing wrong with ebay. I guess if you have had good experience with ebay, George, then go for it. Just make sure you know what your doing.
 
lol not a pet website?
Type in betta and see how many siamese fighting fish come up for sale. It's not like they're listed as food cause they're clearly not.
You can also buy pond snails too, also not listed as food.

That being said though, I probally wouldn't order "pet snails" off of ebay.
Doesn't pliskken keep land snails?
 
I keep giant snails, George. They're my second hobby after snakes, I absolutely love snails.

They aren't as easy to look after as some caresheets/books will have you believe, but they're easy as exotic pets go. For the record, iceberg lettuce is a very bad idea as it has pretty much no nutritional value. It just doesn't do them any good. Like most animals they need a varied diet. And believe it or not snails even seem to have personalities - some are shyer than others and they exhibit clear food likes/dislikes.

Despite the breeding/egg laying issues, I recommend you keep them in pairs or groups. Unlikely though it sounds, they do seem to benefit from company and they are more active and eat more heartily when they have social interaction with other snails.

As for food; mine eat a mixture of romaine lettuce, cherry tomato, apple, pear, strawberry, cucumber, courgette, water cress, and a few other things which I gave occasionally as a treat. They need constant supply of calcium to keep their shells nice and strong. They need high humidity (daily or at least regular misting the enclosure.)

I keep my adult pair in a 24" (2 foot) vivarium. I wouldn't keep them in anything less, personally. Here are mine:

Drusilla:

PICT0703.jpg


Groosalugg:

PICT0712.jpg


If you want George, I can also post pictures of my snail tank. Just ask if you have any more questions. :)


EDIT to add: It's a shame you didn't post this earlier, as I just got rid of a batch of babies I had for sale.
If you're interested, I can save you a couple next time they lay eggs. :)
 
LOL. Nice to be remembered. ;)

Oh, and I forgot to mention in my first post - bare tanks aren't recommended for snails as burrowing is a natural behaviour for them. They usually sleep buried and they also burrow to lay eggs.

You can keep them on flat substrate or bare glass, but you should provide a bowl or area of loose material so that they can still dig.
 
hey guys, thanks for all your comments,

wow Plissken thats amazing!! yea I know some people see snails as just slimey things but they seem SO different then just the label they are given, kind of like myself LOL :p

I have a 3ft tank that is just lying around atm, although it has now lid, I have read these things can get pretty big and like to climb so I would need something to cover the tank, I do have some money but not that much yet, I'm hoping to sell one or two old things that i don't use so i can afford to keep these, they don't seem that expensive to keep are they?

pictures of the tanks would be GREAT : ) mandy, who i got Damien from also sells giant African land snails, do you think these would be best to get not only because they are from a breeder but because they won't have to be shipped or anything..
 
Snails are beautiful. Most people laugh at that, but it is true in my opinion. I don't know why but they simply fascinate me. I've kept snails ever since I was a little girl. I adore them.

You will definetly need a lid. They climb a LOT. Mine will sometimes even sleep on the ceiling! They are also surprisingly strong, so get a lid that is heavy or can be clipped down. A 3ft tank would be heaven for snails!

No, they're not expensive. I spend around £2 a week on food and around £5-10 on substrate every few months.

I'm at work at the moment, but as soon as I get home I'll take some pictures of the tank for you. ;)

Get your snails wherever you feel happiest buying them, George. Be sure to enquire what type of giant snail they are though. Giant snails come in many subspecies. The easiest and best (for your first snails) to keep are called 'fulicas.'
 
cool thanks! wait, would a plasic tub do? a big one? they sell them in my local town pretty cheap and if you drill small holes in them it makes great little tanks ?
 
Storage tubs can be used if you like, but snails do tend to be very active in the evenings and they make great display critters. I like something which offers more visibility, personally.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top