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Giant land snails?

I used to have a group of giant snails, and they were great pets and got pretty big. I had a couple of big lumps of chalk in their tank and also bought 'cuttlefish' from the petshop for their calcium needs. The only reason I stopped keeping them was the constant breeding. I grew the first few batches of babies and gave them away, but then no-one else wanted them and I used to kill the eggs I found by putting them in boiling water, and it got a bit upsetting for the boys when they found out (This was years ago when they were small)
 
Plissken said:
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.
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Okay well tonight I'm going to do a lot of research, and hopefully tomorow I should have one, it's shopping day tomorrow witch means mum will be in the reptile shop town, I just got of the phone to mandy who says she has 2, but would you suggest getting both or just one?

the mister is not a problem, got loads of them that are not opened that i use for my hair,
I can get a tub untill I have a better lid sorted out, they are prerrt clear so it should be okay,
Fruits not a problem, I'm guessing it needs washed before feeding..

what about water?

also for calcium, is cuttle fish the right stuff? I think thats its name
 
Hang on a sec George... one nights research isn't sufficient preperation for any new pet IMO... even a snail... slow down :shrugs:

I recommend that you don't just buy one. Get at least two. Snails seem 'happier' with companionship.

ALWAYS wash all fruits and vegetables before feeding. Some fruits and veg should not be fed. Certain PARTS of certain fruits which are otherwise safe are poisonous and can't be fed.

Yes, cuttlefish bone is perfect. You can buy it in the bird sections, shops sell it for budgies.

Snails don't need water as long as you mist regularly. If you do provide water, a shallow bowl ONLY as snails can drown.

I really recommend you research some more, friend. Do you know what food is safe and what food isn't, for instance?
 
Plissken said:
Hang on a sec George... one nights research isn't sufficient preperation for any new pet IMO... even a snail... slow down :shrugs:

I recommend that you don't just buy one. Get at least two. Snails seem 'happier' with companionship.

ALWAYS wash all fruits and vegetables before feeding. Some fruits and veg should not be fed. Certain PARTS of certain fruits which are otherwise safe are poisonous and can't be fed.

Yes, cuttlefish bone is perfect. You can buy it in the bird sections, shops sell it for budgies.

Snails don't need water as long as you mist regularly. If you do provide water, a shallow bowl ONLY as snails can drown.

I really recommend you research some more, friend. Do you know what food is safe and what food isn't, for instance?
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oh sorry lol got ahead of my self there, i got abit exited, well I just remembered it's not shopping week for another week, so I have enough time to do research, I was just worried if i missed this week I would have to wait a while before the next shopping week.

Yea I will read a few caresheets and things, hopefully we can talk more about it you seem to know what your talking about with them : )

BTW yours look really nice in the pictures :D
 
diamondlil said:
I used to have a group of giant snails, and they were great pets and got pretty big. I had a couple of big lumps of chalk in their tank and also bought 'cuttlefish' from the petshop for their calcium needs. The only reason I stopped keeping them was the constant breeding. I grew the first few batches of babies and gave them away, but then no-one else wanted them and I used to kill the eggs I found by putting them in boiling water, and it got a bit upsetting for the boys when they found out (This was years ago when they were small)
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kool! yea I'm worried they might breed a lot.. but I donno.. maybe it will be cool : ) if they do have lots of babys, there is a local shop well.. not local.. but not too far away, anyways she would probably take them
 
Hehe, no need to rush things. Snails are never in short supply! ;) But there are plenty of things to consider:

Do you have the equipment to measure temps and humidity?
Do you know anything about snail diseases or injuries?
Do you know exactly what is poisonous and what isn't?
What substrate are you using?
Do you have hides, plants, a heat mat for them?
What will you do with their eggs?
Do you know how long they will live?
Etc...

If you have questions, ask away. I'm always happy to chat about snails. :grin01:

And thanks! Those pics are actually quite old - my snails are bigger and older now. I'll be home in about 40 mins, I'll get you some new pictures.
 
Plissken said:
Hehe, no need to rush things. Snails are never in short supply! ;) But there are plenty of things to consider:

Do you have the equipment to measure temps and humidity?
Do you know anything about snail diseases or injuries?
Do you know exactly what is poisonous and what isn't?
What substrate are you using?
Do you have hides, plants, a heat mat for them?
What will you do with their eggs?
Do you know how long they will live?
Etc...

If you have questions, ask away. I'm always happy to chat about snails. :grin01:

And thanks! Those pics are actually quite old - my snails are bigger and older now. I'll be home in about 40 mins, I'll get you some new pictures.
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Well, some of them things I don't know but I could learn about..

hides would not be a problem, I have lots, plants, not a problem.. I would probably use plasic, A heat mat, umm, nope.. my room is always warm, even on cool nights, its a smallish room with lots of things in it, so i'm sure if i kept them in a warm place that would be okay.. don't you think?

I don't know what I would do with there eggs, but If i didnt want them.. I would just ask you what to do and i'm sure you know lol, I read they live 5-6 years.. not sure on that though..
 
Ah, but that was my point. They are all things to be considered. ;)

They don't need heating most of the time, but I keep a spare for use in the winter. It's worth having as snails will seal themselves inside their shells if they feel too cold.

I freeze the batches of eggs. You can also boil or crush them. It sounds nasty, but seriously, hundreds of baby snails are hard to rehome. It isn't always kindest to let them hatch.

5-6 years is average, but they can live for 10 years!
 
Plissken said:
Ah, but that was my point. They are all things to be considered. ;)

They don't need heating most of the time, but I keep a spare for use in the winter. It's worth having as snails will seal themselves inside their shells if they feel too cold.

I freeze the batches of eggs. You can also boil or crush them. It sounds nasty, but seriously, hundreds of baby snails are hard to rehome. It isn't always kindest to let them hatch.

5-6 years is average, but they can live for 10 years!
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that all sounds cool! :D yea the summer is going to be a hot one so maybe a heat mat would be best bought around September for the start of the winter.

I would probably boil the eggs, crushing seems a little harsh IMO but ya'know..

yea I can imagine some baby's escaping and then breeding and me ending up with hundreds of massive snails eating the foundations of my house, it's my luck lol :p
 
texastailfeathers said:
Here are some sites that list safe (and unsafe) plants. The lists are for birds and other pets. I'm sure Becks can tell you if any of them are not safe for snails.

http://www.birdsnways.com/articles/plntsafe.htm

http://www.plannedparrothood.com/plants.html

http://www.multiscope.com/hotspot/safeplants.htm

http://www.animaladventurepets.com/Safe Plants.htm

http://www.cfainc.org/articles/plants-non-toxic.html
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Thanks I'll check them out as soon as i have some spare time later tonight!! thanks though! :D
 
LOL, somehow I just knew that Nanci would have had them at one time or another ! Thank goodness for Nanci and her vast amounts of knowledge and experience !! :bowdown:
 
Plissken said:
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.
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(When I had mine I was in sixth grade and there was no Internet...I wasn't claiming my husbandry was correct!)

Nanci
 
I'd buy fruits and veg from a shop rather than feeding them wild plants. It's safer IMO and much less hassle. If you like George, I can give you a list of safe foods and how to prepare them.

Achatina Fulica - yes, they're what I was talking about :)

Here are the pictures. A couple of my 24" snail home. You can see the dish of food, the cuttlefish bone, fake plants, a flowerpot hide and a bowl of digging material on the right side.

And for size reference, I included a picture of my thumb against one of my adults.

(And Nanci - I wasn't trying to knock your husbandry! Just telling George about mine! :) )
 

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Nanci said:
(When I had mine I was in sixth grade and there was no Internet...I wasn't claiming my husbandry was correct!)

Nanci
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That was almost exactly my age when I kept land snails and slugs. And like you, I fed them mostly iceberg lettuce. Now I know that it wasn't the best diet for them, but they seemed to do just fine on it; they grew very large and produced thousands and thousands of baby snails. :)
 
Great pictures, yea the list of food would be good, Ive been trying to rep you lol but it just keeps saying spread some more around.. I donno how that system works lol.. but anyways I seriously do appreciate everyones comments etc!! :) I love the look of your snail! it's massive!
 
Yvonne112 said:
I don't think I've ever seen a snail that big !! Did you have a leash for him? :)
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:roflmao:

Actually, this is one of the smallest subspecies of giant snail... there are other subspecies that grow much larger... ;)
 
Roy Munson said:
and produced thousands and thousands of baby snails. :)
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and thousands.. and thousands.. and thousands.. AHHHHHHH!!!


Just messing lol, did you enjoy keeping them roy?

would you personally suggest me getting them? like do you think I could keep them?
 
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