On this page you will find information on the general care of Giant African Land Snails.
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I currently have East African Giant African Land Snails (Achatina fulica), West African Giant African Land snails (Achatina marginata) - they have thier own separate page - and Giant Tiger Snails (Achatina achatina) from Ghana - this page is on general care, but the pictures are mainly of the East African Spiecies .
Why snails? Well, I'd always wanted snails ( I was a strange child, even stranger as an adult!), and when Helen offered me some babies.....!
Snails are very easy to keep - their diet consists mainly of cucumber, lettuce and other fruit and vegetables. Mine are particularly fond of the soft, round English lettuces, not so fond of Iceberg (ie the one which would work out cheaper because it lasts longer!!). Luckily my babies ate this quite happily though (something to do with them not having much choice I think! :-) They also like banana, peach (Herc can quite happily much his way though an eighth of a peach with no problems!) plums, melon, pear, mango, sharon fruit, phylisalis, paw-paw, greens (ie spinach, cabbage, kale etc etc), green beans, corn on the cob (you should have seen how they stripped this - and I thought the rats got through it!) and tomatoes. They're supposed to like apples, but mine are a bit too spoilt I think.....! They will also eat raw meat - Herc liked mince, but wasn't too chuffed with the chicken, and cat treats/dog biscuits (wet or dry) and brown bread go down a treat too! Wait till your snails get big - you can actually hear them crunching on the lettuce and cuttlefish - I tell no lies!!!
They also like tortoise food - either dry or soaked in water. If you live in an area where you're likely to be snowed in in the winter, it's handy to keep a jar of this stuff for emergencies - it keeps for ages, and the snails don't mind it one bit!.
Snails also like a drop of beer (mine will suck it from my fingers - you can feel them rasping - but they'rre mad anyway!) - and this, in moderation will not hurt them (a drop once a fortnight should be sufficient - you don't want an alcoholic snail!:-). You do not have to provide drinking water - as long as you keep the snails damp, by spraying with (warm in winter!) water about twice a day, depending on how quickly your peat dries out, they'll get all the moisture they need from this and their food, but they do appreciate a small bowl of it in thier tank. (If you're using a heat mat, remember the peat will dry out much faster, so you'll need to 'water' your snails more often). I've found that the little rock effect drinking bowls that are sold in reptile shops are ideal - they are graduated so that your snail will not drown, and flat so as the snail will not tip them up, and this is what I use when giving the snails water (or beer if you so desire).
The important thing to remember is that the snails MUST have a constant supply of calcium to keep the shell strong (the shell is, after all, the snail's home, and without it, he'd die!!). This is easily given - just pop a washed cuttlefish bone in the tank - they will devour it ravenously - you'll be surprised!! (other sources of calcium include egg shell, calcium supplements from pets shops, crushed snail shell, and natural chalk - again, make sure it's washed)
The picture below shows what the margies do to cuttle bones ... you can (hopefully!!) see the little marks made by the radula):
REMEMBER - ALL FOOD MUST BE WASHED BEFORE BEING GIVEN TO THE SNAILS
Snails are very easy to handle - all you need to do is take a little care! Make sure that you don't hold the shell by the delicate part where the new growth joins on to the existing shell - this corner is a particularly delicate area - unfortunately it also happens to be one of the most natural places to put your fingers when you hold your snail! If you do damage the shell - don't panic - snails have an amazing ability to repair it (which is why the calcium is so important)!
To get a snail off the side of the tank I find it is best to spray the snail and your hand, then gently slip your finger under his head, then using both hands slide your finger under all the way under his whole body, while GENTLY pulling him off/supporting him with your other hand. If he won't come, don't force him!
With time snails can become very tame - mine will quite happily sit on my hand! Make sure that you wet your hand before placing the snail on your palm (and it's a good idea to make sure your hands are clean first!) - I find the easiest position is to put the snail on with his head facing your wrist - that way, you can support the point of the shell with your fingers, while your hand remains still, and you can easily observe as your snail emerges from his shell and attaches himself! Prepare to be slimed! :-)
Snails are cheap to house - all they need is a tank (glass or plastic)! Make sure it's well ventilated, and not in an area where it's going to be fried by the sun, or get too cold. The ideal temperature for a snail's tank should be between 18 degrees Celsius and 29 degrees Celsius - the best temperatures are from 21 - 23 degrees. If you live in a very cold climate (such as the south coast of England!! :-) , you may need a heat mat during the winter. These can be purchased fairly cheaply from pet stores, and should cover about half the tank (full set-up details should be provided with the mat). Make sure that the snails can move away from the heat if they get too hot - they should be OK without any heating in the summer (unless you live on an ice-berg)!.
At the bottom of the tank you should put peat (see this page for some more information!) or other suitable substrate, such as compost or chipped bark. Make sure this has not been treated with any chemicals. It should be changed around once a week, depending on the size of tank, number of snails etc. Snails like to bury, so make the covering as deep as you can - apparently if there is less than 1" the snails are discouraged from breeding - I wish somebody would explain this to mine :-D! I also have a rock and a piece of cork bark (I found that because the tank needs to be kept damp at all times, normal wood rotted!) for effect - not essential, but they make the environment a bit more pleasing to look at, as does a strip of fish tank backing across the back wall - a real jungle effect, and the snails love to hide under thier cork tunnel! My snails currently reside in a plastic cage that was originally made for guinea pigs ... not cheap, but it does provide plenty of room for my brood! It's easy to clean, with the top and bottom coming apart (and in the top there is a metal grille, for air circulation), and it contains the moisture brilliantly.
This is the new and improved tank (ie the cavey cage!). The bars at the top have been removed, and if you look you can see the snails in there! It also shows the cork bark, food, cuttle bone and water bowl I use.
To clean the cage I just tend to use a very weak anti-bacterial household cleaner (this is what I use on the rats cages too!). This helps remove the slime and peat from the tank - make sure that the tank is rinsed well though. I have also heard that vinegar is good for removing the slime, but I've not tried this personally. I also give the snails a quick bath to remove dried on peat and dirt - I dip them in warm water, then use a soft toothbrush to VERY GENTLY remove the dirt from the shell, especially that which gets trapped in the crevasses. With the older snails I just tend to lay them on the palm of my hand - that way, they are secure, and I don't crush the shell, and the chances of them slipping out of my fingers are minimal. With the babies you have to be very careful, as the shells are a lot softer, and they're a lot harder to keep hold of! Make sure that you hold your snail over a table etc, just in case of accidents, as slimed on shells are very slippery when wet!! Bathing the snail is certainly not essential, but it does make the shells shiny! Just make sure that you don't scrub to hard (especially near the new shell growth) - scouring pads are not recommended! :-D
Giant African Land snails are hemaphrodites (ie they are both male and female). The snails breed by shooting white 'love darts' into each other - you can sometime see this as a white bulge on the neck, just behind the snails eye, on the right side! I panicked when I first saw this - I though it was a parasite! It can stick out quite a long way......!!! :-)
I've been keeping them since October 1996, and I've had loads of batches of eggs (I have to check every other day for nests). You can easily recognise these - they will be about 4 mm in length (for the East African species - Achatina fulica - this is the one most commonly held in captivity), and either white or yellow in colour - and they are the same shape as hens' eggs. There could be several hundred. The first batch of eggs were weak and infertile, but after that they went mad! One batch I did let hatch - I had about 90 babies for re-homing (yes, I know I shouldn't have kept that many!!)! They took about three weeks to hatch after they were laid - I found that they hatched fine just left in a bowl, inside a tank, on top of the TV! I put the eggs in the bowl with a bit of the peate in which they were laid - make sure the peat is kept damp by spraying it as and when necessary (one way to help keep the peat damp is to put a sheet or two of kitchen towel in the bottom of the bowl, before you put the eggs and peat in) , and the eggs should not be allowed to get too hot or cold (that's why I used the TV - seemed to work quite well!)
One of my home bred fulica, from the first batch I ever hatched
The babies are very small and transparent at first, but they quickly grow! If you need to move them, try putting a lettuce leaf in the tank and letting them all climb aboard, or alternatively use a clean, soft, damp paint brush (or makeup brush!) to pick them up. Like the adults, they must have a constant supply of cuttlefish, but they will also eat their own egg shells to start off with! If you have babies and are wondering what to do with them, try your local Reptile centre - this is where mine went!
That's about it really - this page is in no way the definitive Giant African Land Snail guide - but I'm doing my best! I can't find much stuff on snails anywhere, books or the net, so if anyone can suggest a good read, or has spotted any glaring errors in this text, please let me know! Snails are a fascinating pet though, and I swear they do have their own personalities (I talk to mine and they seem to respond - pass the straight jacket!!), if you just take the time to just sit back and observe them! Hey, if you though watching fish was relaxing ........!! The picture below shows just how cute they can look! :)
I've deliberately tried to keep the number of pictures on this page to a minimum (heh heh - not very well, I know!!!) to help loading times. If you want to see the piccies that didn't make it to this page please go to the Giant African Land Snail Picture Gallery!
Text and photos © copyright Annette K Goodman, 1998/99/00/01/02/03/04. Any part of this information may be printed off and used by individuals for non-profit purposes only, as long as the appropriate acknowledgement of authorship is noted.