Click on any of the thumbnails below to get the full image!
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A few months ago I purchased a Giant Tiger Snail (Achatina achatina) from www.cicada.co.uk. This is now the biggest snail I own at present! He's quite secretive, but on the few occasions I have seen him stretched out, he's at least as big as my hand (ie not small!! :-) I've yet to see him *fully* stretched out along the side of the clear tank, but I await this day with loaded camera!  A. achatina with Helix aspersa balanced on his back!
I also purchased a small friend for him, who, unfortunately, was a little too small to breed. These snails were wild caught in Ghana, not something I totally agree with, but, as these were destined for the cooking pot anyway, and as my ultimate aim is to breed them, I felt it worth the risk. I was also recently given another big one, almost as big as my original snail, plus several smaller babies (thanks Ross!). Here's picture of them all - more to come! :)
 Physically he looks similar to the marginata - dark in body colour (though the babies are a lovelly lighter grey colour!), with rough skin. His shell is more prominently striped (hence the name) with the bands more clearly defined. The apex of the shell is not quite as rounded as the margies', and he doesn't have the pink apex, though there is a pink hue on the inside lip of the shell. Food and carewise he seems to require roughly the same as the marginata - though he can make even shorter work of a cuttle bone than they can! More about this snail and his friends as and when there's news! :) |
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