Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Pets

Join our community on the Pet forum to discuss anything related to pets.

Flip

Original poster

please tell me about giant African land snails

23 replies

Wailywailywaily · 15/09/2014 22:26

I have just agreed to take one that needed a new home. It is about 4years old and its shell is about 5 inches, it is huge!
How much and what care does it actually need?

OP posts:

elQuintoConyo · 15/09/2014 22:39

I think EatShitDerek has got one, and another MNer... whose name escapes me

Original poster

Wailywailywaily · 16/09/2014 09:12

If there is more than one of this bugger in the country all our crops are in for it thats for sure . I think our women should be safe though as they are not great at persuit.

I have three massive books on the lid of his tank as he looks capable of lifting anything lighter and I really don't want to tread on him as he makes his slow escape across the carpet.

Also, OMG, they have teeth. There is a cuttle fish in his tank and he has eaten half of it overnight

OP posts:

elQuintoConyo · 16/09/2014 23:29

Teeth? TEETH? [faint]

Apparently kids get very excited if you take them around schools for show and tell!

Is it a boy ir girls snail? What its name? Can he walk slime around your house or will he stay in his tank?

I'd quite like to take Spongebob's pet Gary for a walk

elQuintoConyo · 16/09/2014 23:30

LoonytoadQuack · 16/09/2014 23:37

I thought snails were hermaphrodites?

Original poster

Wailywailywaily · 17/09/2014 13:05

I think it is hermaphrodite, I certainly have no idea how to sex a snail.

Show and tell it a great idea, it seems fairly robust so I don't think a class of 5yos could possibly do it any harm make it earn its keep.

It stays in his tank which is approximately twice his size- I think that will be the first big investment, a large glass tank. Having seen what he can do to a cuttle fish there is no way I'm risking keeping him in plastic.

OP posts:

Angelface5 · 27/09/2014 09:25

They love cucumber and always need cuttlefish for shell growth. Will basically eat any fruit veg salad. My daughter has about 40 adults and hundreds of babies if it gets too cold will bury down in soil and seal itself in shell. They need to be kept warm x

CheckpointCharlie · 27/09/2014 09:29

Don't get any more........ They hide their eggs under the soil so you can't see them, then, WHAM you have 500 new ones.......

Original poster

Wailywailywaily · 27/09/2014 12:09

How cold is too cold? Ours does seem to spend most of the day under the soil but I caught it muscling the lid out of the way the other night so I'm thinking it may be nocturnal. Our sitting room is about 18-20degrees most of the time.

It is fed cucumber, apple, strawberry and it went mad over the pepper I popped in there

It had a brand new cuttle fish the other week and it has nearly finished the lot, is this normal?

OP posts:

Expedititition · 27/09/2014 12:13

It needs a heat mat really. And a nice big tank. Twice its size is far too small really. They LOVE a bath in shallow water. I run warm water into the sink and they stick their heads right under the tap! Make sure you have wet hands if you hold them or it's quite uncomfortable for them.

Expedititition · 27/09/2014 12:14

I use a toothbrush to gently clean their shells too. They love it!

Fubsy · 27/09/2014 12:17

We had two but never saw any eggs - maybe they were gay?

youbethemummylion · 27/09/2014 12:17

You will need a heat pad for the winter we thought the central heating would be enough but our snail got too cold sealed itself inside its shell and died.

stargirl1701 · 27/09/2014 12:18

When you see eggs, remove them and freeze them to kill them. Otherwise...

stargirl1701 · 27/09/2014 12:18

When the tank fills with mucous that means eggs are on the way!

Expedititition · 27/09/2014 18:03

My 4 sealed themselves up once when their heat mat wasn't working. They aren't actually dead. You just warm them up and they pop back out. They leave an air hole in the white cover.

Original poster

Wailywailywaily · 28/09/2014 07:42

Hmm think I had better invest in a heat mat and bigger tank then. He seems to have gone to sleep for over 48 hours.

How long is a safe time to hibernate? I don't want to just wake him up to a cold tank again.

I'll try him in the sink with the tap, thanks expidititition

No chance of getting anymore unless you tell me he will get lonely

OP posts:

Expedititition · 28/09/2014 07:57

I think it's best never to let it get to the point of covering itself over.

They do eat meat too IIRC. I'm not sure a snail had the capacity to be lonely and I have heard of them eating each other so maybe stick with one!

I assume you shallow water in the tank too. They like humidity.

Expedititition · 28/09/2014 07:58

Sorry. Missed the bit where he is already asleep. Pick him up and see if he has covered his entrance in a white film.

Expedititition · 28/09/2014 08:03

If you spray it's shell with warm water or run it under a warm tap it should come out. I wouldn't bother until it's tank is warm though. It is from Africa.

Also, spray it's tank daily with warm water for humidity. The heat mat should be only on one side of the tank too so there is the option of a cold end.

neiljames77 · 28/09/2014 08:04

So if it's a hermaphrodite and you say to it, "go f*ck y'self",it actually can?

Expedititition · 28/09/2014 08:33

Um no. It still needs two snails to make a baby. They shoot white darts into each others heads and give birth from a hole behind their feelers!

Purpleflamingos · 28/09/2014 08:40

My neice has two (she's 7yrs old). All I know is there's a heat may under their cage.

Unhelpful.

Flip