Easy to care for and interesting to watch, Giant African land-snails are ideal low-maintenance pets. They grow quickly and can reach more than 20cm shell length. Enjoy them. The following is taken from personal experience and is given free. Please consult books available written by snail experts if in doubt.
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Container for giant african land: You will need a container with a lid that has small air-holes. While the giant african land snails are small, this needs only be roughly 15cm wide by 20cm long and 15cm high or big enough for them to move around comfortably in.
Bedding for giant african land snails: The giant african land snails like to burrow in about 2 or 5cm of substate. Garden soil should not be used far it may contain chemicals. Smooth stones or bark chippings can be used, but we found that our snails didnt like these so much and spent a lot of time on the container sides or lid. Obviously, snails would not like anything sharp or prickly.
Cleaning outyour giant african land snails: If you remove old foodstuffs before it goes off, you need only clean out the container every two to three weeks. Obviously, the more giant african land snails you have, the more waste they produce. Baths (held running under a cool / lukewarm tap or in shallow water - no soap) makes shells shiny and clean and they come out of their shells so we can only assume they like it!
Habit and handlingyourgiant african land snails: Giant African land-snails are nocturnal by habit and move around less during much of the day, becoming active in the early evening. They can be woken with a bath and dont seem to mind. The very outer edge of the shell lip is thin and delicate because its where they add new shell to make themselves larger. When handling, avoid touching this part. The giant african land snail will repair small breaks on the edge of the shell, but it makes that part more fragile, and leaves a mark.
Food for yourgiant african land snails: Giant African Land Snailsshould be fed Lettuce leaves and sliced cucumber, but the snails will have a nibble at many vegetables and fruit, e.g. apple, melon, strawberry, cabbage, carrot. All foods need to be dusted withcalcium for thier shells to form proper. I currently sell two forms of calcium, the first is'Calcium Additive'which is sprinkled on the food and provides them with essential calcium, the second is 'Calcium Addtive Plus'this has all the benefits of the standard calcium additive, but has the added benefit that it will detere worms from your snails, and also flies from the enclosure. I also sell a'Complete Snail Food'this contains everything your giant african land snails need, so will not require any additives. My'Snail Food'is a complete food, but it is still benificail to your snails to provide them with fresh greens and other vegetables.
Moisture / Drink for yourgiant african land snails: The giant african land snails need their bedding to be damp / moist but not wet. We found a light spray with a plant mister each / every other evening worked well. They do like a little beer but make sure they dont get too tipsy and drown. A shallow tray with water in is enjoyed, but not a necessity, they drink the moisture off the tank sides when sprayed.
Temperature for yourgiant african land snails: Inside a centrally heated house is fine; giant african land snails like to be between 17-24 degrees on average. Direct sunlight (eg windowsill) is not good; they may overheat and die.
Breeding yourgiant african land snails: Giant african land snails are hermaphrodites (male and female at the same time) and if adults are in ideal conditions and breed, they can lay 200 eggs each. They can burrow under thesubstarte to lay. From one mating, several clutches of eggs can result because the giant african land snails keep a love dart of spermatazoa under the skin behind the head. If you dont want to end up with babies, just freeze the eggs in a plastic bag for a couple of hours and dispose of them. Left, they will hatch in 14-21 days. If keeping them, its best to put the eggs in a separate container from the adults to make it easier to clean out the big ones and avoid the babies being disturbed or squashed when they hatch.
I hope you found this guide helpfull. If you did please leave a comment.
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