Is it possible to have regular snails? Snail house, Sofia, Bulgaria. Achatina care

Garden snails are one of the easiest and cheapest pets to keep at home because they often live in large numbers in the garden, eating plants. Although snails need to be fed and watered at least once every two days, they are easy to care for if you know what they need. A snail can live for several years in a container with a constantly maintained environment.

Steps

Making a house for snails

If the snail will not live with you for a long time, take any container with holes for ventilation. If you are going to observe the snails for several days and then release them back into the garden, then it makes no difference what container you take, as long as the snail has access to oxygen. A plastic container or a jar with holes in the lid will work well. Instead of a lid, you can use a piece of gauze, wrap it around the rim of the container and secure it with an elastic bandage.

• Remember that snails can climb vertical surfaces and may escape if the container does not have a lid.

1. If you are leaving the snail for a long time, purchase a larger terrarium or aquarium. If you are going to keep the snail for longer than a few days, use a container that will provide the snail with enough space for its size. Only baby snails or tiny adults can stay in a plastic container for a long time. Most snails need an aquarium to keep them clean and healthy. At the pet store you can buy a terrarium designed specifically for snails.

   • Use an aquarium of 19 liters or larger to give the snail enough space to move around. If you have several snails or are going to take care of the young ones or the adults are breeding, buy a larger aquarium.

2. Make sure there is free flow of air into the terrarium. Just like humans, snails breathe air using oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. The terrarium must have holes through which air will pass, preferably on different sides, to improve air circulation. Some snail owners have noticed that they are more active when there is a tiny hole in the bottom of the terrarium for air to escape.

   Keep the terrarium at room temperature. As long as the terrarium is humid, most snails will not be particularly affected by temperature. On the other hand, they will be most active and feel safe at room temperature. Keep snails in cool shade during hot weather and avoid exposure to frost.

   Buy soil or soil for your terrarium. To reduce the likelihood of harmful bacteria, pesticides and other hazards, purchase soil for your terrarium from a pet store. Another good option is to take natural soil from a garden that has not been treated with pesticides or chemical fertilizers. Place a layer of soil on the bottom of the terrarium, completely covering the glass or plastic.

   • Do not take soil from flower pots - there may be substances harmful to snails.

3. Add a layer of natural matter on top of the soil. Place a layer of sphagnum moss, peat, compost, or vermiculite on top of the ground. This will retain moisture inside the soil, creating favorable conditions for snails.

   Decorate the snails' home. Place objects in the terrarium that the snails can hide under or climb on. This will make their home more comfortable, and it will be more interesting for you to watch them. Most pet stores sell artificial logs that small animals can crawl through, or short tubes for hamsters that are also suitable for snails. You can find interesting materials to use in your garden too! Stones are a wonderful addition to a terrarium. The bark and branches usually fall off after a couple of weeks, so you will have to replace them.

   • Cardboard toilet paper rolls are also great for climbing on top.

4. Attach a heavy or snap-on lid. Snails are extremely strong relative to their size, and can climb to the top of almost any aquarium. The closing lid, which is secured with a latch, will prevent their escape. If the lid of your terrarium does not have a latch, weigh the lid down with a stack of books or another heavy object.

   Feed your snails clean food every day. Most snails are not picky eaters and will happily eat almost any fresh fruit and vegetables. Wash all food thoroughly with clean water before feeding it to your snails, and cut large vegetables into chunks or chunks. Some foods, such as potatoes or carrots, need to be boiled for a couple of minutes to soften the vegetables a little. Always cool cooked food before feeding it to your snails.

5. Find out what foods can harm snails. The nutritional diet of snails has not been particularly studied by scientists, so snail owners have no consensus on which foods are harmful to snails and which are not. Below is a list of types of food that are harmful to snails, from the most dangerous food to the least dangerous:

   • Salty food can kill snails. Completely avoid anything with salt crystals.
   • Do not feed pasta, rice or millet. This starchy food can cause a blockage in the snails digestive tract. Do not feed snails these foods.
   • Plants grown at home may be exposed to exhaust fumes from cars and can therefore be dangerous.
   • Acidic foods like citrus fruits, tomatoes and kiwis can harm snails. Or maybe it won't hurt them. Use this food in small quantities, adding it to your main meal.

6. Clean the terrarium once a month or whenever it gets dirty. Gently pick up the snails, beckoning them under your head with your finger, and transfer them to a temporary container on a towel. Remove old soil by pouring it into the garden. Use a damp sponge with a little soap to scrub the walls and bottom of the aquarium to get rid of snail slime and waste. Rinse the terrarium thoroughly to remove any traces of soap, as it is harmful to the snails.

   • If the temporary container is small, do not leave the snails unattended.
   • Do not close the snails in a container without air access.
   • When replacing soil and other materials in your aquarium, follow all the steps described above in the section on how to set up a snail's home.

• If the snail does not come out of its shell, gently hold it for a while. Soon the snail will crawl out. Do this over and over again, and the snail will get used to you.
• To pick up a snail from the surface of the terrarium, gently wiggle your finger under its head. If the snail tries to hide, place a piece of food to lure it onto your finger. Place your finger and entire hand under the snail's body so that it does not fall before you pick it up.
• Place bunches of dry leaves in your snail's tank and keep them well moistened. Snails love to crawl on leaves and hide in them; they spend most of their time there.
• If the snail constantly rises to the top of the terrarium, the whole point is that it lacks air. To fix this, drill holes in the terrarium for better ventilation or buy a new one.

Warnings

• Do not attempt to decorate a live snail's shell with glue or other art supplies. These substances can kill the snail.
• While giant African snails and apple snails love saucers of water, garden snails can drown in them. Use a spray bottle or spray bottle to moisten the terrarium, but do not place a saucer of water.
• Supervise small children to ensure they do not eat the snail as it may cause serious illness.

Exotic pets are becoming more and more popular every day. One of their most unpretentious species is the Achatina - huge snails, perhaps the largest of the mollusks. Unlike their closest relatives, Achatina snails are quite smart and intelligent. They may even have conditioned reflexes. These mollusks quickly get used to their owner and can distinguish him from strangers, while they do not require much attention or special food.

Initially, Achatina lived only in Africa, but gradually, thanks to humans, they spread to other regions. For example, in Japan they were grown on special farms and then eaten. In Southeast Asia, many African countries and even America, Achatina is considered a pest. They cause considerable damage to reed crops, causing the death of young trees and other plant crops. Giant snails can even eat the plaster off houses to get the substance they need to grow their shells. In Russia, Achatina are not able to survive in natural conditions because the climate is too harsh for them. Therefore, giant snails in our region can only be found as pets.

African snail Achatina - structural features

Among land mollusks, Achatina is the largest. Its shell can reach twenty-five centimeters in length, and its body thirty. A snail has a heart, a kidney, eyes, a brain and a lung; by the way, in addition to it, the mollusk also breathes through its skin. At the same time, she hears absolutely nothing. Achatina's eyes are located at the ends of the tentacles; they help the snails perceive levels of illumination and objects located at a distance of no more than a centimeter. In addition, the snails also perceive the degree of brightness of the lighting with light-sensitive cells located throughout the body, which may be why they do not like blinding light.

The shell protects the mollusks from drying out and becomes a protection for them in case of any danger. It can have a very interesting pattern and color, which can change depending on what the snail ate. Achatina senses odors through the skin of the entire anterior region of the body, as well as through the tips of the tentacles. With the help of them and the sole, the snail perceives the textures and shapes of objects.

Types of Achatina

There are more than one hundred species of giant snails in nature. It makes no sense to dwell in detail on each, since the conditions of their detention are practically the same. Let's look at the most common types of Achatina, which can be found more often than others in pet stores.

The easiest to care for, and therefore the most common of the giant snails, is the Achatina fulica species. Its representatives have a variegated shell that changes color depending on the diet, and a brownish or brownish soft body with pronounced tubercles on the skin. Achatina fulica is slow and loves to rest a lot in a secluded place.

The second most common type of snail for home keeping is Achatina reticulata. Usually its representatives have a pattern on the shell in the form of stripes and dots, the color of the soft body is black or dark brown with a light border of the “legs”. Achatina reticulata are curious and active, often raising their heads in an attempt to examine what is happening.

You do not need any special equipment to keep Achatina. They can even be placed in an old, cracked aquarium, since you don’t have to fill it with water. Instead, you can even take a plastic box, but in this case it will be difficult to observe your pets due to the poor transparency of the walls. But it is better to avoid using a cardboard box, since Achatina can chew through it.

For one snail you need a “house” with a volume of at least ten liters. If you plan to have several Achatina, its volume should be at least twenty to thirty liters.

The aquarium must always be covered with a piece of plexiglass with holes or a special lid. Otherwise, you will have to search throughout the house for the snail. But you cannot tightly close the aquarium, since the mollusk constantly needs fresh air. If the lid does not contain holes, then leave at least a small gap.

At the bottom of the aquarium, you should definitely place soil for Achatina in a layer of up to ten centimeters. It should be loose, well-permeable to air; subsequently, the snail will burrow into it and lay eggs. Coconut substrate or soil for replanting flowers, which can be found in any flower shop, is suitable for this. The main thing is that there are no fertilizers or other harmful additives in the soil. It is also not recommended to use sawdust and clay soil as soil. Sometimes it is recommended to fill the terrarium for Achatina with sand, membranes of walnuts or pine bark. You can experiment and choose the most convenient option.

Whatever soil you choose, keep in mind that it should always be slightly moist, but not waterlogged. This will maintain optimal humidity in the aquarium. You can determine the degree of humidity by the behavior of the snail. If it tries to close itself in the sink, the air is too dry, but if it constantly hangs on the walls, the humidity is too high.

Since the African snail Achatina loves to swim, it wouldn’t hurt to place a shallow container of water in its “house.” The container must be heavy and stable so that the mollusk cannot turn it over. It is recommended to pour very little water into it so that the snail cannot choke in it. Change your bathing water about once a week.

Since Achatina is a native of Africa, it is logical that she loves warmth. For her, the most comfortable temperature is around 26 degrees. Since it is usually lower in our apartments, a dim lamp will help provide a suitable climate for the snail. Of course, you can do without this, but just keep in mind that Achatina, kept at home at temperatures below 24 degrees, will be a little lethargic and not particularly mobile.

The mollusk does not need special additional lighting. Akhvtins are indifferent to light intensity. However, for snails it is important that day alternates with night regularly. Moreover, they are more active in the dark. During the day, snails prefer to hide in the ground or other secluded places. Such places can be created by placing large stones, driftwood, coconut halves, etc. in the aquarium. In addition, you can plant live plants in the aquarium; they will also become additional food for Achatina. Ivy or fern are best for this.

How to care for Achatina

Achatina does not need any special care. All you need to do is change the bathing water, clean the aquarium every one and a half to three months and change the soil in it. If desired, sometimes wash the snails under slightly warm running water, and, of course, feed the pet.

What do Achatina eat?

Achatina can eat almost anything, and the taste preferences of each snail are often significantly different. However, the basis of their diet is still plant foods. It is recommended to give them apples, lettuce, and cucumbers. In summer, young leaves and herbs, such as clover or dandelion, can be added to food. In addition, snails can happily eat bananas, watermelon rinds, bell peppers, pumpkin, tomatoes, melon, corn, various berries, zucchini and spinach. But most snails don’t like carrots and potatoes. To diversify Akhatana's diet, sometimes give her dry unleavened cookies, bran and oatmeal. Occasionally you can offer her meat, egg whites or poultry.

Calcium must be present in the snail's diet. Therefore, the aquarium should always contain ground eggshells or natural chalk; you can also place limestone or mineral stones in it.

Reproduction of Achatina

Despite the fact that Achatina are hermaphrodites, living alone they rarely lay eggs. Therefore, if you want to get offspring from a snail, it is better to place a “friend” with it. Moreover, for the role of a female it is worth choosing an older snail; a sexually mature, but not very large mollusk can cope well with the role of a male.

Akhatana usually lays about two hundred eggs at a time, from which, depending on the air temperature, tiny, about five millimeters, snails appear after a week or three. They reach sexual maturity after six months, and continue to grow almost their entire lives.

Advantages of the African snail Achatina

Of course, the Achatina snail is not an affectionate cat or a playful dog, but it also has its own considerable advantages. She will not require daily walks or frequent feedings from you, she will not whine at night and chew her slippers, and you will have practically no need to spend money on her maintenance. Nevertheless, Achatina may well bring more than one pleasant moment. The snail is very interesting to watch, especially when it is bathing, crawling on glass or slowly moving along your hand. You can even try to “train” it by developing conditioned reflexes in the mollusk.

But the main advantage of the Achatina snail is that you can easily go on vacation or a business trip and leave your pet unattended. After all, for a long time without receiving food and additional moisture, Achatina simply hibernates. Returning home, you just need to sprinkle water on the hibernating mollusk and it will soon wake up. Achatina snails, whose care and maintenance fully meet the requirements, can live for about ten years. Therefore, they can become your faithful companions for many years.

Achatina snails in cosmetology: reviews, photos, contraindications. How to use Achatina snails in cosmetology?

It is not for nothing that snails have been associated with eternity since ancient times. Their use helps maintain health and prolong youth. One of the most valuable species is the Achatina snail. Their miraculous properties are widely used in cosmetology and medicine.

Such procedures are most popular among the fair half of humanity. With their help, a wide range of skin problems are solved.

What are Achatina snails?

Achatina snails in cosmetology, reviews of the beneficial properties of which inspire confidence, are already widely used in Holland and France.

Africa is considered the birthplace of these mollusks. It was from there that they spread to other continents. These mollusks do not live on Russian territory, since the climate does not allow it. All available individuals are raised in conditions specially created for them.

Types of snails Achatina

To date, more than a hundred species of snails have been discovered, which can be classified as giant. Their mucus is practically indistinguishable in its composition. Among them, the most popular, due to their widespread use and low maintenance requirements, are:

• Achatina reticulata;
• Achatina fulica.

What is needed for growing at home?

You can also keep mollusks in an aquarium with soil, but it must be constantly moistened. For swimming, you need to place a container of water in the aquarium. The comfortable temperature for snails of this species is 26 degrees Celsius.

By observing the behavior of pets, you can determine whether they are comfortable in the created conditions. If the habitat is too dry, the mollusks will often hide in the shell.

At home, Achatina lives 7-10 years.

How to use for cosmetic purposes at home?

In order to undergo massage and skin regeneration procedures with the help of snails, it is not necessary to visit a beauty salon. You can keep Achatina at home and carry out procedures on your own at any convenient time. A common question that arises when Achatina snails are mentioned is: how to use them in cosmetology?

In fact, the procedure for skin rejuvenation with the help of Achatina is quite simple:

1. First, you need to cleanse your skin of any remaining makeup.
2. Then you should wipe it with a cotton pad soaked in milk.
3. Achatina should be washed with slightly warm running water. They wash not only the abdomen, but also the house of the mollusk.
4. The snail is placed on the problem area of ​​the skin, after which it is given the opportunity to move along the surface of the skin.
5. After the procedure, which lasts 10-15 minutes, the mollusk needs rest. It must be moved back to the terrarium.
6. The mucus remaining after the snail moves is evenly distributed over the surface of the skin.
7. It is necessary to allow the mucus to be absorbed and dry, after which the skin is washed with warm water without using soap.

Achatina snails play an important role in cosmetology, since their mucus has a rich composition. Therefore, having such an unpretentious pet at home, you can maintain healthy skin without visiting expensive beauty salons.

Cosmetology

Achatina snails are used in cosmetology due to their mucus, which contains large amounts of collagen, glycolic acid and elastin.

Ointments and creams are made from snail mucus, which make the skin soft, like that of small children.

It has been noted that people who breed snails are less likely to suffer from skin diseases on their hands. They heal cuts and wounds faster. Products based on Achatina mucus help eliminate scars and stretch marks.

Achatina snails in cosmetology, photos of which are presented in this article, have occupied their niche. Procedures carried out with the help of snails already have a large number of adherents.

Massage with Achatina

Achatina snails are used in cosmetology more often than other types of mollusks for daily massage.

Moving over the skin, the mollusk gently massages, improving blood circulation and relieving spasms. These procedures are also useful for those who have varicose veins. Thanks to the massage of Achatina snails, blood vessels are strengthened and blood circulation is improved.

The great advantage is the delicacy with which the procedure is carried out. Slowly moving along the skin, the mollusks gently massage without causing pain.

Achatina snails in the fight against cellulite

Those who want to remove fat in problem areas and get rid of cellulite usually know first-hand what Achatina snails are in cosmetology and how to use mollusks. Regular massage with Achatina snails in the area of ​​the thighs and abdomen will help make the skin smoother and eliminate the “orange peel” effect.

If you use Achatina in the fight against cellulite at least 3 times a week, then after a short period of time, equal to 1-2 months, you can get rid of this problem.

Contraindications

Anyone who has no fear or disgust towards shellfish can use a product such as Achatina snails (in cosmetology). These creatures have no contraindications for use for cosmetic purposes.

But before carrying out a treatment or massage session, you need to make sure that you are not allergic to the components of Achatina mucus. To do this, you need to place the mollusk on the skin of the wrist for a small amount of time.

If any side effects appear after this procedure, it is best to refuse skin treatment in this way until consulting a specialist doctor.

Those who decide to get themselves an Achatina must first undergo at least one cosmetological procedure of “snail therapy” in the salon. If you are allergic to any component of shellfish mucus, it will manifest itself. This will save you from a thoughtless and useless acquisition.

Achatina snails in cosmetology: reviews

A large number of positive reviews on various websites and blogs allows us to conclude that the use of snails for cosmetic purposes is popular.

Users note the following as the main advantages:

• rapid appearance of the effect;
• painlessness of the procedure;
• no need to use synthetic products.

Sometimes the only reason that determines the refusal to use snails in cosmetology is fear or a feeling of disgust towards mollusks.

Experts note that snails in cosmetology are a good alternative to expensive procedures. Thanks to the ease of growing snails and the small list of contraindications for preparations made from their mucus, they are gaining more and more fans.

In this regard, an increasing number of cosmetology centers offer “snail therapy” in their range of services.

The Achatina snail in cosmetology is simply a godsend for those who do not want to resort to the help of surgeons and use various injections for rejuvenation.

Regular use of Achatina snails for cosmetic purposes will help quickly improve blood circulation, skin condition, and reduce stretch marks and scars.

What benefits does the Achatina snail bring to human health???

✿Elena m✿

Recently, there has been a fashion for other land snails - giant African snails, or Achatina. This is the largest land mollusk on Earth: its shell can reach a length of 25 cm, and its body can reach 30. The Achatina is native to East Africa, but now they can be found in many parts of the world. For some countries with a climate favorable for giants, snails are unusually dangerous: they are voracious and multiply rapidly. So, in America there is a quarantine on Achatina, and anyone who would decide to breed them would face imprisonment. But in Europe, and in particular in Russia, Achatina does not live in the wild, so they can be kept as pets.

The beauty of these snails is not only their huge size. Achatina are real beauties, and the owner can simulate the color scheme of the shell of his pet: if you feed the mollusk something red for some time, for example pepper, its shell will begin to acquire shades of red. By switching your snail to a green diet, you will add new colors to it. The main distinguishing feature of Achatina is their intelligence. They very quickly develop conditioned reflexes: snails get used to their owners, distinguish them from other people, and they develop a clear daily routine. But most importantly, no matter what kind of snails become the inhabitants of the house - grape or Achatina, they will undoubtedly bring great benefit to their owners: calm, meditative and even majestic snails incite the same feelings in their owners.

What is the best way to keep Achatina?

Vladimir

Brief recommendations on the content of Achatina
The African snail Achatina fulica belongs to the class Gastropods, order Stalk-eyes, family Helicidae.
In captivity, Achatina lives 5-9 years, gains size throughout its life and grows up to 15 cm in length.
Terrarium. A terrarium for Achatina can be made from a simple aquarium. The minimum size is 10 liters per snail. The larger the aquarium, the larger your snail will grow. The terrarium must have a lid, because snails can crawl out of it. It is advisable to arrange small holes in the lid for better gas exchange; ideally, insert a metal mesh. As a last resort, you can simply lift the lid to create a small gap. At the bottom of the aquarium it is necessary to place a bedding made of sand, conifer bark, sawdust or peat. Each of these types of bedding has its pros and cons, but I prefer to use conifer bark. It is easy to wash, not difficult to obtain, and dirt is less noticeable on it. You can build a small bath with fresh water; Achatina loves to swim. The main thing is that the depth of the bath does not allow the snail to choke. In general, Achatina crawl well under water, but if it accidentally falls into the bath from above, a small snail can drown from fright. You also need to make sure that the bath does not turn over if the snail starts to burrow into the soil next to it, otherwise the water will spread out, which is not good.
The temperature and humidity required by Achatina are approximately the same as those in an ordinary city apartment.
Soil moisture is determined empirically. If the snails sit on the walls of the terrarium all the time, it means there is too much water.
If they prefer to be clogged (the evidence is hidden in the sink and closed with a lid), on the contrary, it is too dry. When the soil moisture is normal, snails crawl along its surface at night and often burrow into it during the day. To maintain humidity, it is enough to spray the soil and walls of the terrarium with a spray bottle once a day.
To awaken a clogged snail, you can pour water over its mouth and carefully remove the cap, or simply place it in a terrarium with normal humidity. It is recommended to wash the terrarium at least once a week. The exception is a terrarium with a clutch of eggs, which must be cleaned without water so as not to change the humidity and not damage the clutch.
It is better to keep small snails without soil, covering them with cabbage or lettuce leaves, thereby increasing the chance of the snail finding food and making it easier to care for the terrarium.
Feeding. There is an opinion that Achatina can be fed once a week. I beg to differ with this. Achatina survive, grow and even often reproduce with this diet, but often live shorter lives and grow more slowly than their normally fed relatives. It is better to feed as food is eaten and dried and remove any leftovers.
Achatina eats vegetables, fruits and herbs, but in nature they do not refuse meat. Usually in captivity they are fed cabbage, carrots and cucumbers, but it is preferable to give them a more varied diet. This is necessary first of all so that at any moment you can switch to another available type of food. It is known that snails have certain food preferences, including many who prefer cucumbers and lettuce to other foods, and if they are fed only cucumbers from childhood, they often refuse to eat anything other than them, which can cause some inconvenience. In particular, I had two snails that would not accept anything except bananas and newspaper. Large snails can be given whole cores; they process food waste surprisingly quickly. Soft foods should be given only for a short period of time, otherwise they will flow and spread across the soil, causing it to become contaminated.
It is generally not recommended to give soft foods to small snails. There was a case when snails buried themselves entirely in a banana and suffocated there. It is better to give very small newborn snails greens, thinly chopped carrots, and after a few days lettuce and apples.

Alex

I have it in coconut substrate. Soaked briquette from a flower shop. They live in an old aquarium. Definitely a source of lime carbonate, I have crushed zebra mussel shell and chalk. I feed vegetables. Last year there were an incredible number of juveniles!

Radmila Mordvinkina

Alexander Ananyev

In a glass jar or container/aquarium, coconut shavings can be poured, there should be moisture, you can sometimes bathe. DO NOT give citrus fruits, raw potatoes, and bananas for little ones.

How are snails useful?

™Unquenchable Star... ®

Why snails are useful - snails are different from snails.



Almost ninety thousand different species of snails are known. They are found in cities and deserts. In the Sahara, for example, snails are found in places where the temperature in the shade is 45 degrees. There are snails that live in the water of hot springs. At the same time, they tolerate cold well.
An experienced gardener, choosing a head of cabbage for himself in the garden, will cut the one on which he sees a snail. He knows that this gourmet unerringly finds the best head of cabbage.



In ancient Rome, roasted grape snails were considered a delicacy. The famous naturalist Pliny testifies to this in his book “The Life of Animals.” And in our times there are still connoisseurs of this dish. In different countries there are special farms where grape snails are bred. They are exported. And in our country, the army of lovers of tender snail meat is growing. The fact is that it contains 20 times more vitamins than creamy meat or eggs.



Snails serve as food not only for humans. They occupy not the last place in the fish menu. When dissecting Caspian sturgeons, for example, it was discovered that the contents of their stomachs consisted of 80 percent mollusks, mainly snails.
In ancient times, a substance was extracted from the glands of sea snails and purple snails, from which purple was made, which was used for dyeing fabrics, as well as in painting and cosmetics. One gram of purple yielded ten thousand shellfish.

On some Pacific islands, the shells of rare species of snails still play the role of money. They are used to produce buttons and jewelry. Since ancient times, these snails have been used by the natives of the islands of Oceania as a tool for drilling holes in wood and even stone products. It takes a snail, which is called the “oyster drill,” 20-30 hours to gnaw a hole in the shell of an oyster, mussel or some other shell.



An interesting use has been found for the snails Strophocheilus popelarianus in factories where cigarettes are made. The height of the shell of these snails reaches up to 14 cm. Its strength can be judged at least by the fact that they are used as an iron when smoothing tobacco leaves.
Representatives of the genus Trochus, living in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, have mother-of-pearl shells of extraordinary beauty, which are used in the button industry. And the shells of a smaller species of trochid, Trochus adriaticus, are used only for jewelry.
In nature, adult individuals act as scavengers, eating decaying plant debris and animal excrement. However, young snails greatly harm cultivated plants by eating banana buds, various fruits, and tubers.
More about Gastropods, gastropods (Latin Gastropoda, gastro - “stomach”, poda - “leg”), or snails are the most numerous class within the phylum Mollusca, which includes about 60,000-75,000 species.
All the most interesting things about snails
About the benefits of snails

Jenya Jenya

There are benefits from snails in any case, both aquatic and terrestrial.
Benefits of aquarium snails
Snails are natural orderlies: they destroy food residues, dead fish, fish excrement, rotten parts of plants, film on the surface of the water, and plaque on the walls of the aquarium.
Snails play an important role in maintaining biological balance in an artificial pond, and the behavior of some snails (for example, melania) serves as an indicator of the cleanliness of the soil or water, which helps the aquarist to notice and solve the problem of pollution in time.
Snails are beautiful in their own way and can serve as an element of aquarium decoration.
The ancient Greeks considered them a medicine and, indeed, helped against illnesses. Another ancient people - the Phoenicians - extracted beautiful dye from red snails and dyed clothes with it. And in Africa and South America, the shells of large snails were replaced not so long ago... money. In ancient times, people also revered the snail because its shell has the shape of a spiral. And the spiral has always been considered a symbol of life.
Beetles, birds, snakes, mice feed on snails; many predators also do not hesitate to feast on snails... Beetles, worms, and other small insects consider snail eggs the most delicious food and diligently search for them. Many fish eat aquatic snails
Snails are considered a delicacy in many countries around the world. Snail dishes are especially popular in France. It is in France that escargot is prepared - a special snail dish that affects human sexual activity.
Snails have been eaten since ancient times. Thus, the first written mentions of the use of snails as food date back to ancient times. In Ancient Rome, a snail dish was considered an indispensable attribute of any celebration. Snail was considered not just a tasty dish, but also a medicinal remedy. Snail decoctions were prescribed as a medicine for bleeding, eye diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, and as a remedy for wound healing.
There are special types of snails that are used for cooking. The most common species are grape snails (aka Helix pomatia, Burgundy snail, Roman snail). This type of snail lives in damp deciduous forests, bushes and ravines, where there is enough moisture.
Grape snails grow quite slowly; they begin to be used as food only in the second or third year of their life. This type of snail can grow up to 40-45 mm.
Snail dishes are rightly called dietary. In 100 gr. The product contains 10g of protein, 32g of fat, 5g of carbohydrates, as well as vitamin B6, B12, iron, calcium, magnesium. Snail meat is soft, it is easily digestible and breaks down. So, for example, if it usually takes an average of 4-5 hours to digest pork or chicken, then 2 hours is enough to digest snail meat.
Snails are especially recommended for those who have calcium imbalances in the body, pregnant and lactating women, children and people suffering from diseases such as chondrosis and collagenosis. Snail meat improves intestinal function and normalizes metabolism. It is believed that due to the magnesium content, snail meat can have a calming effect on people and helps fight stress.
Before using snails for food, they are put on a special diet for several weeks. During the diet, snails get rid of various harmful substances that they could have absorbed when they fed in the wild. To make the snail meat more delicious, they are fed with thyme and fennel.
The process of preparing snails itself looks something like this: first, the snails are thoroughly washed in water, then they are blanched, cooled, removed from the shells, boiled in broth with spices and white wine, then put back into the shells and baked in the oven. Before the shells go into the oven, a little garlic butter and parsley is poured into them.

So, snails occupy an important place in the food chain, processing organic residues.... But what benefit humans have is still unclear))))

Benefit in what way?
Here in terms of cooking "On the benefits of snails" - http://efamily.ru/articles/103/1078
And here about aquariums “Snails - benefit or harm” - http://e-url.info/read10.php
Here’s another “...from the narcotic poison of the pot-bellied cone, pharmacists prepared an amazing painkiller. It is stronger than even morphine. And drugs for the treatment of epilepsy turned out to be the most effective of all known. Moreover, as it turned out, snail drugs do not cause side effects.. "
http://www.ressina-privivka.ru/friend/gady.htm
Garden, vegetable garden In addition to harm, "...Slugs and snails also perform an important sanitary function in the garden, processing plant remains that are dead or damaged by other pests..."
http://www.gardenia.ru/pages/vribol_007.htm

Treatment with snails (snail therapy)

The giant African snail Achatina fulica is the most suitable pet for managers and simply busy people. This pet does not need to be walked, taken to the veterinarian and spent a lot of money on its food. He won't wake you up in the morning with loud barking and won't ruin your favorite furniture. There are no allergies to it, and it wonderfully relieves stress.

In the tradition of Slavic healers, many forces of nature were used: herbs, honey, clay, stones and animals. Many treatment methods, having traveled an amazing path, have returned to us today in the form of stone therapy, honey massage and even hirudotherapy (leech treatment) and bee therapy.

But one of the effective types of human treatment, using the forces of living nature, has been undeservedly forgotten - treatment with snails.
It’s good that the bearers of the tradition of Slavic herbalists are still preserved, so now there is an opportunity to get acquainted with the amazing area of ​​​​restoring human health - treatment with snails in the tradition of Slavic herbalists.

Snails, these amazing, leisurely creatures, thanks to their unique features that nature has endowed them with, will help you and your patients get rid of:

- From cellulite and “heavy fats” that cannot be removed by any physical exercise.
- From muscle spasms and clamps (including clamps in the collar area), and without pain!
- From inflammation that causes infertility and other serious diseases.
- From stress and diseases caused by nerves (dermatitis, psoriasis).
- From vegetative-vascular dystonia.

The latest discovery in the field of medicine calls the snail a brain donor, based on the positive results of careful studies of the neurons of these snails, and in particular the fact that human neurons and snail neurons require the same ionic composition of the environment when grown in culture ...

Any woman would like to have a miracle cream that would effectively care for the skin, moisturize it and delay aging for a long time. And it would be nice if such a cream was natural. Don’t be surprised, but such a remedy exists - it’s the mucus of medicinal snails. Are you disdainful?

Of course, not every woman can try procedures using snails. And anyway, such a service is not very common here. But those who dare and allow gastropods to wander through their bodies receive the effect mentioned above. This miraculous cream is the mucus that is secreted from snails as they “walk.” In the language of cosmetologists, snails produce a mucus wrap that rejuvenates and tightens the skin.

People first started talking about the benefits of snail mucus when they noticed that the skin of snail farm workers did not age. It was later found that this mucus smooths out wrinkles and prevents dry skin.

Snail mucus contains a huge amount of bioactive substances, probably familiar to you: collagen, glycolic acid, allantoin, natural antibiotics and vitamins, with the help of which the snail restores its body and “repairs” its “house”. Therefore, snails can treat scars, scars, burns, cuts, and inflammation.

As a rule, snail mucus does not cause complications, allergies, etc., so it may be suitable for those who deny themselves spa treatments due to any illness. Snails can also help get rid of stretch marks and age spots, this is very important for young mothers. All you have to do is let the little doctors crawl all over your body.

Application of snails

Considering their properties to regenerate cells, as well as the positive effect of their impulses, Achatina is used as a natural massager. The snail must first be washed in cool running water. Prepare your face and neck for the procedure: remove makeup and wipe with milk. Then put the snail on the skin. She must “walk” through the areas offered to her, after which she is returned to the house. You will evenly distribute the healing secretions over your face and neck and keep them on the skin for 15 minutes until completely dry. At the same time, the skin is significantly tightened. After washing, you will feel its extraordinary freshness and velvety feel. It is advisable to carry out this procedure every other day, or at least 2 times a week.

How many species of snails are there in total on earth and which of them are the largest?

Victoria

In addition... .

The smallest snail is the cone snail. One dose of poison can kill 10 people. Moreover, scientists have not yet found an antidote. Habitat: tropical zones of the Indian and Pacific oceans, from Polynesia to the east. coasts of Africa and the Red Sea.
Pepper benefits and harm to the body

When, when asked about pets, a person begins to talk emotionally and enthusiastically about his snails, this causes surprise, bewilderment, or even disgust for many. Cute kittens, playful puppies, bright fish... But slippery snails! Many people simply cannot comprehend how they can keep these slugs at home. Nevertheless, on the VKontakte social network alone there are more than three hundred groups of lovers of the popular Achatina snail species. Some have tens of thousands of users.

Slowly but surely

So, what makes snails attractive as pets? They do not require a lot of attention and painstaking care: wash the aquarium once every two weeks, change the soil once every month and a half. They do not take up much space and do not cause allergies. They do not litter, do not make noise, and do not have an unpleasant odor. They are not at all picky about food, and you can feed them only a few times a week.

Of course, there are also disadvantages. Firstly, Achatina can reproduce at the speed of light. And for this they do not need a partner - they are hermaphrodites. A snail can lay up to several hundred eggs at a time! The only way to get rid of masonry in a humane way is by freezing it. If you do nothing, in two months the eggs will hatch into transparent snails, which will eventually turn into huge, palm-sized, or even larger, adult snails.

Secondly, Achatina sleep a lot during the day and are awake at night, so it is not always possible to communicate with them at a time convenient for you.

Thirdly, such pets can scare away guests. I once heard a story when a guy left a girl after learning about her strange pets - he couldn’t come to terms with the fact that his sweet passion with gentle hands was touching these slippery creatures.

But if these shortcomings do not frighten you and the thought that when you come home from work, sit in front of the aquarium and watch a snail slowly and leisurely move across the glass warms your soul, showing by its very appearance that there is no need to run or rush anywhere, then go for it. Try making yourself a new friend. Perhaps it will not seem so slippery to you.

I'll put it in good hands

Buying Achatina today is not a problem. On many websites you can find advertisements where these snails are completely given away for free, which is not surprising, given their ability to reproduce en masse.

The snail will need a house. An aquarium, terrarium, and a plastic house for rodents are suitable for its maintenance. At first, you can use food containers and other plastic containers. But as the individuals grow, such houses will have to be replaced with something more substantial, with a volume of 10 liters per adult snail. Don't forget about the tight lid - this is necessary both to maintain moisture and to prevent the snail from crawling away. Although these pets are slow, they constantly strive to sneak away. You will then look for them on the curtains, shelves or ceiling. Several small holes need to be made in the lid to allow fresh air to reach the snails.

At the bottom of the container you need to pour soil with a thickness of 2 to 10 cm, depending on the size of the Achatina. Common soil for flowers, coconut substrate, sawdust, conifer bark or peat are suitable as soil. Do not place stones or other hard objects in the aquarium that could cause the snails to break their shells.

The microclimate in the house should be warm and humid. If the room is cold, you can heat it next to the snails’ home using a regular light bulb. Once a day you need to spray the aquarium and its inhabitants with warm water to maintain the level of humidity they need. If the snails are more than one and a half months old, water should be placed in a small container in the house. These clams love to drink and bathe, so sometimes they can be pampered by washing them under the tap using warm water.

Snails feed mainly on plant foods. They love lettuce, cucumbers, zucchini, apples, pears. They love bananas, but you should be careful with them - Achatina may refuse other food after this delicacy. In winter, snails will not disdain dry rolled oats, pharmaceutical nettles, and frozen vegetables. Some owners of Achatina say that their pets eat cottage cheese, raw eggs and even meat. You can experiment. However, under no circumstances should you give them salty food - it is fatal to them. Sugar, flour and fried foods are also dangerous. To ensure that snails have a strong and beautiful shell, you should periodically offer them chalk or ground eggshells.

Caring for Achatina is quite simple. But if she suddenly doesn’t like something (it’s too dry or cold), she may hibernate. It will close the shell with a door, and it will not be easy to get it out of this state - you will have to bathe the snail in warm water until it looks out of its house.

Achatina is the largest land mollusk on earth. In nature it can reach 30 cm in length. It lives in the forests of Africa and Southeast Asia on tree trunks and feeds on leaves. In Europe, the survival of such snails in nature is impossible, but here they are kept as pets.

BEAUTY SALON AT HOME

You've probably noticed face and body care products on store shelves with the prominent inscription “snail mucin.” It has recently become one of the most popular cosmetic ingredients. After it became known that snail mucus contains substances such as collagen, allantoin, vitamins, glycolic acid, it began to be actively used in cosmetology. In addition to industrially produced creams, lotions and tonics, procedures in salons using snails are also in demand. People who want to smooth out wrinkles, make scars less noticeable, or get rid of acne, freckles and age spots turn to snail therapy. And they shell out a lot of money for it. But owners of Achatina can easily carry out such procedures at home.

First, wash and clean your face or any other part of the body on which the snail will crawl. This is necessary in order not to harm the health of the mollusk. Lubricate your skin with a natural moisturizer like fresh cucumber juice - this will help little “cosmetologists” move faster. Rinse the snails with warm water and place on the skin, leaving for 15-20 minutes. After this procedure, there is no need to wash off the mucus; it is better to leave it on the skin until completely absorbed or rub it in gently with massage movements.

Mila KOVALEVA

Land snails are unpretentious and cute pets. Many breeders believe that these gastropods have very high intelligence, and watching them is a real pleasure.

It should be noted that land snails at home are not that uncommon. The popularity of these gastropods is determined by various factors. So, snails are not at all boring, as it may initially seem. In addition, they are incredibly easy to maintain, since they do not require large financial costs and special care.

• does not make noise;
• does not require walking;
• does not smell;
• eats almost everything;
• does not stain clothes and furniture with wool;
• does not require expensive, complex or frequent maintenance;
• does not scratch or bite;
• does not take up much space;
• you can take the snail with you on vacation, or leave it alone at home;
• practically does not get sick and lives a long time;
• does not cause allergies.

Types of land snails

These creatures are great for keeping at home. For example, the land snail Achatina is considered the most popular inhabitant of terrariums.

It is a large snail whose shell reaches 20 cm in length. She is not picky about food and is very inert. The snail rests most of the time.

Achatina immaculata is distinguished by a stripe along the entire head, as well as a pinkish rim running along its shell.

Achatina reticulata is a curious and active representative of the family.

The land snail Achatina vulgaris has a tiger coloring and is gigantic in size, its shell reaches 20 cm in length. At home, it has more modest parameters.

In addition to Achatina, Achatina is also popular among domestic breeders because it has a huge variety of colors, while being much smaller in size than Achatina. Their shells reach 5 cm in length and 4.5 cm in height.

Advantages

The main advantages of these pets are their undemanding maintenance. The land snail lives well at home in terrariums or small aquariums. It is clear that such a pet does not need to be walked. While the financial costs are also insignificant, they can be fed fruits and vegetables in small quantities. For land snails, it can be done only once a month, and its cost is low.

It is worth noting that keeping land snails is very simple. To do this you will need a 10 liter glass terrarium. The top of the terrarium should have small holes for proper ventilation so that pets cannot crawl through them. The temperature in the terrarium should be constant and not exceed 27 °C.

It is advisable to place heating sources on the outside of the aquarium - they can be thermal cords or thermal mats. At the same time, internal heat sources pose a danger to land snails, as they can suffer serious burns.

It is better to use it as soil. The thickness of the flooring should correspond to the overall size of the snails, which will allow gastropods to completely bury themselves in it during daytime sleep. It is necessary to maintain constant soil moisture, for which it will be enough to lightly spray it with water once a day. It should not be over-watered.

The soil needs to be loosened periodically. But in the terrarium it is necessary to plant green non-toxic plants, for example, lettuce or cat grass.

Continuing to find out how to care for land snails, it is worth noting that their aquarium needs weekly cleaning of its walls every day with a damp cloth, without using household chemicals.

Land snails are very fond of water treatments. To do this, they can be bathed under a thin stream of lukewarm water or in a shallow, separate bowl. The pet's sink also requires special care; it must be cleaned during bathing with a soft brush to remove dirt.

If something irreparable happens - for example, a sink breaks or there is a hole in it, try gluing it together with BF glue. Such a snail has very little chance of survival, but it still exists. At the same time, in young animals, any damage to the shell is healed without problems, while adults suffer much more severely (although their shell is more durable). But a snail with a shell split into pieces cannot be saved.

Nutrition

Land snails rely on plant foods as their main source of nutrition. Pets happily eat all kinds of greens, as well as fruits and vegetables, which are served cut into small slices. Solid foods should initially be grated.

Domestic land snails, as a supplement to their plant diet, happily consume various protein foods - fish food, seafood and meat purees, gammarus, daphnia. Such feeding should be offered to pets several times every week.

Domestic snails should not be offered various salty foods, since salt is poisonous to any gastropod!

For proper shell development and strength, you can introduce calcium into your pets' diet in the form of sepia or crushed eggshells.

Reproduction

Snails are hermaphrodites, which means keeping two or more snails in one terrarium can lead to their fertilization. The majority of these mollusks lay eggs, although viviparous species are also found. Basically, the snail buries its clutch in the ground, and it is advisable not to miss this moment, since the clutch is removed from the terrarium and carefully placed in a separate container.

In this case, it is necessary to maintain the same soil consistency and humidity where adult individuals live. Soon the small snails hatch and then crawl to the surface. The babies are completely ready for life and feed on the food that their parents eat, but until their shells get stronger, it is better not to put them with large snails.

Walks

Land snails do not need walks, like other domestic animals, and fresh air has a very good effect on them - the gastropods' appetite improves and activity increases. They are taken outside on a cool day in a container. A very short walk is enough for them - only about half an hour. At this time, you must carefully ensure that the snail’s skin does not dry out; for this, it is recommended to spray it with water from time to time. Also protect the container from direct sunlight.

In order for such an unusual pet as the Achatina snail to live and reproduce for many years, you need to know the specifics of caring for it. Large decorative mollusks have managed to win the hearts of many animal lovers. They are no less interesting to watch than fish or reptiles, and the maintenance and reproduction of Achatina does not take much time.

Huge snails: where did they come from?

Large gastropods live in Thailand, the Caribbean, California and India: they have managed to spread throughout the tropical zone of the whole world. Initially, the large house snails Achatina fulica and related species lived in African rain forests. They settled, crossing the oceans on ships along with cargo.

The giant snail is able to go without food and water for a long time, hibernating, and awakening in favorable conditions. In tropical countries, African snails most often found the local climate quite satisfactory. The rapid reproduction of mollusks has made them serious agricultural pests, but in some countries the giant Achatina is valued for the exquisite taste of its meat.

In European and Russian conditions, a tropical animal can only survive in a terrarium.

But the pragmatic British nevertheless passed a law that prohibits throwing exotic pets into the street. This was done not out of love for them, but in order to prevent the invasion of a new pest, especially considering how long Achatina snails live and at what speed they reproduce.

Achatina is different

Among the domestic Achatina snails, there are individuals with different patterns on the shell, with different colors of the body (legs) and slightly different in size (the maximum shell size is 12–20 cm). In fact, these are just different types of Achatina and Arkhatina. In addition to the most common type of fulica (giant), in terrariums you can find a variety of reticulata (reticulate) and representatives of another genus, the already mentioned archachatina.

The Achatina fulica snail, despite its name, rarely reaches a shell size of 12 cm. Most often, individuals are found about 10 cm long. The color of this species in nature is dark, stripes of brown and yellow are clearly visible on the shell. Fulics are slow and rest more often.

Reticulated Achatina has a high growth rate and can reach a length of 14–15 cm (shell size) even when kept in a terrarium. Its leg is light beige in color, while its head is almost black. Convex ribs are clearly visible on the shell. The color of the shell is light, with uneven dark stripes and strokes. This species has an interesting feature: the snail reacts to an object that attracts it by extending its head and examining it. Reticulates are more mobile than their counterparts and more often escape from the terrarium. Their lifespan in captivity, like their counterparts, is 5–10 years, depending on the conditions of detention.

The largest are the archahatines.

They differ from previous species by the blunted top of the shell. Its coloring resembles the stripes on the carapace of the fulica, but is not so contrasting. The length of the shell of an adult animal reaches 20 cm. At home, there are individuals with a light body, but the natural color is dark, almost black.

In addition, there are selective forms bred artificially: standard, black-headed, rhodation, hemeli, albino, which are distinguished by an unusual, lighter color of the leg and shell. The white jade snails are especially beautiful: their shells are the usual color with dark zigzag stripes, but their bodies are snow-white. The usual laws of the market apply to such snails, so the rarer the unusual varieties of Achatina are found, the more valuable they are. But caring for such rare mollusks is practically no different from what natural species need. Biologically, this is an ordinary Achatina, and keeping it at home follows general rules.

The breeding forms appeared as a result of the selection of unusually colored snails that were accidentally bred among the offspring of “wild” varieties. It may be interesting for a breeder to discover in the next litter a baby that is different from the others. He may even start a breed of his own by raising it and purposefully breeding and selecting the offspring of yet another unusual variety. Due to the extraordinary fertility of African Achatina, this can be done even at home.

How to keep a giant snail at home?

The most important thing that a breeder who is involved in keeping the Achatina snail and breeding interesting mollusks should remember is their constant need for calcium carbonate. This substance is the main component of the shell. With a lack of calcium in the diet, the shell becomes thin, breaks more easily, and the snail stops growing. Changes also affect internal organs, which often leads to illness and early death of the pet.

In order for the snail to feel good throughout all the years of its life, grow well, reproduce successfully and produce healthy babies, you need to ensure that there is constant access to a source of calcium carbonate. In natural conditions, all types of Achatina snails eat soil rich in chalk, scrape limestone and bird egg shells with their radula.

At home, they are deprived of the natural variety of chalk sources, but a caring owner must artificially introduce them into the diet.

If you wish, you can buy pressed chalk for parrots at a pet store (it should not contain salt) and put it in the terrarium. The African snail itself will eat it in the right quantity. You should not use school chalk sticks - silicate glue is often used to press it.

Chicken egg shells are also a good source of calcium salts. It needs to be dried and ground in a coffee grinder. The easiest way to add the powder is to grain feed or sprinkle it on juicy vegetables. This feeding should be given to young mollusks, and large adult mollusks will be able to scrape off shell particles with their “tongue” themselves. You can put it whole in a terrarium with large gastropods.

What else will Achatina eat?

The nuance of how to care for Achatina and how to maintain them is feeding. Being familiar with grape snails, slugs and other mollusks, a novice Achatina breeder can assume that they eat plant foods. He will be partly right, but this is not enough for good growth and development of gastropods.

Giant snails are omnivorous creatures.

Feeding them is not only about providing green plants. Some mollusks are quite capricious and have their own preferences. Only their owner can know how to feed such gourmets, if he is observant enough. But the general principles of feeding, as part of caring for Achatina, include the following points:

1. When raising young animals, you need to remember that the snail feeds constantly, finding food during its travels. Having eaten, she rests for a while, after which she looks for food again. Therefore, recommendations to feed young animals once a day are not based on anything. Young animals should receive food in the amount they need. To do this, the terrarium must always contain fresh vegetables and fruits (carrots, apples, pieces of cucumber or zucchini - depending on the season). Snails eat cabbage and lettuce well; in summer you can give clover, plantain, and dandelion leaves. It is better not to give large pieces to very small gastropods. There have been cases where a mollusk bit into the flesh and then died there, unable to find a way out.
2. Unlike young people, adult snails prefer not fresh herbaceous plants, but those that are beginning to rot. But at home it is difficult to provide such a diet so that Achatina eats what it is supposed to eat by nature. Therefore, the same fresh vegetables are used to feed adult gastropods as for young animals. Some owners pamper their pets with exotic fruits. This is not necessary, but it is pleasant for both the mollusk and the owner watching it. Achatina can be given a banana, mango, a piece of watermelon or melon. Some people get too used to sweets, refusing to eat other foods.
3. It is very useful for both young animals and adults to give protein feed from time to time. You can offer them a piece of fish, chicken fillet or lean beef. Meat should be cooked without salt.
4. Among what Achatina eats, there are also grain feeds. At home, it can be rolled oats (oatmeal), egg or wheat, crushed corn. Grain feed can be given raw or cooked into a very cool porridge without salt.

Everything that contains salt should be excluded from the diet of pets: sausages, leftovers from your own meal, smoked fish. Inexperienced owners sometimes want to treat their Achatina to something unusual. They should remember that salt is a strong poison for shellfish: garden pests (slugs and snails) are often destroyed in a very simple way, by scattering it near the plants.

Do snails need water?

Adult Achatina not only drink water, but also bathe in it. Among the things needed for snails, there should be a wide flat vessel of small depth where the mollusks can refresh themselves. Gastropods need moisture to secrete protective mucus. Based on the size of the snail, it can be assumed that they require quite a lot of water, so you should not limit access to the source. If there is a lack of moisture, Achatina will not die, but will hibernate.

For young animals, the pond can be dangerous.

Like many land animals, snails breathe through their lungs, so immersion in water without the ability to quickly get out of there will result in the death of the Achatina baby. To provide them with moisture for drinking, you can place a piece of plastic on the ground, onto which you periodically spray water from a spray bottle when treating the walls of the terrarium. But young animals can get the bulk of their liquid from juicy vegetables (cucumbers or zucchini).

For gastropods, it is important not only to have water to drink, but also to have high air humidity. You can create it using a spray bottle, spraying the walls of their home 2 times a day. By evaporating, the water will maintain a normal microclimate in the terrarium.

How to equip a terrarium for shellfish?

When Achatina snails appear in the house, the care and maintenance of unusual pets become the main problem of the new owner of exotic animals. In addition to the pressing issue of what to feed Achatina snails at home, we have to solve another problem: providing favorable living conditions. Considering that these are tropical gastropods, the question of the appropriate temperature comes first.

Under natural conditions, snails live in hot regions of East Africa. The temperature there rarely drops below +20ºС. Mollusks will be able to tolerate lower values, but in order for them to live longer and not get sick, they should not be subjected to such tests: a comfortable temperature will be in the range of +20…+28ºС. It is quite difficult to ensure this in indoor conditions, especially in winter. To maintain a microclimate, you can use various types of reptile heaters, which are sold in pet stores. They need to be placed outside the terrarium so that the snail does not suffer from electric shock.

It is better to use a large aquarium as a container.

For 1 Achatina measuring about 10 cm, a volume of at least 10 liters is needed. When keeping several animals together, their space requirements must be taken into account.

When deciding what kind of soil snails need, you should choose clean, damp sand. This is a substrate familiar to them, which is quite accessible to the owner. Its disadvantage is that grains of sand can stick to the mucous sole of the Achatina. Crawling on the glass of the aquarium, they will inevitably stain it. Leaf soil can also be used as soil in the terrarium, in which adult snails can find plant debris for food. Both peat and flower soil from the store (without fertilizers) are very convenient. The soil must be slightly moistened: this will promote optimal air humidity and relieve gastropods from the need to produce too much mucus for movement.

The decor in the terrarium can be anything. You just have to remember that sharp corners and edges can injure soft-bodied inhabitants. When planting living plants, you need to select species with pubescence. Among indoor crops you can find such a variety of decor that choosing the right one will not be difficult.

Breeding is an interesting aspect of keeping Achatina

Once they reach 6–9 months of age, snails can begin to reproduce. To avoid uncontrolled population growth and problems with the sale of young animals, you need to know several rules for breeding:

1. Achatina are hermaphrodites. This means that they have both male and female organs. But the reproduction of Achatina snails still requires the presence of a partner; they cannot fertilize themselves. If the appearance of offspring is undesirable, you need to keep 1 animal or provide a separate container for each pet in the collection.
2. When purchasing an adult gastropod, you need to be prepared for the fact that it has already had contact with a partner, so the appearance of laying eggs and young animals is quite possible. Mated snails can retain sperm for 2 years, laying fertilized eggs. They breed and mate up to 6 times a year, regardless of the season, if there are suitable conditions.
3. To provoke reproduction, you need to provide your pets with the most important condition: the presence of a moist, loose and deep substrate. Sometimes Achatina reacts to replacing the usual peat with wet sand. It was this kind of soil that their wild ancestors chose for laying eggs. Mating occurs in the evening or at night, when the partners are most active. It is interesting to watch the mating games of snails, but this process absolutely does not require the intervention of the owner.
4. Lighting or day length does not affect mating propensity or egg laying. Achatina reproduces when it is satisfied with humidity and temperature, availability of space for laying eggs and diet.

Only breeders or suppliers of their meat can afford to breed Achatina snails in large quantities. A clutch can contain up to 500 eggs, and if the parents are kept in good conditions, almost 100% of the cubs are hatched. It is very difficult to give away or sell such a number of young animals, and it is not recommended to throw them away. By adapting to living conditions, snails can be resistant to external influences, especially in regions with mild winters.

Unwanted masonry must be destroyed in a timely manner by boiling them in boiling water.

But if the hatching of young animals is planned, then the intervention of the breeder is unnecessary here too. Small snails will hatch on their own 1-2 months after laying eggs.

Other aspects of snail life

Achatina has practically no diseases of its own. They can be injured if the owner carelessly drops them. In this case, it is often the shell that suffers, and not the snail itself. The edges of the crack or hole should be lubricated with an antiseptic without alcohol or chlorine. A solution of furacillin, for example, or another aqueous preparation is suitable. After some time, the wound on the soft tissues will heal, but a chip in the shell may remain.

There is evidence of such a disease of snails as the desire to gnaw on a shell (its own or someone else's). If pets damage each other’s shells or their own by scraping the surface with the radula, this means that caring for Achatina snails has one significant drawback. Most likely they lack calcium. By providing gastropods with access to a source of an element important to them, the owner is able to solve this problem.

How long Achatina live often depends on how satisfied they are with their lives. It is not difficult to comply with simple care requirements. The Achatina snail, the content of which corresponds to its biological characteristics, can live at home for up to 10 years.