Achatina on a tree
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Achatina snail belongs to the terrestrial family gastropods. In nature, there are about 100 species of these snails, which were originally distributed only in Africa. At home, they are all kept in the same conditions under a common name, and the differences are mainly of interest only to specialists. Giant Achatina- This is one of the largest land molluscs. Shell sizes of individual specimens can reach 20 cm, and weight up to half a kilogram. The appearance of the animal is best seen in the photo in the text, the description in words is not so clear. Occasionally, the meat of this snail is used for food, but it is considered tasteless and dishes from it are not widespread even in Africa, the birthplace of this mollusk.
Since the beginning of the 19th century, this animal, through the "efforts" of man, turned out to be settled in various tropical and subtropical zones, where it has not happened before. As an agricultural pest, it now damages various plant crops, preferring sugar cane, and sometimes light buildings, scraping off the plaster needed to rebuild the shell, while multiplying with great speed. By harsh methods, including high fines, as, for example, in America, for the import of Achatina into the country, the invasion was prevented. Fortunately, in the conditions of Russia, Achatina does not survive in nature, the climate is too harsh. Here it is usually kept in terrariums as pet, which is most often brought by children. It reproduces easily and is usually distributed free of charge, but young snails need to be put somewhere. On this page of the site "" we will talk about it.
Achatina's snail natural environment
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Achatina snail, when kept at home, reaches a length of 20 cm. As can be seen in the photo in the text, the shell is conical, most often it is twisted counterclockwise, although the opposite option is quite common. An adult animal usually has a shell with 7 to 9 coils. Its color depends on the menu of the mollusk, traits inherited and other conditions for the existence of the snail. Most often, the pattern on the sink consists of stripes of different shades of brown. There are also light, albino forms.
You don't have to buy a terrarium for your pet at a pet store. It is quite possible to use an ordinary aquarium, even a current one, because you do not need to pour water into it. Such aquariums are sometimes thrown away by neighbors or acquaintances. You can use the construction of both plexiglass and ordinary, silicate. The volume of the aquarium is selected at the rate of at least 10 liters per snail. Such a house is convenient to clean, which must be done every few weeks. A lid or coverslip on it is required, otherwise your pet will go traveling. Access to fresh air can be provided through holes or gaps between the cover and the body of the dwelling.
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When keeping Achatina at home, it’s a good idea to place a small container of water in the terrarium, because these mollusks love to swim. Water will have to be changed several times a week, as it gets dirty. The vessel should be shallow so that the smallest snails cannot accidentally choke in it. It should be heavy and stable enough so that your pet cannot turn it over, even if it digs in the ground nearby. Spilled water will lead to increased humidity in the terrarium.
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The temperature in such a house should be at the level of 24 - 27 degrees. Since this is slightly higher than normal room temperature, it can be increased by dimly illuminating the lamp. But even at room temperature, the Achatina snail will feel satisfactory, only it will become less nimble. It does not hurt to place various shelters in the terrarium: halves of ceramic flower pots, pieces of coconut shells, driftwood or large stones. In daylight, the snail prefers to hide in them.
Humidity in the house can be determined by the behavior of the pet. If he tries to hang on the walls all the time, then the amount of water is excessive, and if he tries to clog the sink, then it is too dry in the terrarium. To increase the humidity, and this is required most often, it is enough to moisten the soil a little or spray the walls of your pet's home with a spray bottle. You can make it drier by increasing the gap between the aquarium and the cover glass and increasing the backlight.
Terrarium for Achatina
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African Achatina, like other snails, for example or, eats plant foods. Likes soft and decaying parts of plants. Since animals require lime to build a shell, they can eat soil rich in it, and even scrape fragments of suitable rock with a radula. Young snails, up to 5 centimeters in size, prefer to eat live plants. With age, the composition of food changes and old specimens mainly feed on dead, rotting plant debris, while the amount of food consumed also increases.
At home Achatina Fulika happily eats cucumbers, zucchini and other soft vegetables. She should also be given eggshells as a source of calcium, or perhaps adding chalk to her food, also to build a shell. The literature recommends adding calcium and protein products such as meat and boiled chicken eggs. If bananas are given as food, then it happens that Achatina snails don’t want to “take anything else in their mouths”, the same situation can happen with cucumbers. As can be seen from the above, caring for this pet is not difficult and is accessible even to a child.
Reproduction Achatina
Reproduction Achatina
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Achatina - hermaphrodites, that is, each animal can perform both male and female functions. In extreme conditions, with a low population density, self-fertilization is possible, but this is a rare and forced measure. Mating is preceded by characteristic mating dances, which always cause amazement in a person, which can last up to 1-2 hours. If the partners are approximately the same weight, bilateral fertilization occurs, if the animals have different size, then the larger snail plays the role of a female, since the development of eggs will require more costs. For the same reason, individuals that have not reached large sizes, but already sexually mature individuals can only perform the functions of a male, their eggs begin to form later, upon reaching their maximum size.
The Achatina snail, after one mating, can store sperm in its body for two years, gradually using it to fertilize maturing eggs. The number of eggs or eggs in a clutch is usually about 200, and in some cases, large specimens can lay up to 300 pieces, while your pet can lay up to 6 clutches annually.
The period of eggs in the mother's body ranges from 1 to 2 weeks, after which the female lays them in a mink in the ground. The size of Achatina eggs is approximately 5 mm, and in shape they are similar to chicken ones. This can be clearly seen in the photo below. Depending on the ambient temperature, after 1-3 weeks, small, up to five mm in size, snails appear from the eggs. In nature, there are also viviparous species of this animal.
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Depending on the conditions of detention, your pets will reach sexual maturity at 6-15 months and live up to 5-6, and sometimes even up to 10 years. They grow throughout life, but unevenly. Rapidly until sexual maturity is reached, or until about 2 years of age, and then the growth rate slows down sharply.
Achatina are mostly nocturnal snails and during the day they usually sleep, buried in the ground. But in the evening, the animals wake up and begin to look for food, "briskly" crawling around the terrarium. But if the humidity is high enough, they can be active during the day.
If the conditions in the terrarium are unfavorable, it has become too dry or there is no food, this snail can hibernate by closing its shell and sleep for a very long time. Therefore, if you need to go on vacation or a business trip, your pet may well do without you and without any care. Without serious consequences for Achatina, you can count on hibernation for up to 2 months. If you plan to be absent for a long time, it is better to artificially create unfavorable conditions for your pet in advance. Change the soil in the terrarium to dry and do not feed the animal. This will give you a chance to make sure the snail is asleep. To exit hibernation, Achatina needs to be held under a stream of warm water and after 5-10 minutes she will wake up. After this, the pet must be fed immediately so that it begins to recuperate.
Achatina eggs
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It is believed that Achatina is a "smart" snail. She is able to distinguish the owner from other people. It is also possible that she has various conditioned reflexes. For many owners, watching this snail is a great pleasure, despite the fact that it is still a rather slow animal. The Achatina snail loves when the owner bathes it "on hand" in warm water.
The Achatina snail belongs to the Archachatinidae mollusk family, which includes representatives of several genera. Achatina (Achatina) are similar to their relatives Archachatina, but they have a more pointed top of the shell. Achatina is a giant prolific, it can produce 100-600 eggs at a time, which are round in shape and have a white shell.
African Achatina are one of the largest land mollusks on the planet. They have large shells with a yellow-brown tint and a dark pattern. The body is brown or dark, soft and tuberculated. The largest specimen had a weight of up to 600 grams, and a shell length of almost 40 cm.
The most common domestic Achatina is Achatina fulica. These African land mollusks are found in many tropical countries, and are harmful to fruit-bearing plants. Achatina are characterized by a variegated shell pattern, the color of which depends on the diet. The color of the soft part of the body is similar to Archachatina, but the tubercles are more pronounced in the fulica. Achatina fulica is more common in pet stores because they are easy to keep and eat a lot of things.
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What is needed to keep a snail?
The best "house" where Achatina snails will receive care is a glass aquarium or aquaterrarium. For one adult snail, choose the most free tank. To keep several pets at once, you will need a container of 20 liters 3 or more. The terrarium should have a lid with holes for air circulation. The holes should not be wide so that the animal does not escape.
Keeping a large snail at home is impossible without a soil substrate. Achatina loves to sleep during the day, burrowing into a layer of soil. There is an opinion that flower soil with peat content will be useful. But land with a high content of peat creates life in conditions acid environment which is harmful to animals. The ground cover needs to be moistened once a day with water from a spray bottle, otherwise the snails themselves will begin to secrete a large number of mucus.
As a result, the clams will get smeared in the mud and contaminate the glass. It is not necessary to use clay or fatty loam as a substrate, as well as pieces of wooden bark in a rotten form. The best solution is to pour loose sand on the bottom of the aquarium instead of earth with peat. Sometimes it is exchanged for hazelnut shells, walnuts. But the delicate skin of mollusks can be injured. A good option for bedding is coconut substrate.
Domestic snails must be kept in clean conditions. The soil should be cleaned once a week, and completely replaced with the cleaning of the terrarium - once every 3-12 months. But the more often you take care of your pet's home, the better. Waste products, despite the absence of a smell, will still begin to emit charm, and the walls of the tank will be covered with the mucus of crawling snails.
In conditions of full lighting, snails feel comfortable. But they do not require artificial light sources. Alternating the day-night mode is enough. Domestic mollusks are active at night and sleep during the day. If you find it necessary to install lighting in order to better see the animals, then lighting must be external.
Watch a video that tells how to keep Achatina snails.
At home, the temperature regime should be constant. It is necessary that the air temperature be comfortable for tropical African snails. A temperature of 22 to 28 ° C will be the most optimal. It is not recommended to install an aquaterrarium near a room battery, in places exposed to direct sunlight, so as not to create a temperature difference.
As for accessories, you can put moss, samples of clay ceramics in a container with soil. It is possible to plant plants in the soil, then those that would not allow waterlogging of the substrate. It is better to choose species that are covered with small villi. Snails tend to eat plants, so you will need to repot them from time to time. The best option- fern or ivy.
Feeding. Reproduction of snails Achatina
Feeding should take place once a day for young snails, and once every few days for mature ones. African snails eat plant foods. They love lettuce, dandelion, grapes, cucumbers, apples. They also eat spinach, corn, zucchini, mangoes, avocados, bananas, melons at home. However, the snail can eat some of the listed products, and refuse some altogether. You can not give often oranges or grapes, watermelon with seeds. Some pets eat carrots and cabbage. A useful carbohydrate food for shellfish will be oatmeal flakes, bran.
The first years of a snail's life grow rapidly. To keep their shell strong, food supplements are needed. Calcium carbonate is favorable for strengthening and growth of the shell. Crushed egg shells or a piece of chalk should be present in the aquarium. Vitamin and mineral complexes for shellfish can be purchased at stores.
Do snails need water? Despite the constant moisture of the soil, a separate container of water should be in the aquarium. While the snail is small, the container should not be deep so that the pet does not drown. Water is useful for normalizing mucus production. Some snails allow you to pull yourself together and bathe in a tub of warm water. They love water and are not afraid of it.
In captivity, Achatina easily breeds from the age of 6 months. Some instances come to play later. Incubation lasts 1-2 months. If the soil thickness is low, then they will refuse to reproduce. For masonry, soil 7 cm deep is needed, where the snail could lay its eggs. Do not be surprised if your pet brings offspring throughout the year. From the age of one year, spermatozoa are formed in the mollusk, later - eggs. The African snail is a hermaphrodite, although two snails can also interbreed. If you have several pets, it is better to plant them in different aquariums.
See how Achatina breed.
It happens that a snail brings a "surprise": more than 100 eggs, which have practically nowhere to go. A compromise and humane solution is to give away the fry for nothing. There were cases of getting rid of masonry when the owner took it to nature or to the street in winter. But it might happen backlash- in nature, Achatina are pests. In some countries on legislative framework they are forbidden to be kept at home, and even more so to breed.
Snail diseases
If you have several snails, you can periodically notice how they scrape each other's shells, which causes pits to form. This bad habit surmountable if you lubricate the sink with a non-harmful, but “tasteless” agent. In this case, consult with your veterinarian in order not to risk it.
There are owners who often prefer to take snails in their hands, digging the ground for this during the day. Firstly, at this time of day, pets prefer to sleep rather than get stressed. Secondly, you can damage the snail. The snail is active in the evening, then it will gladly go into hands. It is not recommended to take the snail by the last spiral of the shell, the damaged part of the body. To properly take a mollusk, you should moisten its leg with water, and put your finger under it, and hold the shell with your other hand.
Keeping a giant Achatina at home is a great opportunity to please yourself. These animals are unpretentious, not afraid of human hands. If you are going on a trip, you can leave them alone for a few days. During a long host trip, snails can hibernate by hiding in the shell and clogging it. This time they will live at the expense of the resources of the body, but after waking up they will be very hungry. Wake up after a "shower" with warm water. Cryostasis (hibernation) also occurs when the snail is too cold or there is a lot of moisture in the aquarium, simulating the rainy season.
The homeland of the land snail Achatina is considered East Africa. It grows up to 25 cm in length. In many countries of Europe and the CIS, the snail is kept as an exotic pet. It is not whimsical in care and does not require large financial costs for maintenance and feeding. Despite the seeming slowness to us, Achatina can move quickly, it is interesting to observe its movement.
Choose a ventilated snail container
Keep your pet Achatina in a well-ventilated glass terrarium (aquarium) or plastic container. Equipped with a secure lid with small holes.
To keep one snail, choose a container about 40 cm long, 25 cm wide and no more than 25 cm high.
Place the thermal mat and thermometer
The thermal mat is fixed on the rear outer wall or on the bottom of the terrarium. The thermometer is placed over a heat source. Optimum temperature for keeping home Achatina 24-25 degrees.
A thermal mat in a terrarium is optional though.
Apply a thick layer of substrate
Use coco coir or flower soil without fertilizer as soil and pathogenic microorganisms. Avoid sawdust, shells and pebbles.
Irrigate the soil and container walls with warm water
For a comfortable stay of a tropical snail, you need to irrigate the soil daily with warm settled water. To keep the humidity level at 60-70%. But don't turn the soil into mud. You can place a shallow container of water in the terrarium. Check humidity with a hygrometer.
Decorate your terrarium
Do not decorate the terrarium with stones and ceramics - the snail can fall and damage the shell on them.
Spread twisty branches in a container and make tussocks of moss. From half a plastic flower pot or coconut, you get a secluded place for your pet's daytime rest. Plant live plants in the ground, they will decorate your container and serve as additional food for Achatina.
Handle the snail carefully
Before handling Achatinas, make sure your palms are clean and damp. Wash your hands with warm water without soap, as sweat, soap or cream residue is harmful to the snail.
Try to take Achatina not by the shell, but under the sole. Best off the ground, never force it off the glass. Don't squeeze the shell too hard, you could crush it.
Feed the giant Achatina vegetables and herbs once a day
Such as cucumber, cabbage and lettuce. Be sure to wash all vegetables and fruits to remove chemicals. Feed in the evening. Remove any uneaten food the next day.
- For the growth of a beautiful and durable shell, the snail needs calcium. These are ground eggshells, edible chalk and sepia;
- the snail needs a shallow container with clean water.
Remove eggs from soil
If you don't want dozens or hundreds of baby snails, remove all eggs from the soil. Achatina eggs are white or translucent. Check the substrate every week for masonry. Freeze unwanted masonry in the freezer.
Wash the terrarium and change the substrate every week
With proper care, homemade Achatina does not get sick. It is very important that it does not come into contact with salt, sugar and chemicals, including fertilizers and pesticides.
If the terrarium is cold or hot, your snail becomes inactive and closes in the shell.
A healthy Achatina is active, its body is moist and clean, and the shell is strong without dents or chips.
- Place the terrarium away from direct sunlight, radiators and drafts.
- Place the mollusk in an accessible place.
- The African snail loves cucumbers and water and needs calcium for its shell.
- Cucumbers have almost no nutritional value for Achatina.
- Do not feed peaches to snails, because their mucus becomes like water.
- Don't leave moldy food in the terrarium.
- Always wash vegetables with warm water, you rinse chemical substances which can kill your snail.
- Be careful when feeding Achatina with spinach, a large amount of it can interfere with the absorption of calcium.
- The diet of home Achatina should be varied.
Brief description of African snails
The African snail Achatina lives in the tropics and subtropics of our planet. Scientists have identified more than 60 varieties of these exotic animals. Domestic species include fulica and reticulata. The body of Achatina is soft, the pointed shell of some mollusks reaches 30 cm.
Representatives of this species can be of the following colors:
- black-brown;
- marsh;
- brown with dark stripes;
- other colors.
There is also an albino species, which has a white color and is smaller.
The color of the shell depends on the diet. In an adult snail, it usually acquires a greenish tint. On the shell there is a pattern in the form of zigzag and spiral lines.
The visual organs are on the horns. Achatina sees no further than 1 cm, but the aroma of your favorite cabbage or adored salad can be smelled at a distance of 1.5 m. An individual weighs from 0.3 to 0.45 kg.
Achatina are very funny. These exotic animals are very observant. They quickly remember their owner, get used to him and subsequently distinguish him from other people.
Usually gastropods are purchased from breeders, less often in pet stores. Sometimes they are given away for free due to the excessive fertility of shellfish.
Terrarium equipment for the Achatina snail
Care and maintenance of Achatina snails are not difficult. First you need to buy special equipment and accessories. In our conditions, representatives of this species are kept in terrariums. Another option for keeping gastropods is an aquarium without water or some kind of glass box. The container can be made not only of glass, but also of plastic (preferably, because traces of mucus are too noticeable on the glass). For young animals, a small plastic box is suitable, in which small animals are usually transported.
One individual requires approximately 5 liters of capacity. The more free space, the better - the future size of the mollusk depends on it.
The dwelling of pets should be equipped with a lid with small holes for fresh air to enter. In addition, this way the pet will not be able to escape.
At the bottom of the terrarium should be soil without any fertilizer. Ordinary garden soil has a minus - dirty glass of the aquarium and the gastropod itself. It is better to use pure peat or a special substrate (for example, orchid), which can be bought at a pet store. Keep this substrate out of your pet's food.
It is not recommended to use soil mixtures from flower shops, as they contain various fertilizers and even pesticides. It is also forbidden to sprinkle the bottom of the terrarium with cat litter, as these granules have strong moisture-absorbing properties.
Achatina are very fond of burrowing into the substrate with a shell, so it is desirable that the litter is deep, approximately 4–7 cm. Clear the ground of stones, otherwise they may injure the delicate body and shell.
It is necessary to equip the dwelling of pets with snags and shards from clay pots, under which they will hide. You can also put moss on the bottom of the container (you can buy it at a pet store or plant store). It is recommended to plant plants in the ground that are covered with small villi: ivy or fern. Over time, plantings will have to be updated, as Achatina eat greens with pleasure. You can place several small artificial plants in the container - this will create a pleasant atmosphere.
A plastic tray with low edges can serve as a feeder. It should not be too deep, easy to remove and wash. Great idea - plastic saucers and plates from the doll's kitchen set. Instead of a drinker, you can use plastic caps.
So, the accessories necessary for arranging the house African snail Achatina is:
- fragments of clay pottery;
- driftwood;
- moss, ivy, fern;
- artificial plants;
- feeder;
- drinking bath.
It is recommended to clean up the house once every 1.5-2 months. What needs to be done? Wash the container with environmentally friendly detergents. Replace the earth bedding or disinfect the soil: ignite it in an oven at 180 ° C for 12 minutes - this will rid the earth of insects and their larvae.
Before you let your pet out for a walk around the apartment - look around! The room should not have pointed objects, various obstacles, dirty areas, drafts. It is also not recommended to walk the gastropod for a long time, so as not to harm him.
Climatic conditions for keeping Achatina at home
It is very important to keep shellfish properly. It is necessary to create conditions similar to natural ones. Be sure to purchase a thermometer to monitor the microclimate inside the home. + 20-25 ° С is the optimal temperature for keeping African snails.
If gastropods climb up the walls, then in a terrarium high humidity. If they hide in the ground, it means that their house is too dry.
Shellfish should not be hit by direct Sun rays. It is also contraindicated to place the container next to the battery or heater, as this threatens to dry out the soil. In winter, use special lamps that are used when caring for reptiles. They need to be installed outside the container.
Increased dryness is very harmful to the gastropod shell. Spray the bedding and snails periodically with water using a spray bottle. But do it very moderately so that the pet's home does not turn into a swamp.
With the onset of cold days, representatives of the species fall into suspended animation. To wake up a pet, the dwelling must have high humidity and warmth (+ 28 ° C). On a sleeping mollusk should be sprinkled with warm water.
How to feed Achatina snails?
Achatina feeds mainly on plant foods. AT wild nature it can even harm agricultural crops, trees, flowers. In addition, Achatina is a natural orderly, eating the rotting remains of plants, insects, and animal excrement. Regardless, feed your pets clean and fresh food.
The Achatina menu at home should be varied. The clam loves the most fresh cucumber, apple, lettuce.
The main list of what Achatina evidence eats:
- boiled eggs;
- carrot;
- tomatoes;
- banana;
- Bulgarian sweet pepper;
- Boiled potatoes);
- porridge (boiled);
- milk;
- sour cream;
- bread soaked in milk.
AT summer period give your pets more greens, clover, dandelion leaves, berries, pieces of fruit and vegetables. Snails can be treated with mushrooms and dry oatmeal flakes. They enjoy eating dry food. aquarium fish or cat food. And since representatives of this species do not disdain to eat carrion, they will like bone meal and mashed meat.
Achatina with a deficiency in the body of calcium can attack their relatives and gnaw their shell. In this case, the following components should be immediately added to the diet of snails:
- sepia (bone or cuttlefish comb);
- special additives for reptiles;
- fodder chalk (to crush their main feed);
- daphnia (small shrimp);
- crushed shell rock;
- eggshell crushed to dust;
- cottage cheese;
- fresh cheese;
- pumpkin seeds;
- porridge and grain mixture (ground on a coffee grinder).
Saturate your pets with the above mentioned foods and supplements that are essential for their life.
Feeding is preferably done in the evening, as snails are more active at night. Babies are fed every day, and guarded - only 2-3 times a week.
The Achatina snail, which eats a lot and variously, becomes very large. Because of this, she can hardly fit in her mollusk. The owners should not worry: if this happens, the snail will limit itself in food and its growth will stop.
Be sure to give your pets clean, fresh water. It is very important not only for quenching thirst, but also for the production of mucus. In addition, it is recommended to spray the container with water daily so that the walls of the home and pet items are moistened.
It is contraindicated to feed Achatina snails with the following products:
- flour;
- sweet;
- salty;
- pickled;
- fried;
- smoked;
- sour;
- alcohol-containing;
- potato eyes.
From such food, mollusks can wither and even die.
It is strictly contraindicated to give salt to gastropods! Be sure to read the ingredient list on the food packaging. Even in a small amount, salt is detrimental to the mollusk.
Make sure that there are no pieces of food left in the container after feeding the pets, as it will rot. Another important point- although the waste products of the mollusk have no smell, but over time they emit charm. Therefore, it is necessary to periodically clean the walls of the terrarium from the mucus of crawling gastropods.
Hygiene procedures, bathing
Gastropods of this subspecies love to take water procedures. Put in a terrarium a small bath with filtered and non-cold water, where the pets will splash. If there are young animals in the container, then there should be little water in the bath (in terms of depth).
Give your pets warm showers from time to time. How to do it? Hold your pet in your hand over the sink. Direct a gentle jet of warm water at it. The duration of the procedure is no more than three minutes. The mollusk perceives such bathing with great enthusiasm - it stretches to its full length and tries to substitute all parts of the body under the jets of water.
Reproduction, care for small Achatina
Interestingly, achatina is a hermaphrodite! She has both male and female reproductive organs. The duration of the incubation period is 28–56 days, depending on the type of gastropods and the conditions in which they are kept.
Achatina hyperfertile! If the owners of Achatina do not want the pets to breed, it is worth planting them in different places or simply washing off the eggs that have appeared. If the owners want the pupils to give offspring, they should be extremely careful in cleaning their home so as not to damage the eggs. And most importantly - monitor the humidity of the air.
Newborn snails are separated from adults. It is advisable to put lettuce leaves under the kids, so they do not suffocate in a loose substrate. Make a layer of soil less than 3 cm. It is recommended to give small Achatina liquid porridge and mashed carrots so that their shell strengthens.
Please note: until the snails are 1.5 years old, they should not be allowed to breed.
How long do Achatina snails live?
By the year, representatives of the species reach sexual maturity. Achatina grow all his life, but after the second year of life, the rate of their development slows down. On average, they live up to 7-8 years. Proper care will help the mollusk live for 10 years.
You should know that the enemies of the gastropod include:
- birds;
- mice;
- lizards;
- frogs;
- toads;
- beetles;
- centipedes;
- African snail gonaxis.
However, the most common problem that breeders face is cracked and chipped shells. Sometimes a mollusk crawling along the upper edge of the terrarium falls down and hits sharp or hard objects. Often such “flights” lead to shell injuries. In this case, you need to treat the damaged area with an antiseptic and remove the injured mollusk from its relatives (snails like to rub against each other).
So that your pupils do not get sick, you should not hold them in your hands too often: the skin of the gastropods is delicate, vulnerable, and it is also prone to infection with microbes. Don't forget about it.
So, if you decide to start a terrarium with African snails and provide them with proper care and maintenance, do your best to equip the house according to the requirements of the pet, feed him the right food and carefully monitor his behavior and health.
The snail belongs to the animal kingdom, type of mollusk, class of gastropods or gastropods (lat. Gastropoda). The Latin designation of the snail was formed as a result of the union and transformation of two words of ancient Greek origin: "γαστήρ", which meant "belly" and "πούς", corresponding to the concept of "leg". The Russian version of the name "snail" arose from the Old Slavonic adjective "ulitъ", translated as "hollow". Thus, a snail is an animal that wears a hollow house, a shelter.
Description of the snail, structure, characteristics, photographs. What does a snail look like?
Like all representatives of the gastropods, the snail has an external shell and a body, which is formed by the head and leg. The snail's body is both a means of transportation and an abdomen. A special fold, called a mantle, covers it from above. The space between them is called the mantle cavity. In species that live in the salt waters of the seas and oceans, as well as in freshwater reservoirs, gills are located in the mantle cavity. To create a constant flow of water washing the gills of the snail, the mantle cavity contains:
- an inlet siphon through which water enters the cavity, enriching the respiratory organs with oxygen;
- outlet siphon used to remove waste water.
In addition to the organs that supply the body of the snail with oxygen, the mantle contains the output ducts of the kidneys, the reproductive apparatus and the excretory system are also included here.
In snails that live on land, the mantle cavity has changed into a kind of lung. To take air into the respiratory organs, they have a breathing hole located at the edge of the snail shell or in front of the muscular body.
On the head of the snail stand out the eyes located on the stalks, one or two pairs of tentacles that perform the functions of the organs of touch, and the mouth.
How many teeth does a snail have? And does she have teeth?
All animals from the class of gastropods have a special organ in the mouth called the radula. It combines the functions of the teeth and tongue of the cochlea and consists of a cartilaginous plate on which the cochlea's teeth of various shapes are arranged in several rows.
Plant-eating snails have small teeth; predatory snails have teeth. bigger size, and their shape can be in the form of a hook or peak. In total, a snail can have up to 25,000 teeth. There are usually 120 rows of 100 teeth in each row on the radula, for a total of about 12,000 teeth. Some poisonous species snail teeth inside have a cavity. Through it, toxins flow from a special gland and paralyze the victim.
All gastropods have poor eyesight and hearing, which is compensated by a well-developed sense of touch and smell, which helps them find food and navigate in space.
The color and size of the snail depends on the species.
Snail slime plays for the clam important role. The snail crawls along a thin layer of mucus that aids in gliding and protects the body from injury.
Snail shell.
A characteristic feature of gastropods is the presence of an external strong shelter - a shell. The material for the construction of the "house" is calcium carbonate and a special protein that is produced by cells located in the mantle of the mollusk. As the animal grows, so does the size of the snail shell.
The snail shell can have a flat spiral and turbospiral (conical) shape, and its surface can be absolutely smooth or covered with various growths.
In almost all snails, the turns in the spiral are directed from left to right, the curl in opposite side is very rare. The conical shape of the shell is the reason for the asymmetric development of the internal organs of the animal. The size of the shell and its coloring are varied.
There are types of snails with reduced external protection: instead of a strong shell, they have a calcareous plate hidden inside the folds of the mantle. These species include slugs that live in everyone's gardens.
Where do snails live?
The distribution area of snails includes almost all climatic zones of the globe, with the exception of areas that are covered with eternal ice and flat waterless deserts. You can meet gastropods as in warm waters mediterranean sea and Pacific Ocean, and in the icy depths of the Barents and Arctic Oceans.
Gastropods are common in humid tropical forests Africa and South America, deciduous groves of Russia and parks North America, freshwater reservoirs of Germany, Spain, France and India, China and Japan. The main condition for a comfortable habitat for snails is high humidity, otherwise the body of the mollusk will dry out and the animal will die.
What do snails eat in nature?
When asked what snails eat, we can say that the diet of gastropods is varied and depends on their environment. Young herbivorous snails eat fresh soft parts of plants (sedge, young couch grass, sorrel, cabbage leaves, and so on), but with age, preferences change, and snails begin to eat decaying plant remains. Some snails feed on insects and carrion.
Predatory snails feed on small relatives and crustaceans, worms and, and sea views snails eat fish, using paralyzing poison to hunt them.
Types of snails, names and photos. Marine, freshwater, land, gill and lung snails.
The class of gastropods includes more than 110,000 species, more than 1.6 thousand of which live in Russia.
The most poisonous snail in the world - This is a geographical cone (lat. Conus geographus), an inhabitant of the Indian and Pacific Ocean. The portion of the toxin that she produces is enough to kill 10 adults. Until now, scientists have not been able to find an effective antidote for its action. geographic cone strikes its victims with a poisonous cloud of high levels of insulin, which drastically lowers the victim's blood sugar levels.
The smallest snail in the world is the snail Angustopila dominikae. Its size is 0.86 mm. Several such snails can be located in one needle eye.
The biggest snail in the world is a giant Australian trumpeter (lat. Syrinx aruanus). Its weight is 18 kg along with the mollusk itself, and the shell length reaches 91 cm. The world's largest snail is a predator, feeds on worms and lives at a depth of up to 30 meters. Habitat - coastal areas in the north of Australia, as well as the sea off Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
According to the habitat, the whole variety of snails is divided into land, freshwater and marine, and according to the type of breathing - into pulmonary and gills.
Lung snails.
Typical representatives of this group are:
grape snail (lat. Helix pomatia) is a fairly large European land mollusk with a spirally curved shell, the diameter of which reaches 50 mm, and the number of turns is 5. The leg length of a grape snail ranges from 40 to 50 mm with a width of about 20 mm. The color palette in which the snail shell can be painted contains tones from cream to red-brown. Along the entire length, the first three turns are alternately intersected by dark and light stripes. On the surface of the shell of a grape snail, small ribs are clearly visible. In vivo grape snail can live from 8 to 20 years. It lives in the central and southeastern regions of Europe, it is especially common in the Baltic countries. Since ancient times, people have eaten grape snails.
An interesting fact is that from spring to the cold months, the snail leads an active lifestyle. With the advent of cold weather, it burrows into the soil 30 cm deep and falls into suspended animation. The mouth of the shell during wintering is closed by an epiphragm, a lime plug.
snail coil (lat. Planorbidae). The shell of this mollusk has the form of a flatly twisted spiral, similar to ram's horns, up to 35 mm in diameter and about 10 mm wide. Its coloration is similar to the body color and can be from light beige to orange-brown. The body of the snail coil is conical in shape with a head on which one pair of horns is clearly visible. At their ends are cells that are sensitive to light. Coils are inhabitants of shallow water bodies with an abundance of vegetation and a moderate current, preferring the central part of Russia.
Achatina giant (lat. Achatina fulica) is a large African land snail. The length of the conical shell in adults varies from 5 to 10 cm, and the number of turns - from 7 to 9. However, there are single specimens, the length of which reaches 20 cm. The direction of the turns can be either clockwise or counterclockwise. The color of the "house" depends on the living conditions and food consumed, but mainly consists of alternating stripes of reddish-brown and yellow. The leg length of the mollusk can reach 30 cm. Achatina lives only in a tropical climate, in other regions it is kept only in captivity.
Red roadside slug (lat. Arion rufus)- a land mollusk that does not have a shell. The protective role is played by a small plate hidden by the mantle of the animal. The body of the snail is colored red-brown or Orange color and the sole of the foot in light brown. The dimensions of this pest of gardens and orchards reach 100 mm in length and 20 mm in width. The entire body of the snail is covered with thick, unpleasant mucus. The slug lives in Europe.
Gill snails.
bitinii (lat. Bithynia) - small freshwater snails with conical, ovoid or tower-shaped shells. Their surface can be either smooth or covered with a spiral texture. The dimensions of the shells with 5 complete turns do not exceed 12-14 mm in height and 9 mm in width, and their color can be olive, dark gray or brown. Depending on the living conditions of individuals, the life expectancy of snails ranges from 3 to 5 years. The habitat is the countries of Europe, the north-eastern regions of Asia, the territory of North America.
Luzhanki (viviparous) (Viviparidae) are small freshwater gastropod mollusks with a shell in the form of a blunt cone up to 40 mm long and about 30 mm wide. The shell of the meadow snail is curled in 5 or 6 turns with convex coils, which may have a relief sculpture. The color palette in which the shells are painted depends on the habitat of the snail and can be red-brown, brown-yellow or light brown with a noticeable green tint. Representatives of this species freshwater snails are viviparous. The main habitat is Europe, except for its northern regions. Occasionally, the meadow snail is found in Scandinavian countries.
Buccinums (trumpeters) (lat. Buccinum) - rather large sea snails with a shell length of up to 25 cm and a height of up to 16 cm. Its shape is elongated and expanded, and it is painted in light brown tones. The surface of the snail shell can be smooth or embossed with bulges. The trumpeter snail is a typical predator and paralyzes its prey with poisonous saliva. It lives only in the cool waters of the oceans of the Northern Hemisphere.
Types of aquarium snails.
Aquarium snails can live in all types of aquariums. Many of them eat leftover food and garbage, rotting plants, dead fish, other snails, clean windows, and some of them simply make you admire their beauty. Most aquarium snails are omnivorous and are kept by aquarists for the purpose of cleaning the aquarium. But, unfortunately, all types of snails will eat completely aquarium plants and fish eggs, which is not always an advantage. In addition, aquarium snails reproduce very quickly. Consider the main types of aquarium snails.
Coil (lat. Planorbidae)- one of the most frequent snails in the aquarium. Small in size, it has a rather interesting appearance and is therefore popular with fish breeders. The size of the coil is no more than 3 cm. Coils multiply very quickly, in addition, these snails are highly survivable even in dirty water and in the absence of food. Coils eat leftover food and algae. They breathe both atmospheric oxygen and oxygen dissolved in water. The benefit of coils is that they eat bacterial films that appear on the surface of the aquarium. Adult coils live 3-4 years.
Neritina (family Neritidae) – useful and beautiful watercolor smart snail. Its size is about 2 cm. The water in the aquarium, which contains neritin, should not be colder than 24-27 degrees. Water hardness should be medium or high, in addition, it is desirable to change the water as often as possible. The long life of a neritina snail is 1 year. With a sharp change in the conditions of detention, the snail may die. The color of neritin is diverse - from black to olive, with a variety of stripes and dots. Like other types of aquarium snails, neritins clean the water well. There are several types of snails that are part of the neritin family.
Ampullaria (lat. Pomacea bridgesii, Ampullaria australis) is a fairly common type of aquarium snail, but is demanding in terms of maintenance, and therefore not so popular among aquarists. The appetite and size of the snails are rather big; if there is a shortage of food, they eat young plants. The size of aquarium snails varies from 5 to 15 cm. In an aquarium where snails live, there must be air space above the water so that the snails can breathe. In addition, these snails can crawl out of the aquarium, so closed-type aquariums are more suitable for them, because snails cannot live outside the water. The optimum water temperature should be 17-30 degrees. As the temperature in the water rises, the lifespan of the snail may be shortened. Ampullaria live up to 4 years. They do not get along with predatory fish that eat snails. Regular fish food is also suitable for this type of aquarium snail.
Fiza (lat.Physa) - a species of aquarium snails popular among aquarists. The size of the snail does not exceed 2 cm. Due to the shape of its shell, the snail can crawl into the most inaccessible places in the aquarium. Fiza actively eats live aquarium algae, and having pulmonary respiration, it can live without water. They breed very quickly, so they are not always good for the aquarium, as it is necessary to monitor their numbers. Physicists clean the aquarium very well from bacterial films and green deposits on the walls. The optimum water temperature for this type of aquarium snail should not fall below 20 degrees. Water hardness should be in the range of 8-18 degrees, as too soft water leads to the destruction of the snail shell.
Tilomelania (lat.Tylomelania) - a very beautiful snail, but requires certain conditions of detention. The length of the snail can reach 12 cm. The shell can be of a wide variety of colors, both smooth and with spikes. The optimum water temperature for tilomelania is between 20 and 32 degrees. The water should be soft and highly acidic. With snails of other species, tilomelanies do not get along well. This type of aquarium snail is omnivorous, they need to be fed 2-3 times a day, as they eat a lot. Thylomelanias love light and space in the aquarium, so a large number of plants, bright light and lack of shelters will not work. this species snails.
Melania (lat.Melanoides) - a type of aquarium snail that quickly eats all the waste in the aquarium and multiplies rapidly. The optimum temperature for the snail is from 18 to 28 degrees. Melania shell has a conical shape and gray-green color with stripes. The size of the snail is 3.5 cm. Melania love to burrow into the ground, and their hard shell protects them from predatory fish. In food, snails are unpretentious.
Pagoda (brotia) (lat. Brotia pagodula) reaches a length of 6 cm. The optimum water temperature for an aquarium snail is 20-26 degrees. These snails need a sufficient amount of oxygen in the water. Sand is desirable as a soil, as well as the presence of stone blocks. Pagoda snails eat algae and also eat fish food. The life expectancy of a pagoda does not exceed 6 months.
Maryse (lat.Marisa)
- this is a rather large snail, the width of its shell is 1.8-2.2 cm, the diameter reaches 5.5 cm.
The optimum water temperature for mariza is 21-25 degrees, the water should be of moderate acidity and hardness. Snails can get out of the aquarium, so it is advisable to close it, leaving an air space between the water and the lid, because snails rise to the surface and breathe air. You can feed the snail food for fish, as well as algae.
Helena (lat.Cleahelena)- a small species of aquarium snails, reaching a size of 2-3.5 cm. These snails do not get along with their own kind, so helena is often used to reduce the number of other snails in the aquarium. The shell shape of Helena is conical and has no tip. Helena snail loves to burrow into the ground, which consists of sand. It feeds on fish food, other snails and algae.
How do snails reproduce?
Almost all species of gastropods, with rare exceptions, are oviparous. However, the method of fertilization and egg laying depends on the living conditions of the animal.
Lung snails living in fresh water and on land are hermaphrodites. Their gonads have a complex structure and produce both male and female germ cells. Therefore, during the mating process, cross-fertilization occurs.
Snails, inhabitants of freshwater reservoirs, lay their fertilized eggs in special gelatinous capsules, and land snails make a separate group clutch in dug holes. The average number of snail eggs reaches 80-85 pcs. Their maturation lasts up to 21-28 days. Snail eggs can be of different colors - transparent, white, pink, green.
The process of development of lung snails usually takes place without transformation, bypassing the stage of a floating larva. At the end of the set period, fully formed snails leave the clutch. hallmark babies is a transparent shell that hardens as the animal grows.
Gills snails are dioecious animals. Their sex glands are unpaired. Males have one testis and vas deferens, while females have one ovary and oviduct. Gill snails lay eggs in a special cocoon equipped with a locking lid, which dissolves at the time the larvae appear. Often, to preserve offspring, the outer row of eggs in the clutch is left empty in order to deceive a predator who wishes to feast on easy prey.
The development of sea snails occurs with transformation: a free-swimming larva appears from the egg, which is called a veliger or a sailboat. It moves due to the fluctuation of special outgrowths covered with thin "cilia", and eats the smallest particles of plant and protein foods. After a few weeks, the formation of an individual ends, and the young sink to the bottom.
Among gill molluscs there are some unique species snails that are "viviparous". This is because the female snail does not lay eggs. They are in the body of the mother until full maturation, and already fully formed offspring are born.
Snails living on earth's surface, make a great contribution to the formation of a fertile soil and vegetative layer. As well as earthworms or microorganisms, they process the rotting remains of leaves and grasses, cleansing the ecosystem in their habitat. In addition, snails are an important link in the food chains of many animals, being a source of protein food and water for them.
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