This kit is ideal for beginners and contains all the essentials to setup and maintain African Land Snails from babies through to subadult. Your tank should at least be big enough for a water dish, food and a cuttlefish bone and still have enough room for your snails move around and burrow comfortably. Dog lover, disabled, serial emoji-proposer, bad at hand-eye coordination. GAS is one of the most damaging snails in the world because it consumes at least 500 types of plants and can cause structural damage to plaster and stucco structures. The first thing you’ll need is a generic heat mat for mounting outside of the tank. So, be wary of that and try to make sure that tank objects are not so far apart that your snail will literally never see them. It might seem counter-intuitive to cover up all that ventilation you just made, but you’ll need to do that with some chiffon fabric. Regardless of the kind of container you choose for your snail, it will probably require some modification. You might have to set the temperature higher or lower than you want in order to achieve the right temperature in practice. It can be confusing to mount a heat mat facing the right way; from what I understand, the side with the raised plastic bit around where the wire comes out, is the side that should be facing into the tank, although heat may come from both sides of the mat to a certain extent. x') Thanks for your help!♥♥ Housing a Giant African Land Snail. An aquarium works well or really any plastic or glass container that has a tight lid. The best food is lettuce and cucumber but apple, banana and cabbage can also be given. Some exotic animals and reptiles want heat mats inside their tanks, but this is not something you want to do for a snail as they risk being badly burned. This is because snails are vulnerable to pests, including flies, some of which are so small that normal fly and mosquito netting will not keep them out, but snail keepers have noted the success of chiffon. Pieces of wood, cork bark or clay flower pots provide an interesting landscape and hiding spots for the snails. Snails can live anywhere from 3-15 years in captivity. Don’t forget to get a sprayer bottle so you can mist the tank a couple of times a day. I find this arrangement works very well. Feeding Giant African Land Snails GALS can have a surprisingly large appetite and so a regular supply of fresh vegetables and fruit should be provided. Land snails. African giant land snails can even start gnawing on their own shell and leg. Problems with fertilization Calcium and Protein are key components in promoting egg formation and growth, so maintaining adequate levels of these supplements can go a long way in ensuring the healthy development of snail offspring. If I didn’t have the opportunity to physically go and look at tubs, it’s likely I would have ordered this box or a similar one. Low wattage heat mat for minimal running costs. The box I chose was a 62L Wham Crystal tub. Popular substrates are compost, coconut coir (coconut fibre) and spaghnum moss. The average weight of the snail is about 85 grams. You should have a thermometer at the cool end of the tank too, and some people also put one in the centre. I used a hand drill to put ventilation holes in the lid of the tub (and I used the tub itself to collect the plastic shavings). This will sound so weird but you can smell if they are dead,they will almost smell old blood. At the bottom of the tank you should have a couple of inches of substrate for the giant land snails to burrow in; this can be bought from garden centres. Diet is very simply: vegetables (lettuce, cabbage), fruit (tomatoes, grapes, apple), animal biscuits soaked in warm water are appreciated. How to Clean Out A Giant Land Snail’s Vivarium. It plugs into a thermostat, which in turn plugs into the mains. They also … It took some getting used to, but I seem to have got it to the point where it is keeping the tank at a good range for my snail. The tale of one Londoner who just happens to have fur and four legs. You should make sure that compost has no chemicals or additives in which could harm your snails. After cleaning the tank inside with a wet cloth (just water), adding the correct coconut coir substrate, and putting in some food, you can move your snail … Night Owl, Letti Hellequin is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk. Snails have a learning curve and I am definitely still on it. Find an aquarium with a tightly fitting lid. Synthwave is my shit. Flies can be especially attracted to a snail’s food, which can smell quite quickly due to being in a hot and humid tank. Skip wooden containers, as the splinters harm the snail. This is your chance to tell me everything you know about Giant African Land Snails! They have one at the school, and it has been a frequent visitor here! For just a few full-grown snails, you would need a 5- to 10-gallon tank. Make sure that any glue or other substances you use are far enough away from anywhere the snail could touch. Please see below for the list of items contained in our Exotic Pets African Land Snail Starter Kit: Large plastic faunarium (37 x 22 x 25cm). If you don't remove and destroy the eggs, you are going to have lots of … The best way to care for your Giant African Land Snail as a pet is to house it in a covered plastic or glass tank that you can substrate with compost/soil so that your snail can burrow easily. Some substrate can be re-used by baking it to kill any bacteria - Coir can be baked at 200°c for one or two hours, left to cool and then dampened before returning it to the tank. Giant African and Giant South American Land Snails are exotic pets. Introduction. This won't happen in a day it will happen over 3 days. I knew I was going to put mine on a 50cm wide Ikea LACK table, but I knew this wouldn’t be a problem because it would only overhang slightly at both sides. Vexillophile. The average size of the snail is about 80 mm or 3 inch. Made in England with Eurasian and Eurabian parts. The snail's range is limited by cold temperatures and moisture, as well as soil calcium needed for its shell. Giant Land Snails. Your snail tank should have at least two inches of damp compost or moss for your snails to burrow into. Achatina, which include the biggest land snail Achatina achatina, or tiger snail, and Archachatina. An aquarium tank made of plastic or glass is the perfect home for your giant African land snails, and you must also ensure that it has a well fitting and secure lid to prevent any escapes! A thermometer should be used to measure that, you can find one in most pet shops in the reptiles section. Generally, Achatina Fulica is regarded as the most invasive and hardy of all species of achatinides. Keeping a snail shouldn’t result in too much extra heat in the room like other exotics and reptiles can. Avoid hard objects, such as terracotta flowerpots or rocks, as snails can fall from the sides or top of the tank and crack their shells on them. Popular snails like the Giant African Snail, Decollate snails, giant Ghana tiger snails, and margies are all illegal in the US. While the snail needs ventilation, it's also important that the lid of its container fits tightly, as it will climb out if given a chance. Snails need some sort of substrate layed out on the bottom of their tank (approx 5 cm) moss, coco coir and soil can all be used. There could also be a lot of damage caused by snails and their eggs before they succumb to the environment or predators. Achatina , also known as the Giant African land snail is a species of large, edible, air-breathing land snail. As well as substrate, you can make the tank more interesting for your snails by adding pieces of driftwood or cork bark for them to climb on and hide under. So my advice is to get another snail because yours will be lonely if he is by himself. It will need a tight-fitting lid as snails like to go walkabout. My friend Charlotte sent me a Microclimate ministat. It is less preferred to put the mat underneath the tank with snails, as not only can this dry out their substrate, but snails often burrow, sometimes because they want to cool down, and they risk being burned by the mat if they dig above it. you need to use a variety of vast plastic storage packing containers. In some cases, they can even eat their young. Likes to train dogs and sometimes write things. Loves the outdoors They feed on a variety of plant’s, vegetables and fruit. The Giant African Snail poses a threat to both humans and plants. The scienti˜c name for the most commonly kept commonly kept species is … Because I went out to a physical shop, I was able to compare tubs and get the one I thought was best. The probe for the thermostat goes in the tank, hanging in the air in line with the heat mat, next to a thermometer probe, and the stat makes the mat cut off when things are too hot, and kick in when things are too cold. You could also try adding artificial plants (plastic, not silk) for more decoration. check out this post about setting up an improved tank. Those snails are adult and ready for breeding. For some in-depth information about keeping and caring for pet snails, see petsnails.co.uk ! Giant African land snails are herbivores with an extremely wide-ranging diet. Note: These calculations are for guide purposes only and are based on fairly rough geometry aimed to calculate the dimensions and volume of a snail combined with a rough idea of how much space is needed by snails.This 'rough idea' was gleened by averaging out the minimum space needed for keeping two 12cm snails based on recommendations from a number of people in the snail-keeping community. You should also put up some foil behind the mat to help redirect stray heat back into the tank. enable's think of you're taking 2 of the biggest Achatina achatina, you will possibly choose a tank that could be a minimum of 40cm x 35cm x 45cm. Giant African land snail’s may measure up to 20cm (7.9in) long and weigh up to 32g (1.13oz). Snail vision is pretty bad, apparently it looks something like this: So it might be because he’s still a baby or it might just be a natural consequence of his eyesight, but he doesn’t seem to find his way to food or his current cuttlefish bone unless I handle him and plop him down on them. So, yeah! There is also information about the problems that can happen to snails. However, if you give your snails food that goes off quickly (like banana and apple) be sure to remove it when it has gone brown so as not to make your snails ill. An essential part of the snails diet is calcium. Just want to be happy and quietly live life. Setting up a tank for a Giant African Land Snail, Setting up an IMPROVED Giant Land Snail tank. I love Northern Inuit dogs, Oriental cats, and weird sea life. The tank should be heated to between 20 celcius-29 celcius, depending on the type of african land snail you have. Put the snail back upright on a wet/damp surface such as a feeding dish and allow him to recover. Giant Land Snails are easy to keep and make unusual pets that can provide much interest and pleasure, particularly for children. Eccentric I recall hearing an anecdote about a woman who came home one day to find her giant snail halfway up the wall! Everything you need to know about keeping & caring for Giant African Land Snails. The perspective is charming and unique.". I currently have East African Giant African Land Snails (Achatina fulica), West African Giant African Land snails (Achatina marginata) - they have thier own separate page - and Giant Tiger Snails (Achatina achatina) from Ghana - this page is on general care, but the pictures are mainly of the East African Spiecies .Achatina marginata (left) and Achatina fulica (right) I originally marked out where I wanted to put holes with a marker pen, but I ended up not doing them exactly. For example: Giant African snails – mighty molluscs up to 12 inches long! Plants: You should put a variety of plants in your snail’s tank. It is your responsibility to keep your snail firmly in their tub when you’re not handling them; while escapees should not be able to survive out in England’s climate, it is cruel to leave an exotic animal to perish outside. The only drill bits that wanted to go through this plastic lid were, for some reason, woodboring bits. I find that Cocoa fibre is good. Also likes going camping and to the forest sometimes. This is used to keep their shells strong and healthy and calcium can be provided in the form of a cuttlefish bone. Not only would emergency personnel probably be pleased that they didn’t need to call an animal warden to deal with whatever was in the tank, but if I unexpectedly ended up in hospital for a week or something, then at least I know that my husband is not going to accidentally feed Joop some avocado. I advise making a label with basic information about your species and sticking it to the outside of the vivarium.