# giant african land snails



## blitzens mum (Jul 15, 2012)

i have been looking into getting a couple for my pre school room, but dont know much about them, so could all you snail lovers put together a care sheet thread for me so that i can suss out the pro's and cons
many thanks


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## rose (Apr 29, 2009)

My daughter has had a land snail for about 3 years. Easy to keep (boring!) 
Eat greens/biscuit, cuttlefish for their shell health. need water to lay in and drink. Bedding (coconut husk) inside of glass tank needs spraying few times a week. Tank gets slimy which is hard to get off. they hibernate for months, just leave somewhere at room temperature. You shouldnt really keep more than one in a tank as they breed and lay hundreds of eggs which have to be removed and frozen to kill them otherwise you will be overun!! Good luck !


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## Guest (Aug 21, 2012)

there is some valuable information on them here.
Giant African Land Snails - Home


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## blitzens mum (Jul 15, 2012)

thanks for the info, can they eat any fruit and veg or is there anything that is bad for them


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## Guest (Aug 21, 2012)

iceberg lettuce should not be given to them along with citrus fruits.


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## blitzens mum (Jul 15, 2012)

diablo said:


> iceberg lettuce should not be given to them along with citrus fruits.


ahh see i have looked at loads of sites and none of them had mentioned that


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## rose (Apr 29, 2009)

My daughters eats any sort of lettuce including iceberg and hes about 3!!


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## Guest (Aug 21, 2012)

rose said:


> My daughters eats any sort of lettuce including iceberg and hes about 3!!


iceberg lettuce hasn`t got ANY nutritional value for them at all and serves no purpose feeding them this.


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## rose (Apr 29, 2009)

Why is iceberg different to other lettuce?


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## Guest (Aug 21, 2012)

it is so low in nutrients has nothing at all to offer GALS.

i cup of iceberg lettuce contains
8 calories
0.5 gram protein
0.7 gram fiber
10 mg calcium
78 mg potassium
1.5 mg vitamin C
16 mcg folate
13.3 mcg of vitamin K
164 mcg beta carotene
152 mcg of lutein + zeaxanthin

fact is its simply not a suitable feed for snails and many other exotics.


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## blitzens mum (Jul 15, 2012)

ok so these snails i am getting are only 2 weeks old, so will b e tiny, i take it they will still eat a fair bit, what would be the best thing to start them off with please


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## Jane Dryad (Aug 7, 2011)

My snails favourite foods have always been cucumber, lettuce and coriander.
I try them with plenty of other stuff, including well washed dandelion leaves out of the garden, but they still love those 3 best.

BTW - please be careful with the little snails when cleaning them out - they are very tiny as you say. I was always very careful to keep mine away from the sink when I first had them for fear of losing them down the plughole!


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## blitzens mum (Jul 15, 2012)

i will be extremely careful with them, do they grow very fast ?


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## Jane Dryad (Aug 7, 2011)

Not that fast really, but I think it depends on the amount of food and calcium they get. I think the temperature may affect their growth too (warmer temps will make them more active and possibly eat more).
I reared a clutch of 'accidental' babies, who didn't reach maturity until they were about a year old, but still continued to grow after that. They're now two and a half years old, but only a few have reached the size of the parents - yet!


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## blitzens mum (Jul 15, 2012)

i'm beginning to think that these will be really interesting little beasties to have


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## metame (Sep 25, 2009)

GALS are amazing


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## blitzens mum (Jul 15, 2012)

well i now own 3 of these little critters, was only suppose to have 2 but one must have sneaked in, they are extremely tiny and dont seem to be overly active prefering to hide under the moss they came with
they also dont appear to be feeding either, i have given them chopped up lettuce, chopped up tomato, apple and carrot
also out in my garden i have loads of blackberries, would the babies eat these and if so do they need to be soaked first to get rid of the wormy things


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## blitzens mum (Jul 15, 2012)

also at this age can they eat grass, clover and dandelion leafs and what sort of substrate should they be on as they are so tiny i am worried about thier shells getting clogged up, also do they need a dish of water


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## Jane Dryad (Aug 7, 2011)

Apologies, I've only just seen your message of the 26th.
I seem to remember my baby snails loving lettuce and cucumber from day one, just like their parents. I always slice the cucumber but just tear the lettuce and put the whole leaves in.
I wouldn't worry about their shells getting clogged up as they are born underground so are used to dealing with that. I kept them on the same substrate as the parents - coir. Organic compost is OK too though, and the parents I originally had from a work colleague were kept on orchid compost, though this is a bit expensive if you've got lots of snails.
As regards water, as long as the tank is misted every day or so to keep it damp, they're not supposed to need any water, but I always like to keep dishes of water for them. With small babies, I would use a very shallow lid or saucer to prevent them from drowning.
Here is a useful link for snail care:

Giant African Land Snails - Home

Good luck with your little critters!


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## blitzens mum (Jul 15, 2012)

hi jane and thanks for answering, they seem to be doing ok, the tiny tiny one doesn't seem to move much tho
tonight i got them some dandelion leaves and some clover leaves from my mates garden, i haven't actually caught them eating tho
i dont think i will bother with a dish of water till they are a bit bigger if they dont need it yet, the worry of drowning frightens me 
thank you for the link its a really good one


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## bordie (Jan 9, 2012)

can ya eat them


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## Guest (Aug 30, 2012)

bordie said:


> can ya eat them


they are eaten by people yes , dunno if i`d recommend them though


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## tenthplanet (Sep 27, 2012)

These things are massive in size. I feel like they could eat your hand if they were so inclined. Check this picture out: http://planetoddity.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/giant-african-snail-1.jpg


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## Rixsta911 (Aug 21, 2018)




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## Leanne77 (Oct 18, 2011)

Rixsta911 said:


> View attachment 366506


Lissachatina Reticulata? Your set up looks very impressive but it's also quite dangerous. I see some of the branches and leaves are quite high and you appear to have hard objects on the bottom of the tank. If your snail should fall (which they often do) then it's at risk of damaging it's shell.

I keep Achatina Fulica, Achatina Reticulata, Achatina Iredaleir Zanzibar, Helix Aspersa Maxima and soon to add Pluerdonte Isabella.


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## GiantAfricanLandSnailGirl (Aug 16, 2020)

This is years after the first post  but you should spray your snail with water at least once or twice a day (depending on how dry the substrate is) and depending what species you purchase they will need different temperatures and humidity.


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