# Burrowing land Snail babies?



## aloevera (Jun 19, 2010)

I just got 4 baby African Land Snails arrive in the post today, ive put them into the tank, and as soon as i did, they all disappeared underground.
I know its natural, but i was just wondering, when do they come out, if i put out some fresh food will that help? 

Because they are so small, i dont want to loose track of them.... Plus when i clean them out in a few weeks, i dont want to harm any of them when im moving the compost 

Also do i need to put a shallow dish of water in, they are literally no bigger than a 5pence piece, so i dont want them to drown :s 

Anyone got any advise?


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## Acrophylla (Apr 16, 2008)

Baby African snails need to be kept in a small container. Clean surroundings are important so you need to clean them out every week. They should always have fresh food available. Marrows and dandelion leaves are favourites at this time of year.


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## MoonGrrl (Feb 28, 2012)

My giant african land snail likes to burrow too if you want to stop this you could try compressing the compost by just squashing it all down so that they cant burrow into it? Something that always works for me is spraying the cage with a plant mister they love it and wake up straight away so you could try that? you shouldn't harm them if you are being really careful and just make sure to count them all before you throw the old compost away. Remember that with keeping more than one snail together they will most probably breed as they have both male and female reproductive organs.. thats a lot of baby snails your going to end up with unless you find them hidden under the soil and dispose of them.. you could try putting a bottle top in for them with a shallow amount of water in it they shouldn't drown in that. Sorry for the huuuuge reply hope it helped


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## aloevera (Jun 19, 2010)

This is the set up i have, the box the person sent with them in was broken so i had to use this tank.

Ive moved a bit of dirt from one of them so you can see the size, im using the USB cable as a size comparison aha (closest thing i had to me)

Does everything look okay? ive got a range of food and some cuttlefish in there


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## MoonGrrl (Feb 28, 2012)

awwwh so tiny! mine was this size when I got it. Looks fine to me basically the same set up I have for mine except I use coco fibre and have a few branches from my apple tree for it to climb.. and nom


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## aloevera (Jun 19, 2010)

I kinda wish mine were a little bigger, because when i move them by their shells, i feel like im going to harm them /:
Cant wait till they've grown a bit 
Ive moved them to an ice cream tub now, same set up just smaller and they are a LOT more active haha


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## metame (Sep 25, 2009)

good to hear they're becoming more active 
cant wait for pictures as they grow!


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