H. pomatia - questions

[SojMad]

Hello again!
Since I've never had any H. pomatia before, and these are wildcaught, I have some questions;

1. What food do they prefer to eat?

2. What sort of calcium do they prefer?

3. What's the easiest way to let them hibernate if I DON'T have access to any cold but protected area? We have a lot colder up here in the winter then in the south parts of Sweden, so I don't dare to risk their lives in our winters. Is it possible to use the refridgerator or something like that? Do you guys use to hibernate these species of snails? How do you do, and for how long?

Thank you for your time!

[strangemouse]

Hiya

My Helix pomatia eat the same as my other snails - sweet potato, courgette, marrow and romaine lettuce. I give cuttlefish 'bone' as a calcium source. Only had them 18 months but they seem to be doing ok on this and seen the first babies last month.

I can't help on the hibernation as mine live outdoors all year as it doesn't get very cold but I imagine putting them in the fridge would be fine. I would do it gradually so not too shock them though.

Hope that is a start.

Victoria

[foghog]

a fridge is the perfect spot for them to hibernate in. Roman snails/H. Pomatia go into hibernation around 8 celsius,...the only problem or concerns they have at this point is they need, or will dig themselves a hole and climb in, spin around and face the hole opening upwards. they then seal the shellmouth with actually a sort of soft shell/calcium slime, then they put another layer of just slime and can pretty much chill out no matter how cold it gets. literally -100 celsius. ....the problem is they sorta have to feel right in the hole, and if it warms up above 8 celsius the snail will become active pop out of it's hole and if it doesn't have enough time before it drops temp again will die because it's ill prepared. also when it comes out of hibernation, it is often weak and vulnerable. The point is...if they are in a cooler or a fridge/etc, that can maintain a temp instead of hit those highs and lows during a warm spell, all the better. also, they do still breath/etc so cannot get flooded/etc.....

[Robert Nordsieck]

Hi there,

Helix pomatia indeed is pretty resistant against frost, but the lowest temperature tested is around 40 degrees centigrade below zero.
To achieve that, the snail has to produce the hibernation lid, it also has to isolate the shell's interior with additional air packets between slime membranes and it must be hidden in the hibernation hole, isolated with moss and other vegetation and covered with earth. Also the snail divided larger molecules in its bloodstream and so produces a kind of natural anti-freezer.
Do do so, the snail needs very much calcium carbonate in autumn.

Helix pomatia are said to eat wilted plant matter rather than fresh one, which I cannot exactly prove. The snails also love to eat fresh plant food, like cucumber, radish leaves and other vegetable leaves which you can get from most shops for free. You also can feed oatmeal softened in water, carrot halves, tomatoes and fruit.

As to the calcium source - I have made good experiences with egg shells, but cuttlebone should also work finely.

Kind regards
Robert

[crossless]

For the hibernation in my country snail keepers let wc snails sleep in their main tank about 2weeks or so as long as snail feels sleepy. And it don't hurt them if terrarium is let to drying out little time they spend sleeping but some maintain tank anyways so it's easier to see when snail is up again and rest is over. Or then let them just sleep if their sleep and don't wake them. No fridge needed. They can rest in room temp when their inner clock says so.

So wc snails have just inactive winter sleeps most of time sometimes just wakes for short time and some sleep many weeks straight so it's really up snails how long they need rest.

This is what I have read about wc snails hibernation. Some wc snails don't much rest indoors and some do.

[crossless]

Is my post helpful? Anyone?

[foghog]

ya, you said everything ok, I think. The reason for the fridge/cooler is controlled situation. Pomatia typically hybernate at 46.4 ºF or 8ºC a fridge within typical range should be 1°-4.5°C (34°-40°F) so it's a great controlled temp that you know the snail won;t come out of. you can also put them in a cooler, because that way say you have a warm day or something, the cooler will still keep them frosty, and hibernating, not waking up because the warm day walking around and then going ick when it once again freezes later that night. at least thats my thoughts on the subject. we don;t have to really worry about Helix Pomatia can actually survive 70% of their body being actually frozen from experiments I believe I have read. Université de Rennes 1, UMR 6553 Ecobio, bat.13, 263 Av. Gal Leclerc, CS 74205, 35042 Rennes Cedex, France. [e-mail] by Ansart A, Vernon P, Daguzan J.

H.Pomatia do not have to specifically hibernate though, they will get slower because they react to the different levels of light, and they will prepare themselves for hibernation...they will drop water weight, and slow down eating, and they will try to find a place to dig a hole and go to sleep. they do this gradually as the daylight changes and it gets colder and colder. in a lab however or inside a house, you pretty much setup things how you want them to be. and in warmer climates where Pomatia are, it doesn't reach freezing, so they sort of just chillout......I find it more productive to just put them in a fridge for a bit, after they've done their thing, then bring them back inside and wake them up fine. They do not seem to mind at all...and in some situations a snail can lose 50% of it's weight during hibernation, which is not something I want mine to go through. pomatia and aspersa I believe do their best when they have 18 hours of sunlight a day, which is more then most places on earth will give them naturally., especially in the winter.

[crossless]

Yeah. In forum where I have been there haven't really been any experience change about other kind of hibernation like in fridge.

I would be intereted to try on my Helix pomatia when I get them, but I was wondering since I have in summer really hot apartment and if I can't get terrarium to cool down would it be better let them rest just in summer over heatwave. It would be horrible to get new snails every summer if they die when heatwave comes. Or in summer I maybe need just need to make loads of huge ice pack to keep terrarium cool. Have to see if temp is low enough on balcany againts cool floor or on top of chest freezer.

[SojMad]

Thank you very much for your answers, they were very helpful! I have one more question; would H. pomatia survive and be okay even if they were not hibernated?