Snail Breeding Question

[caiti]

I will be getting a pair of snails in the spring and I can hardly wait!

However, I do have one concern. I have read that it is better to keep snails together, so I am getting a pair. If they breed, I plan to release the young into the wild where I found the parents. They would of had the young there anyways, even if I didn't find them.

The problem is, what care will the eggs and young require? I plan to carefully scoopthe eggs out, with the surrounding soil andplace them in a plastic container. When they hatch I will keep them in there and feed them vegetables and crushed cuttlebone. I will release them when they two to three weeks old. Is this a good plan?

[foghog]

tricky question. and it may even be illegal for you to do, not sure if that matters to you or not. I know nothing of canadian law to say....but in the US we cannot for instance take salmon roe attempt to fertilize it and put it in a artificial nest in the river which we took the salmon from. even if they are right next to a place where the government releases salmon themselves. They have their reasons...
in any case if you are asking about the feasibility of doing that itself and it 'working' yes, you can do that, and it'll work fine more then likely. I wouldn't release them after holding them in captivity long, I would do it as soon as possible after they hatch. you could release them in a area you throw down a bunch of lettuce seeds which will grow fairly quick and help give them some food later, but the rest will pretty much be left to nature....and that will be a gamble. maybe make them a little place/board/etc to hide under/etc. if it is a area you found the same species then it should be hospitable to them ok, I'd think.

[coyote]

I have always let the eggs hatch in the same tank where they were laid. I do not raise snails for the most part; I usually freeze eggs or place them outside in the garden and let nature take its course. Any hatchlings I did not want to keep I let go outside eventually (I keep only species that are found locally to begin with, such as aspersas).

I have heard of people moving the adults to a new tank once the hatchlings emerge, thus saving the effort of having to move the fragile little ones and just letting them grow up in the tank where they hatched. But that may not be absolutely necessary for the species you will be getting.

[caiti]

foghog,I am pretty sure it is legal here. I am planning to keep them for that amount of time time give all the eggs a chance to hatch. I will release them when they are still fairly new.

coyote, thank you for the suggestion of moving the parents! I am searching for snails tonight, as it is damp and mild. I thought it was to cold but I just spotted a slug in my garden. I guess it isn't to cold! I will be sure to have another tank handy incase they do lay eggs.

[foghog]

ah good. living in the US I didn't know...the land of govt. control, regulation and lawsuits.....I am SO glad govt. in this country finally got that pesky freedom thing under control for the betterment of us all.