Keeping, breeding and releasing Cepaea hortensis

[aimee]

I am very interested in keeping some c.hortensis - especially the banded kind and breeding them to release when the weather is warm.
I hear they are rarer than normal garden snails and I haven't seen one in around 10 years. I would love to know I had put more of them back into the wild but what I want to know is, is there anything wrong with doing this? Would they die out in the wild?
I was hoping to get a few before winter sets in and breed them (if they breed over the late summer/autumn/winter?) and release them in the spring.
Please could anyone enlighten me, thank you

[shaydeesnail]

I don't think this will be a problem for the snails so long and they are a good size when released and they have plenty of time before winter. Be mindful of where you release them, assess whether there may be a reason you don't see them around- If you see a lot of Helix aspersa around you'll probably be fine. If you have a garden try and make it a safe haven for them so if they can't populate the neighbourhood they can at least live in your garden

[aimee]

Ok that's great to here. Haven't had access to a garden for the past 8 or so years so can kind of explain why I haven't seen any! There is alot of woodland nearby, would this be an appropriate place to release them?
Just trying to find some to buy now!

[shaydeesnail]

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150889764487?ssPageName=STRK#ht_562wt_1271
This seller is a member of this forum- graemepryce to be exact
They aren't banded but may still be of interest to you. I'd recommend that you contact him as I think he has had some success breeding and may have more

The woodland should be perfect, nearly all of the Cepaea I find around here have climbed into the trees, some even high enough to be unreachable! That came as a surprise to me, as when I found them as a child I would always find them tucked in low rockery, I think they can make the best of their habitat wherever they are.

[graemepryce]

Hi, yeah thats me selling those, its just to see if there is any interest really.

I have had success breeding C. Hortensis and C. Nemoralis indoors. They are quite hardy once they get to a good size. If the shell doesn't look too transparent anymore then they are generally ok to pick up (or release).

There is nothing really wrong with releasing them into the wild. They aren't considered a pest species like H. Aspersa and in any case - they actually prefer slightly rotten foods and decaying matter and droppings so there is not many creatures who are unduly affected by Cepaea's in their territory.

The main concern I have come across is a heating issue. I tried to release some that had hatched and grown to about half size in my garden and they barely moved from where I put them and mostly aestivated ( hibernated ) on the spot. I brought them back in in the end because they were clearly not leaving the area at all. They are they ones I breed from now anway as they seem to have acclimatized to indoor conditions and their hatchlings seem the same. If you are intending to release some I would hatch them in a cool room in the house or maybe in a protected spot in the garden and only treat the ones you intend to keep and breed from in a heated room.

They will start to become more and more scarce now anyway as the summer draws to a close. It will be quite difficult to find any by the end of october so I would start keeping an eye out for them!

They are able to live pretty much anywhere. Woodland with lots of ferns and gorse is ideal for them. They seem to like areas with lots of nettles too ( which can make picking one up diificult! ) and you may actually spot them if you look up in low trees hanging on the underside of leaves.

I'm of the same mind as you - there were millions of banded ones when I was a kid but you have to look for them now. I like H. Aspersa to be around but it seems a shame how much they have taken over in a lot of areas. I'm glad to know Cepaea's have a new friend, they are a really cool little breed of snail and much faster than you would expect. Don't be too disappointed if it takes a while to get any eggs though, they are not as prolific as GALS and don't panic if a few die occosionally - they can only live 3.5 years at the very most and any adults you collect will likely already be over a year old. There is usually a mark on the shell that clearly shows the point where they have aestivated and stopped growing for the winter. They don't have this in captivity.

Anyway - sorry to go on! Its kind of a favourite subject of mine. I've got a colony of about 45 at the moment in varying stages! Hope I helped.

[aimee]

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply Graeme.
I've emailed a lady on that species trader website and I've also posted on the facebook group for the local community garden. I asked if if anybody could keep some for me if they found them and in return I would bring down the gals when the childrens groups come to the garden, fingers crossed.
There is already a nip in the air even right on the south coast but there is an area locally which is woodland which is edged with nettles and large trees are around and over hang it so I might go down there and have a look at the weekend and see if I can find some, and blackberries for jam at the same time so it's not a wasted trip if I don't find any!
I live in an old Victorian house with single glaze sash windows (bbbbrrr!) and only heat the room I'm sitting in so in theory I will just move the tank near the windows to a room I'm not in.
If you still have them I might buy some off you in a few weeks but I'm a sucker for the banded ones so will keep my eye out.

How are the bands 'decided' on the shell, is the 'dominant' band pattern inherited from the parent, is it a mixture of patterns from both patterns or it is completely random?

[PennyFarthing]

I think there is - or has been - a survey going on in Britain to try to find new or unusual morphs, find dominant morphs, etc. in the hope of finding out what influences the colours and patterns. Despite a Google search, I can find no reference to it though.

[graemepryce]

There is research going on but they need you to search for every Cepaea in a single area. I would love to do it but i just don't have the time or the isolation where i live. I'd get very funny looks rummaging in the bushes in my local park or on the route I take my dog!

I keep single banded rose and yellow C. Horts but i tend to leave multi-banded ones. There is some theories behind the reasons for certain morphs but they are a bit sketchy and vary from place to place. I can't really spot anything about that, except the places where I find unbanded yellow ones, they seem to be the only kind there which is a bit strange!

[PennyFarthing]

I found a new colour morph in my front garden recently, among the honeysuckle on my front wall. The snails have a very faint chocolate brown stripe and are pink with an albino tip. The ones that I saw also had very pale bodies.

They blended in so well among the honeysuckle stems and shoots that I thought that they must be that colour because of that plant. I was really excited!

[aimee]

Oh wow they sound really pretty, would love to see a picture of those if you can!

[pinkunicorn]

Also one thing I thought about hibernation is, you could see that there are piles of leaves etc places for safe hibernation nearby. Or perhaps provide some near cold weathers so the snails living in the area find them.

[graemepryce]

Pennyfarthing has put a picture of those snails up on here somewhere. They are really really unusual looking. They kickstarted my quest to find good unbanded rose morphs myself and breed with yellow unbands to try and get the same result! As always though - The only rose morph i can find are C. Nems not C. Horts, and they are few and far between.

I picked up a little chap off some leaves the other day who is a very strange shade! I'm thinking of doing another 'snail photo-shoot' in a bit so I will picture him for opinions!