Hiya - reasonably new snail owner here!

[shecreates]

Hiya, 

ive only had 2 snails before, and when their time was up I didnt get anymore  
But of late ive been thinking ooh shall I get some more.. 
well seems fate decided I would 

As I was browsing gumtree for a cat scratch post the other day 
and saw someone selling 6 yes 6 snails.. now I saw the photo of the tank & I was.. distraught - they are quite large already and the tank size was rediculous  
so I went n got them.. 
then bought a bigger tank the substrate a pot etc and still had my heat mat already from my others anyways! 

Now these fella's didnt have no heatmat, no water bowl no plant pot or anything else for that matter I am a noob and I couldnt tell what type of snail any snail is.. I love em love having them but identification isn't my strong point so if anyone has any sort of idea from the photo's I have id be greatful... 

Got these fellas home and out that tank to find.. possibly weeks of food in there going & gone mouldy  

anywhoo here they are.. 

This is them this morning I was adding a bit more substrate as what I put in yesterday didnt seem enough to bury in so put them in the 'cleaned out' tank they came in you can see how small it is!!!



Close up



New home!!!




Being a noob I have done quite a bit of research - but if there is anything else you all feel I need to be doing let me know I want to learn!!! 

They seem to love going to the top of the tank - I was thinking maybe its because its dark?? 

and regarding the heat mat - its not on yet.. as I wanted to ask about this because they havent had one - will putting one on now unsettle them??

Thanks XO

[killen]

Hello I would say they are fulicas

[snailbaby]

Welcome to our forum how lovely of you to give these snails a good home they are very lucky to have you as their owner, I am looking forward to hearing how they settle in. They look good in their new tank well done. You will really enjoy coming on the site there is always lots of interesting topics being discussed. Snail baby

[inky]

As killen said, I reckon those are Achatina fulica.

[shecreates]

well I was slightly worried when they all kept going to the top of the tank & at present ive not attached the heater as im a little concerned a new temperature may unsettle them?

Just woke this morning all 6 are down sliming around have eaten food

[starcrazy19]

They often sleep up high, I propped stumpy sticks and thing up into the corners so they can rest more comfortably up there if they wish. Looks like you've gotten then into some great new conditions, but I might put in branches & bark and stuff for them to explore. And they're lucky to be healthy after their previous bad treatment! Love the colours of their skins. Some people do keep fulica without heat mats, it depends if they're in a warm room to start with. I probably would use the mat, you could consider getting a thermostat to gradually increase the temperature in the tank, see what seems to suit them best They will probably be more active with the heat, and they usually tell you by their behaviour if they're too hot or cold

[muddydragon]

i believe they sleep grouped up like that up high underneath things (such as branches) to a. physically hide themselves from airborn predators b. disguise themselves as fruit/wierd tree growths.

With the heatmat make sure it's on the side rather than under the tank, if snails feel too warm they burrow which of course brings them closer to the heatmat so they burrow further and can cook on the heatmat. Turning the heat on now will not bother them you could always get a thermastat to make sure the tank doesn't get too warm

[shecreates]

yep ive still not attached the heat mat, but they seem pretty active - always 2-3 up n about I think i'll attach it tomorrow on my day off to keep an eye on how they react

[shivles]

Welcome! Id say if they're fairly active then I wouldn't bother with a heat mat, they sound happy enough without one. It's great that you took on so many and rehoused them as that tank is much too small for them. What are you feeding them?