june
Achatina fulica
Posts: 5 
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Post by june on Oct 13, 2014 21:15:58 GMT
Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum.
I have a pet snail (C. nemoralis or C. hortensis, I think) that I've been keeping for about 5 months. I picked him up outside of my apartment in the Pacific Northwest (Washington, USA).
It took me quite a lot a trial and error before I found anything he would eat. I gave him cucumbers and lettuce and everything else that people recommend, but he hardly even nibbled the stuff. After a while, he started to chew on the kale, artichoke, and mushrooms I gave him, but I got the impression that he didn't like them very much. I was pretty worried he might be sick.
Happily, I seem to have found something he likes to eat. I brought in some small branches and leaves from the outdoors to put into his tank and I noticed that he seemed to be nibbling on the tree branches and the lichen that clung to them. I was very happy to see it, but I'm worried that a few twigs won't be enough to keep him healthy. It sounds silly, but I'm kinda worried he isn't getting a balanced diet.
If he prefers eating the food from outdoors, not salad-fare, then how do I know that I am picking the right varieties of outdoor flora to keep him healthy/thriving?
In particular, I sometimes notice my snail turning his head towards his own shell--I've heard that snails might try to eat their own shell if they lack calcium...
It this a problem for anyone else? Does anyone have any advice? Also, does anyone have any recommendations of books about snail diets and/or about this species of snail? I have read/own the following books:
The Secret World of Slugs and Snails: Life in the Very Slow Lane, Snail (Reaktion Books - Animal) , Land Snails and Slugs of the Pacific Northwest, and A Slow Passion: Snails, My Garden and Me.
Here are some more specifics about my snail:
I'm keeping him in a 2.5 gallon glass tank with metal, mesh lid
I am providing coconut husk bedding
I am providing a natural chalk calcium source
My snail went into estivation about 2 times during the summer (for about a week each time)
My snail is kept indoors and seems to prefer cooler temperatures
Thank you very much for any help you can provide!
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Post by etana on Oct 14, 2014 5:32:41 GMT
Welcome to the forum!  It's not silly at all to want your snail to have a balanced diet. Imagine yourself living on just one kind of food! It'd be boring at first, then you'd be ill. So you're absolutely right to ask. Good vegs from outside include dandelion and nettles, if you can collect from a place where they don't get pesticides and/or ridiculous amounts of dog pee on them. Wash them well still, of course. If you want to try other things, if the vegs are from approximately similar area where you found the snail, your snail will know by instinct what's safe to eat. My Cepaea spend a lot of time getting their shells clean and shiny. If yours is interested in the calcium, don't worry about it at all. I think they do it because they climb to find lichen, and when you're up there and easy for predators to find, it helps to have wasp colours on you.  Have you offered sweet potato that's sliced with a peeling knife or cheese cutter? Also this might sound odd, but my Cepaea snails turned a LOT more lively after I gave them a live plant to climb up and down on. A homegrown spider plant means endless fun, it seems! If you can get one easily, it could be worth a shot. |
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Zorst
Achatina tincta
Posts: 734
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Post by Zorst on Oct 14, 2014 9:46:17 GMT
I always give my Cepaea a mix of wild veg and sweet potato, carrots, cabbage and apple with occasional cucumber n courget n sweetcorn.
Theses seem to be there faves. Most of this veg I grow and I've found them munching on in the garden periodically.
Zorst
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Post by morningcoffee on Oct 14, 2014 9:57:12 GMT
You can try putting some veggies or salad leaves on the twigs/branches they have. Drape a lettuce leaf over one or cut a slit into a piece of sweet potato so you can "hook" it over a branch. As he's lived in the wild it might be that he's used to climbing trees to eat the bark, lichen, leaves etc rather than coming down onto the ground where it's more dangerous.
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Post by muddydragon on Oct 14, 2014 11:18:58 GMT
I second all the advice given sweet potato is a usual favourite among snails. I just wanted to add that lichen will probably be a very good main food for him if that's what he's happy eating i would not worry about it too much. Since it's an association between fungi which is a good protein source (think quorn) and algae which is (usually) considered a form of plant (classification gets a little messy here) but they contain many of the nutrients desired from vegetables i would not worry too much. Different lichens have different algae/fungi combinations so you could try offering different types of lichen to get a more varied diet.
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june
Achatina fulica
Posts: 5
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Post by june on Oct 14, 2014 19:55:19 GMT
Thanks so much for the warm welcome, everyone! Welcome to the forum! It's not silly at all to want your snail to have a balanced diet. Imagine yourself living on just one kind of food! It'd be boring at first, then you'd be ill. So you're absolutely right to ask. Good vegs from outside include dandelion and nettles, if you can collect from a place where they don't get pesticides and/or ridiculous amounts of dog pee on them. Wash them well still, of course. If you want to try other things, if the vegs are from approximately similar area where you found the snail, your snail will know by instinct what's safe to eat. My Cepaea spend a lot of time getting their shells clean and shiny. If yours is interested in the calcium, don't worry about it at all. I think they do it because they climb to find lichen, and when you're up there and easy for predators to find, it helps to have wasp colours on you. Have you offered sweet potato that's sliced with a peeling knife or cheese cutter? Also this might sound odd, but my Cepaea snails turned a LOT more lively after I gave them a live plant to climb up and down on. A homegrown spider plant means endless fun, it seems! If you can get one easily, it could be worth a shot. I haven't had much luck with dandelion leaves, in the past, but I will go out and try to find some nettles. I've seen local slugs (we have huge slugs here) chopping on the greens around here but the local snails always seem to be sucking on the concrete walkway or climbing trees... I wish I could catch a glimpse of what the snails are actually eating, but I haven't yet. I usually feel pretty lucky when I see a snail at all, since they're not very prevalent here. I haven't tried grated sweet potatoes yet, either, so I'm excited to try that out tonight! Thanks also for info on shell-cleaning. It's funny, but that sort of information doesn't seem to come up in the snail books I've read--very interesting! I always give my Cepaea a mix of wild veg and sweet potato, carrots, cabbage and apple with occasional cucumber n courget n sweetcorn. Theses seem to be there faves. Most of this veg I grow and I've found them munching on in the garden periodically. Zorst Hmm, I've tried some of these before without much luck. I think I'm going to try again, finely cutting or grating them. Thanks! You can try putting some veggies or salad leaves on the twigs/branches they have. Drape a lettuce leaf over one or cut a slit into a piece of sweet potato so you can "hook" it over a branch. As he's lived in the wild it might be that he's used to climbing trees to eat the bark, lichen, leaves etc rather than coming down onto the ground where it's more dangerous. That sounds like a great idea. I think I'll try that tonight. My snails does love to climb! Thanks! I second all the advice given sweet potato is a usual favourite among snails. I just wanted to add that lichen will probably be a very good main food for him if that's what he's happy eating i would not worry about it too much. Since it's an association between fungi which is a good protein source (think quorn) and algae which is (usually) considered a form of plant (classification gets a little messy here) but they contain many of the nutrients desired from vegetables i would not worry too much. Different lichens have different algae/fungi combinations so you could try offering different types of lichen to get a more varied diet. That's true, maybe lichen is pretty nutritious. Well, the trees are full of the stuff here, so that is one easily gatherable food source! I plan to try the potatoes out, too! Thanks! |
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Post by etana on Oct 15, 2014 8:05:12 GMT
I know how it's like to think you've read so much about snails and are well prepared, and then be surprised when you finally get a real one in front of you. It totally happened to me too, I prepared for snail-keeping for months but for example I hadn't managed to read that snails have facial expressions! So, with my first snail I'd stare at his little wrinkled up face trying to decide whether I was seeing an expression or if he was just a weird snail. Later I figured out he was being grumpy. Another surprising expression is on my avatar - the poor snail tried to have a romantic moment, but the other snail wasn't impressed and snailed away, and the one in my avatar sat with his face like that for a long time. If that's not a disappointed face, I don't know what is! And the facial expressions are just one example! Gladly this forum has many observant people here who see these small things that aren't in the books. |
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snailed
Achatina achatina
Posts: 106
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Post by snailed on Oct 16, 2014 4:33:22 GMT
I am in Michigan, and mine are loving radish and squash right now, sliced really thin. They also like fish food flakes and oats, both soaked in water.
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june
Achatina fulica
Posts: 5
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Post by june on Oct 16, 2014 22:12:17 GMT
I know how it's like to think you've read so much about snails and are well prepared, and then be surprised when you finally get a real one in front of you. It totally happened to me too, I prepared for snail-keeping for months but for example I hadn't managed to read that snails have facial expressions! So, with my first snail I'd stare at his little wrinkled up face trying to decide whether I was seeing an expression or if he was just a weird snail. Later I figured out he was being grumpy. Another surprising expression is on my avatar - the poor snail tried to have a romantic moment, but the other snail wasn't impressed and snailed away, and the one in my avatar sat with his face like that for a long time. If that's not a disappointed face, I don't know what is! And the facial expressions are just one example! Gladly this forum has many observant people here who see these small things that aren't in the books. Yes, I've definitely seen that face on my snail, too! One of my favorite expressions is the horns-down, ready-to-pounce look when he's finding food! I am in Michigan, and mine are loving radish and squash right now, sliced really thin. They also like fish food flakes and oats, both soaked in water. Hmm, radish and fish flakes... Thanks, I definitely haven't tried those yet! It's also interesting to hear how slicing the food makes such a difference. Thankyou! |
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Post by etana on Oct 18, 2014 9:25:30 GMT
Haha YES! That's so great to see, like you don't have to ask twice whether he's enjoying it. Things turn a bit odd though when a snail has that face when nibbling on your skin.  Have you had success feeding your snail? |
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june
Achatina fulica
Posts: 5
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Post by june on Oct 20, 2014 19:59:46 GMT
Haha YES! That's so great to see, like you don't have to ask twice whether he's enjoying it. Things turn a bit odd though when a snail has that face when nibbling on your skin. Have you had success feeding your snail? Hello again! Well, actually, the diet problem doesn't seem quite solved yet. I have been giving him sweet potatoes, but it's hard to tell if he's been eating them. When he wakes, in the evening, he generally seems to head straight for the twigs that are in his tank. I'm thinking the food dish I'm using might be part of the problem (a plastic container lid). I ordered a small seashell food dish. I will try switching to it when it is delivered. Maybe my snail doesn't like plastic or something... I'll have to see if that helps. At least he seems healthy--he's still very active and energetic on his wood and lichen diet. I'll keep trying new things! |
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Post by etana on Oct 20, 2014 20:11:57 GMT
Hmm, all right. I'll think a second. Hey, here's an idea: Take a slice of the sweet potato, I'm talking a very thin slice, and stick it to your tank's wall. It doesn't look very aesthetic, but if these feeding problems are about him wanting to climb to eat, it's worth a try. Someone on this forum came up with that, so I'm not taking credit for it. My snails like seashells for food dishes & bathing, they look very pretty and if it's real seashell, they might nibble it for extra calcium too. Mine rather eat cuttlebone though. But let us know how things go! |
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Zorst
Achatina tincta
Posts: 734
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Post by Zorst on Oct 20, 2014 21:13:11 GMT
I use scallop shells for both food plates and for there snail swimming pools. They also eat them for the calcium as well as there cuttle bones.
Zorst
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Post by snailboat on Oct 21, 2014 2:26:15 GMT
If you slice the sweet potato really thin, you can usually tell if they've been nibbling on them. You should also be able to find poop somewhere if they've been eating, usually the same color as whatever they've been eating (white for cuttle or sweet potato, green for lettuce, orange for carrot, etc.), so you can look at the color to figure out what they've eaten.
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Zorst
Achatina tincta
Posts: 734
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Post by Zorst on Oct 21, 2014 9:29:26 GMT
Sweet potato can also be pale orange depending on the variety of sweet potato.
Zorst
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Post by muddydragon on Oct 21, 2014 13:08:14 GMT
The sweet potato i tend to get is generally a deep orange, but i've also seen pale orange (as Zorst says) and as snailboat says it can be white. Basically you can play a game of match the poo colour to the food, generally it's the same colour. (it's a great game)
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june
Achatina fulica
Posts: 5
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Post by june on Oct 27, 2014 19:15:33 GMT
Thanks to everyone for all the great suggestions! I've been trying them for the last few days.
I still haven't verified for sure that my snail has been eating the sweet potatoes, but I will continue to experiment with food and food placement for a while. I'm thinking it may be taking a while for him to recognize the potatoes, etc., as food--we don't have them growing wild in nature around here. Until I can figure things out, he seems happy eating the twigs and lichen.
Thanks again for the help!
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