Legal land snails in the USA (Confirmed species)

[Liguus]

redacted

[astana]

It makes me wonder why it is so much easier to ship land snails around Europe but not in America.

[haylinmakaye]

I think it has something to do with the climate. a lot of snails could thrive and take over and ruin a LOT of crops in the US because it tends to be warmer. we even already have a lot that got here somehow (i forgot, I want to say a flood?) and they're a serious pest to farmers. but in Europe it gets a lot colder and the snails would have a lot harder time trying to survive and reproduce as much if released.
but that's just what I've always assumed, I'm sure someone else could explain it better.
either that or we just can't be trusted to not release them

[Liguus]

Fish and Wildlife: We don't know

University of Florida: We don't know

USDA: We don't know

PPQ pest permitting branch: (Response pending)

[Liguus]

redacted

[malacophile]

I'd love to get my hands on some of these species if you bring any back!

[Liguus]

Sure, maybe I owe it to you since (I think) you were the one who told me about the H. pomatia in Wis! I just didn't want to hype this up too much, then let everyone down if I don't find any snails lol.

[helenm]

How is the care for these species different from others?

[Liguus]

There are rumors that tree snails are difficult to feed. I have never attempted to feed tree snails "normal" food before, So I'm not sure if that works. Other people claim they only eat lichen. I do know a little about the artificial diets that were used in captivity though, basically just blended food smeared onto branches or glass. I think I would smear it onto cuttle bone personally so that they are encouraged to rasp that as well. Most likely a mix of fruit, veg, mushrooms, and dog food.

[Liguus]

They also probably need a UV lizard light above the terrarium. One person I spoke with said theirs were not doing very well until he got one. Apparently tree snails rely on UV light more than other species. (Caracolus marginella do not seem to need it though).

[morningcoffee]

Jun 29, 2015 16:46:14 GMT Liguus said:

There are rumors that tree snails are difficult to feed. I have never attempted to feed tree snails "normal" food before, So I'm not sure if that works. Other people claim they only eat lichen.

You can grow your own lichens if you don't have any that you can find growing locally... the only issue is it apparently takes a long time for them to grow.
lichenlovers.org/lichen_growth_formula.phtml

[sparrow]

I've had a great deal of difficulty keeping my lichens alive. I found one good tree in my area and collect during a rainfall. I keep a small plastic spackle knife and a container in the car to collect and take the bark with the lichen. I keep all newly collected lichens in a sealed terrarium for over a month to make sure there are no harmful insects growing in the bark. 50%(+/-) do not survive and even after isolation for one month plus, some larvae or eggs of insects will still crop up and then there's a pest problem.

I've been using 100% pure Spirulina and O.S.I. Spirulina Flake Fish Food, 30gr with much greater success. I don't know if it's as good for snails as live lichens, but my little ambersnail seems to like it.

[Dustystar]

? You're amazing! Keep us posted!!

[Liguus]

Jun 29, 2015 16:46:14 GMT Liguus said:

I do know a little about the artificial diets that were used in captivity though, basically just blended food smeared onto branches or glass.

No sense in growing lichens IMO if the blended food works. The University of Florida reared four generations in captivity on it in their conservation effort, and had a very high (I think it was near 100% successful ) amount of hatchlings. I'm not sure about the exact formula yet, but I don't believe the ingredients different to much from a standard diet. Another method I've heard is used is to make a slurry that mold will grow on, and they will eat that. I haven't gotten a chance to test out my feeding ideas, but I will likely make a post about it in August.

[astana]

Now the real question is, are they allowed on planes?

[Liguus]

Good question, personally I don't see why not. Usually snails aren't allowed, but that law refers to "pests" and since these aren't the airlines likely wouldn't care. Although recently when my boss was traveling back to the USA from the Dominican republic he had to fill out a form that he wasn't smuggling anything and snails were on the list. Likely the airline would waste your time with an investigation unless you had written permission.
I was offered a letter of permission from the USDA but I figured it wasn't necessary, since I'm traveling by car and if anyone brought it up when I'm selling them I could just bring up screenshots of the emails I received.

P.S.- list of species updated in first post

[gigas]

Good post. When I read it, I thought it referred to all gastropods. But now that you mention it, it does specify snails that infest plants or plant products. Not that this would help me in any way (Zachrysia definitely eat anything..), there should be a full list of species they require permits for, since of this specification. I think I'll dig further into this, as well.

[Liguus]

Sept 10, 2015 12:13:03 GMT gigas said:

Good post. When I read it, I thought it referred to all gastropods. But now that you mention it, it does specify snails that infest plants or plant products. Not that this would help me in any way (Zachrysia definitely eat anything..), there should be a full list of species they require permits for, since of this specification. I think I'll dig further into this, as well.

Yeah it would be great to know if the USDA would allow tree snails/(detritus/fungi/lichen eaters) from other countries to be shipped to the US as well. I've been busy recently but meaning to email the USDA again asking about it. There is some nice Asian species I want to get lol.

[astana]

There are many, many nice Asian species that I want to get... Lol.