Slug Activity

[astana]

It's been a very long time since I've kept slugs, so I was wondering how active they are to be. Specifically, I mean Limus maximus, otherwise known as the leopard slug. He doesn't seem to do much, even at night. He basically sits curled up under a piece of lettuce on a comfy little bed of moss all day, occasionally munching off a corner. Speaking of which, I had found him underneath an overturned garden pot, much in the same position as he is now.

Back to the main topic, have you other users of this forum noticed differing levels of activity in slugs?

[leila]

In my experience with banana slugs they are active enough that you will at least notice them in a different spot each day. Leopards are carnivorous so your guy might not be getting the nutrition he needs. Try giving him some sort of meat, or something small and slow to hunt.

[malacophile]

I had Limax maximus for a while and they seemed to quite enjoy hiding under the lettuce and moss all the time. That's all they did when they weren't eating each other, despite the fact that I gave them a wide variety of foods, which included meat every day. They're the touchiest, pickiest and most murderous slugs I've ever come across. Even Deroceras reticulatum weren't that bad. As cool as they are, I can't say I ever intend to keep them again.

[robinwhiskers]

I have a common garden slug that doesn't seem very active. Sadie (the slug's name) sleeps on the lid of the terrarium most of the day, but if she sees something yummy on the ground, such as cucumbers or carrots (her favorites) she comes down right away!

[Evan]

What meat should I feed my leopard slug?

[animalover1]

When I had my slugs they slept a lot on the lid of their container, under a log, or under a piece of lettuce. When I opened their container they would wake up and crawl around. At night they were more active and during the day they would sleep, but some of them did come out to eat a piece of lettuce during the day.

Do common garden slugs require meat?

[malacophile]

Jan 10, 2016 23:54:00 GMT Evan said:

What meat should I feed my leopard slug?

Unseasoned hamburger, chicken, pork or fish, all cooked, ideally (to prevent bacterial issues), should be well-received.

Jan 11, 2016 0:46:08 GMT animalover1 said:

Do common garden slugs require meat?

I suspect that it's not as strict a requirement as with leopard slugs, but from my observations, they do seem to quite enjoy it. It may also help keep the risk of cannibalism at a minimum. I had caught mine eating one another on occasion before I began offering them a source of animal protein.

Also, slugs (and snails) seem to really, really like egg yolk. Mine routinely ignored the white and just devoured the yolk.

It contains the bulk of the nutrition in an egg, including many extremely important nutrients (choline, B12, vitamin A (retinoic acid, not beta carotene- important distinction!) B9 (folate), B5 (pantothenic acid) vitamin D, selenium, zinc, phosphorus, various sulfur compounds).

Yolk also has a very high ratio of fat to protein (80% fat, 20% protein). Their apparent zeal for it leads me to believe that some constituent or combination thereof may be at least occasionally necessary in their diets as several of these substances are either lacking in plants and lean protein sources, or simply do not exist in them at all.

[animalover1]

Ok, when I get some slugs again I will be sure to offer them some meat. I will have to see how my snails like egg yolk too! Thanks for the info!

[leila]

Is this egg being cooked or do you just crack it in there raw? Seems like a good way to get protein to picky snails...

[malacophile]

Feb 8, 2016 5:53:49 GMT leila said:

Is this egg being cooked or do you just crack it in there raw? Seems like a good way to get protein to picky snails...

I give it to them boiled. They snarf the stuff like there's no tomorrow!

[Cow]

In my garden I found some slugs and the were moving across the wall they seemed active!