Help with *truly* unexpected clutches

[phoenix1915]

Hi There.
I live in a gated apartment community in Southern California (not a lot of humidity). I take walks around my community. I ended up discovering that there are snails down a certain path that has sprinklers that come on at night. I noticed that snails kept getting stepped on constantly and worse, weed whacked. Well I got tired of seeing it, and so I put 4 or 5 snails onto my back deck where I have potted plants. I figure there they won't get trampled and killed by gardeners!
Well, cut to me learning all about snail reproduction, clutches, and taking care of snails. One day I went out side and a potted plant was covered in baby snails. I have wild birds that just perch on my patio, and I have astro turf grass. I noticed them going outside of the pot and onto the fake grass. Essentially - this was not a safe place for baby snails. So I bought a tank and set up a home for them. Literally this happened 3 more times - going outside one morning and finding a clutch hatching. I decided to take them in each time and put them in homes inside instead of putting them outside to be stepped on and weed whacked (like seriously the apartment complex over does it).

I've been afraid to post and ask for help because I am sure there are those of you who are pros and might end up saying that I shouldn't have done what I did (bring the snails in and raise them). All I can tell you is that I kept finding snails with decimated shells from gardeners or just completely stomped on the sidewalks around me and didn't want that for them.

I am sure you won't be surprised to learn that I am completely overwhelmed now with keeping them and taking care of them. It was easier when they were babies, but I am just in over my head now. Honestly I don't mind the hours of upkeep it takes, I'm just at the point where I wonder if they would be happier outside, even if they have a much shorter lifespan outside.

So that leads me to my questions that I have been getting to:
-Will they survive back outside, or have I made them dependent on the food I have been giving them? I've searched for the answer to this question on the internet and can't seem to find it.
-Just general options/ideas - what can I do next to alleviate some of this burden? Ive reached out to 2 snails rescues but haven't heard back. Can I place them at a park that has a lake? I did recently discover other pockets of snails around my community. Slightly less hazardous areas, but still would be in gardeners paths and end up under peoples feet.

Any help/suggestions would be so appreciated. And please, if you can find it in yourself to not criticize/chastise me, that would be wonderful. I had no idea the snails would lay eggs on my patio and when the clutches came, I didn't really have time to think about if I should just let them die on the patio as nature intended or intervene. I intervened and that is where I am at. If anyone has ideas for how to move forward I'd appreciate it so much. I love snails and just want what is best for them.

[sparrow]

First, I don't think anyone in this community will criticize you - this isn't Reddit, where you ask a practical question and get snarky responses.

Actually in a similar situation, albeit with little tiny glass snails that don't take up much space. This was my first: xenofontis.weebly.com/uploads/1/0/8/6/10862460/r100-8468_orig.jpg

There were eggs in plants purchased from a nursery and after a couple of weeks, after a good soak, a little snail appeared. Set him up in a 2 oz container with room to spare!
Moved him to a small glass apothecary jar, which was like a mansion to this tiny species.
A couple weeks later, after soaking the mosses again, a few days later, another little snail appeared! So we had two little guys in the jar.

Well, after about two months, there was the first clutch of eggs! Now, I have a micro-mini snails, with mini snails.
Found another one in the moss after watering yesterday and added to the little growing family.

I had one snail for almost 3 years (Snagglepuss) , but he never reproduced, so was quite excited with becoming a grandmother with glass snails.

Actually came here to post a question, but reading your post, I felt you needed a bit of encouragement or at least someone in a similar (albeit smaller) position.

Do you know what species of snail you rescued or have a photo for identification? That will help others give you a better response.
I don't want to throw out the soil from their previous enclosure, because there may still be eggs or snails deep in the substrate.

Actually have some of the same questions you have, so hopefully, one of the old-timers here will respond.

[Cashell]

Luckily for you, snails are not domesticated animals. Even when they are born in captivity, they still have their wild know-how intact. You may safely release the excess snails in a forest or by the ravine or something.

[phoenix1915]

I am so terrible with online forums but wanted to say thank you to sparrow and cashell for responding!! Not sure if I can tag you in any way, so I hope you see this reply. And Sparrow you are so right, reddit leaves me shaking sometimes haha!

I have Cornu aspersum - more than I can count. Like, hundreds. I just want what is best for them and they produce a lot of waste, so it is just difficult to keep up with them all. I am holding strong for now but I think I will eventually have to give in and release some. Maybe I can adopt a few out to some trusted friends who would be trustworthy.

Sparrow your little glass snails are adorable. Can I ask you, what is that you are feeding them in your photo? Love to hear that the first one ended up with someone like you who is taking care of it and giving it a chance!

[sparrow]

Usually get notices if someone replies, but didn't get one with this. Anyway, checked back to see if anyone responded and Cashell did.
I only post in different plant forums and stay away from the rest of Reddit. That place is a zoo and raises my blood pressure. It's monkey-see / monkey-do over there.

The babies are about 1/4 the size of a pinhead! They are very cute, but not active during the day at all. After all the lights are out, I watch them with a penlight.
Glass snails are carnivores, which makes them a bit tricky to feed and not quite ready to start giving them raw chicken!

Little one is eating Fluval Bug Bites Tropical Fish Food, which is 40% black soldier fly larvae and salmon protein. Thankfully, they love it.

They also like fungi, so mushrooms became their main fresh food. A couple of them will eat carrots, but for the most part, they will not eat any of the normal snail fruits and veggies.
They all love the cuttlebone and usually the easiest place to find a group of them all huddled around it.
Some of them will eat the vegetable version, some will eat the fruit version of this: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09JT1Q1HS/?th=1 - the food goes in bottle-cap size "dishes".

If anything, they are super-economical. They have pretty short life spans, I think 18 months is about average, but will never really know if one passes on, since the little carnivores will eat them before I have a chance to find them.
None seem to cannibalize the eggs or each other, which I thought was rather decent of them! Another person mentioned they put glass snails in with a different species and these little guys killed the bigger snails. Ouch!

When I found the first one crawling up the side of a terrarium, I thought it was a bug and was ready to squish it. Not knowing what kind of "bug" it was, pulled out a magnifying glass and saw it was a little itty-bitty snail! Instant love!
The next one, didn't need to look twice and just scooped him up and added to the first one.

There must be at least 30 in their new 8" x 8" x 8" ReptiZoo Terrarium, with plenty of room to spare!

[phoenix1915]

Sparrow that is truly amazing, I can't picture snails that are that small! Incredible that you even saw the baby snails. It sounds like a fun process to learn what they like and don't like. Thanks for sharing all of this information and just plain old fun details! I'm learning how enjoyable a hobby keeping snails can be, and it feels nice to be part of a community that has the same interests

[Cashell]

phoenix1915

Glad I could help. 😎 Snails breed like mad and choosing a solution is not always easy.