Just starting out.

[grahama]

Hi all,

I am just starting out and want to keep snails indoors. I have an old snake vivarium which will do as a start and is 12" x 40" x 8" tall. It has a tight fitting lid and plenty of ventilation.

My questions are related to substrate, water (is misting enough) hides for the snails and whether they will breed in this environment.

I am after some Helix Aspersa Maxima if anyone has them for sale ??

Thanks,

Graham

[Kevin]

Val is selling Helix aspersa maxima, petsnails.proboards3.com/index.cgi?board=classifieds&action=display&thread=6036 send her a pm she may still have some of them. I bought some of them from her, they are very nice Snails, much larger than the native Helix aspersa.

Your tank would be fine, Helix aspersa maxima dont need it as humid as some African species, though they do appreciate it warmer than Helix aspersa, so you may need to use a heatmat attached to the back of the tank.

For substrate you could use coir sold as dry blocks that expand to around 10 litres when soaked in water, cgi.ebay.co.uk/Coir-Block-Substrate-for-Snails-Reptiles-100-Organic_W0QQitemZ280233301266QQihZ018QQcategoryZ122950QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Organic soil is also fine to use, some people use just moss or capillary matting, but I havent used either on its own so not sure whether to recommend it. Moss can be added to the substrate though to help it keep in moisture and add to the humidity, a small water bowl can also be added to help with the humidity.

[Rachel]

I use sphagnum moss on its own, my snails love a cushy thick layer of it and its easy to clean. I get less bugs as well since i started using it. try to get organic though.

[grahama]

Hi,

Thanks for that. Will the snails breed in the coir and the sphagnum moss?? Take it the soil is fine as it is natural to them.

Am I right in thinking the substrate needs to be deeper that thier shels for breeding?

Thanks,

Graham

[Paul]

A lot of people say that thin layers of substrate help prevent laying. There is some logic to that, in that snails can wait until conditions are right to lay. Whether that delay is before the eggs are formed or after is debatable. Also, some snails don't even burrow to lay. I don't think it's reason enough to withhold deep substrate.

Snails like to burrow to hide and probably to stay away from the sun. Not all do though, I've had snails that prefer to hide in a plant pot rather than burrow. Snails are pretty adaptable and it depends on the species I guess. African snails definitely do like to burrow more than European ones.

So, if you can, provide enough for them to bury themselves completely. At the very least it will make them feel safe. If for some reason that isn't doable you could provide more depth at one end in sort of a slope.