Rumina decollata

[Schnäggli]

I was wondering if anyone has experience keeping Rumina decollata en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decollate_snail as pets. (I found a very old thread here about them: petsnails.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=species&thread=4139&page=1 but I was hoping to find out more about these snails)

Right now I'm visiting my inlaws in Italy and found a Rumina decollata (as well as some other different species) in their garden. Decollate snails are carnivores, but I already have an Achatina fulica and I was wondering if I could feed the Rumina in a similar way. I've been doing some research on the habitat of decollate snails and I think I could provide it the conditions it needs.

However I wanted to know if anyone else keeps them and if you have any specific advice. (I don't plan on breeding them, I'll only take one specimen)

Thanks in advance

[stevepully]

I have just started to keep this species and feed them on cucumber lettuce and sweet potato. I also give them soaked cat buscuits so that they get some protein, If they have no live food they will live happily on fruit and vegetables. Mine seem to be very active and eating well.
Here is a link to a video about the feeding habbits of Rumina Decollata. www.youtube.com/watch?v=39qEavdOf8I
Hope I have been of some help.

[coyote]

I keep garlic snails (Oxychilus alliarius), which need more than just the veg I feed my other snails. I give them fish flakes, aspersa and otala eggs (since I do not want to breed them), soaked pieces of cat kibble, and the occasional dead snail to feed on (their long, thin bodies are well adapted to reaching inside the shell to feed on the remains), in addition to the veg I give all my snails. Garlic snails seems to feed on carrion but not live prey. I don't know if decollatas require live prey or if they would accept carrion or "dead" meat like kibble or fish flakes. Since it seems they also eat decaying plant material in addition to other snails, you do have some feeding options.

[coyote]

That was a very interesting video of some very hungry snails. Thanks for the link.

[Schnäggli]

Thanks for the answers, guys! Very helpful. I'm happy to hear there are others succesfully keeping them in captivity. Superb video too.

The Rumina I found is active (especially at night) but hasn't feed yet on the foods I offered it (lettuce and a tiny bit of cat food). I'll try offering it different vegetables and fish food instead. My Achatina fulica prefers fish flakes and fish pellets as well.

[Schnäggli]

An update - the Rumina I found is still not eating, even after being offered different foods (vegetables, fruits, cat food). It's active, but not eating anything.

I'm making one last attempt with a live earthworm and a tiny mealworm (both found in the garden the snail comes from). If it still doesn't eat, I'll free it back where I found it. I don't want to starve the poor critter.

All the other snails I found are eating just fine.

[morningcoffee]

May 26, 2010 11:22:44 GMT Schnäggli said:

An update - the Rumina I found is still not eating, even after being offered different foods (vegetables, fruits, cat food). It's active, but not eating anything.

I'm making one last attempt with a live earthworm and a tiny mealworm (both found in the garden the snail comes from). If it still doesn't eat, I'll free it back where I found it. I don't want to starve the poor critter.

All the other snails I found are eating just fine.

Have you tried it with some actual meat? Many of my snails like to eat raw pork and bacon.

[coyote]

Are you sure it just isn't eating a little when you're not looking? Sometimes my snails fool me into thinking they haven't even moved let alone eaten, but then I see poop so I know they got sneaky in the middle of the night and had a snack.

[Schnäggli]

May 26, 2010 16:39:53 GMT morningcoffee said:

Have you tried it with some actual meat? Many of my snails like to eat raw pork and bacon.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll will give it a try.

May 26, 2010 18:38:21 GMT coyote said:

Are you sure it just isn't eating a little when you're not looking? Sometimes my snails fool me into thinking they haven't even moved let alone eaten, but then I see poop so I know they got sneaky in the middle of the night and had a snack.

It's possible, but I couldn't see any signs of nibbling on the food.
All the other snails (even the tiny ones) are eating like pigs.

[Schnäggli]

Another update. I acquired a different Rumina and freed the first one back in the garden it came from. The second Rumina isn't as fussy as the first one and is eating vegetables just fine and apparently ate the earthworm too. The only thing it didn't eat is the mealworm, but I guess it's just too hard for snails to nibble.

Thanks for the help!

[keli]

The other day I saw this post and the youtube video. It's awesome. I did not know they had carnivorous snails.

Today I was in my parents' house in the countryside. I searched snails, and I found lots of shells Decollato rumina. All empty. None alive.
I told my daughter that these snails were carnivorous and did not want to pick them.

[Schnäggli]

They also eat plenty of veggies, keli. The biggest downside to keeping them is that you cannot keep them with aspersas and other snails, because they would prey on them, but they will eat plenty of other foods too. I gave mine banana yesterday - it loved it! ;D

[crossless]

I don't think that's down side I don't like mix species together maybe just some small native species.. Argh.. Now when you keep talking about these, I'm want even more this species. Have to see when I get money do I buy some. I would have them plenty of food, 11mature fulicas soon one more will be mature and I could pick food from wild too.