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Post by frankjackdaw on Sept 6, 2010 23:37:43 GMT
Hi,
I recently found a baby helix aspersa, about a centimetre in size, attached to a beetroot leaf that had come quite a long way (from Leicester to Milton Keynes). I wasn't sure if I should let it go so far from home, so I put it in my tank with the adult asperas and some Cepaea nemoralis.
I don't know enough about it to know whether this was the right thing to do. He's been in there a few days so far and seems okay, he hasn't been bothered by the other snails and seems happy enough to come out to play with them. Is he likely to be in any danger from them, and do you know if he needs any special food considerations? Would it be kinder to let him go?
Hope you can help!
Adam
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Post by ness on Sept 7, 2010 13:58:02 GMT
Hiya, yes you've done the right thing There should be no problem raising your little snail in the same tank as the others. The other snails will not hassle your baby, and it sounds like it's big enough to be crawled on by the others without damage. As for conditions, well it should be absolutely fine with the same conditions as the adults, similar food and calcium source. However it's not always easy to check to see if an individual snail is eating when it's kept in a group, so if you have concerns you could try placing it in a small tub (with air holes) on it's own so that you can easily see what it's been eating. Wild caught snails can (not always) be fussy when they've never come across certain types of food before, especially the calcium. Are your other snails wild-caught?
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Post by frankjackdaw on Sept 7, 2010 20:46:01 GMT
Thanks for writing back so soon, and putting my mind at rest. I'm glad I did the right thing, sometimes it's hard to tell! Little Lucifer seems quite happy in the tank, and I think is eating okay - he's currently sitting on a sprig of cauliflower, so I assume some of it is being eaten. I'm buying them a fresh cuttlefish tomorrow, so hopefully he'll take to it.
Yeah, they're all wild-caught - they're all ones either with damaged shells, or who were out on hot dry days, or seemed to be too little to be wandering about in the middle of winter, so I don't feel too bad about kidnapping them, and they generally seem to have a nice time in their tank. I take them out to play in a variety of different bowls every two or three days, which I think they enjoy.
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Post by ness on Sept 8, 2010 14:14:14 GMT
Aw that's kind Yes it sounds like you're doing a great job for the little slimers.
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Post by Schnäggli on Sept 16, 2010 13:19:42 GMT
Yes, he should do fine in the same tank as the adults. In summer my adult aspersa snails laid eggs and in the following weeks the tank was taken over by over 100 babies. They are just about a few millimetres when they hatch, so I removed them from the adults' tank and placed in one of their own, albeit with similar conditions. Luckly, they grow very fast! The eldest hatchlings are now over 1cm in size, and I have successfully moved them to the adults' tank. Since your Little Lucifer is about the same size, he should be quite safe. By now he too should have his stripes, does he?
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saki114
Achatina immaculata
Posts: 327
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Post by saki114 on Feb 19, 2012 3:58:22 GMT
i just separate the babies from the adults cud there r SO many hatchlings lol
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