Post by kristensaurr on Sept 18, 2010 5:25:19 GMT
TL;DR? (Key points highlighted in red)
Hellooooo~ I posted a handful of days ago about the preparations I was making for my newly adopted snails c: Since then, they have taken quite the liking to their new home. Sometimes they even make use of the small, coconut shell hide I had purchased for them. So I am very impressed.
I was also really worried about them not getting enough calcium. I was informed that wild caught snails might not know that they can eat the cuttle. So, like any worried parent, I sprinkled cuttle all of their food and in their favorite places to sit. I am pleased to have personally witnessed two of the snails munching away at the cuttle itself. It's quite the relief.
The snails have also taken...quite the liking to each other...and I believe I have witnessed two of them mating! I was wondering if anyone could give me a general overview of how to deal with the eggs. I know that they look like a collection of white BBs and that the snail will burrow to lay them, yes? I also know that releasing the eggs into the wild could be harmful to the environment because there is so many. So I suppose my big questions are:
-How far down will a snail burrow to lay eggs?
-Are the eggs in a sac, or just clumped together?
.If they are in a sac, how would I go about keeping one or two for myself?
-How many eggs will my breed of snails lay? [H. Aspersa]
-If I keep some for myself in expectation of maybe one or two, how should I take care of the eggs? How many eggs should I take? Should I leave them where they are until they hatch or make a separate enclose for them until they reach adulthood then move them in with the other adults?
-How long will it take them to reach adulthood?
-How to I destroy the eggs? The idea breaks my heart...but should I just crush them or? My parents will not approve of me having dozens of snails in my room, and I'm not sure if I have the funds to support more than 5.
-Do both snails get pregnant, or just one? If so, how can I tell which one is pregnant? Should I move her to her own little enclosure until she lays them?
Anything helps!
Also, food. I know what to feed them, I just have a few simple questions:
- How much food should I be putting in there?
.I put about a handful of food in their tank and leave it in there at all times. Once a day I take it and put it into a bowl and rinse it off just to freshen it up a bit. I keep it in a small saucer the rest of the time. However, I find that in the 2-3 day span that I like the leave food in there for, they definitely do not eat it all. This might be because they just don't like all the kinds of food?
-Is variety good?
.I put in a large mix of food, I make them a little salad with lots of different fruits and veg. Right now I don't have very much nutrient rich food so I've constructed a small salad of the greenest leaves on iceburg lettuce, a small slice of cucumber copped into 4ths. a 4th of a small tomato chopped into thirds. A few pieces of carrot, a bit of potato (are red potatoes okay?) And the other day I even gave them a bit of banana. They definitely don't eat it all. Just nibble at little bits of, what seems to me, everything (I haven't had them long enough to notice their favorites and I haven't paid enough attention to see what they're eating and what they're not)
-In conclusion, would less food and less variety be better? Force them to try new things ever few days?
.What if I left in one type of food for a few days, then after that switched the food and left it in for a few days, and did that until they have at least tried everything. And THEN started making them salads again?
Any and all advice is helpful. Once I get the sand out of my camera (I went to the beach a few weeks ago) I'll definitely be taking pictures <3 Thank you!
Hellooooo~ I posted a handful of days ago about the preparations I was making for my newly adopted snails c: Since then, they have taken quite the liking to their new home. Sometimes they even make use of the small, coconut shell hide I had purchased for them. So I am very impressed.
I was also really worried about them not getting enough calcium. I was informed that wild caught snails might not know that they can eat the cuttle. So, like any worried parent, I sprinkled cuttle all of their food and in their favorite places to sit. I am pleased to have personally witnessed two of the snails munching away at the cuttle itself. It's quite the relief.
The snails have also taken...quite the liking to each other...and I believe I have witnessed two of them mating! I was wondering if anyone could give me a general overview of how to deal with the eggs. I know that they look like a collection of white BBs and that the snail will burrow to lay them, yes? I also know that releasing the eggs into the wild could be harmful to the environment because there is so many. So I suppose my big questions are:
-How far down will a snail burrow to lay eggs?
-Are the eggs in a sac, or just clumped together?
.If they are in a sac, how would I go about keeping one or two for myself?
-How many eggs will my breed of snails lay? [H. Aspersa]
-If I keep some for myself in expectation of maybe one or two, how should I take care of the eggs? How many eggs should I take? Should I leave them where they are until they hatch or make a separate enclose for them until they reach adulthood then move them in with the other adults?
-How long will it take them to reach adulthood?
-How to I destroy the eggs? The idea breaks my heart...but should I just crush them or? My parents will not approve of me having dozens of snails in my room, and I'm not sure if I have the funds to support more than 5.
-Do both snails get pregnant, or just one? If so, how can I tell which one is pregnant? Should I move her to her own little enclosure until she lays them?
Anything helps!
Also, food. I know what to feed them, I just have a few simple questions:
- How much food should I be putting in there?
.I put about a handful of food in their tank and leave it in there at all times. Once a day I take it and put it into a bowl and rinse it off just to freshen it up a bit. I keep it in a small saucer the rest of the time. However, I find that in the 2-3 day span that I like the leave food in there for, they definitely do not eat it all. This might be because they just don't like all the kinds of food?
-Is variety good?
.I put in a large mix of food, I make them a little salad with lots of different fruits and veg. Right now I don't have very much nutrient rich food so I've constructed a small salad of the greenest leaves on iceburg lettuce, a small slice of cucumber copped into 4ths. a 4th of a small tomato chopped into thirds. A few pieces of carrot, a bit of potato (are red potatoes okay?) And the other day I even gave them a bit of banana. They definitely don't eat it all. Just nibble at little bits of, what seems to me, everything (I haven't had them long enough to notice their favorites and I haven't paid enough attention to see what they're eating and what they're not)
-In conclusion, would less food and less variety be better? Force them to try new things ever few days?
.What if I left in one type of food for a few days, then after that switched the food and left it in for a few days, and did that until they have at least tried everything. And THEN started making them salads again?
Any and all advice is helpful. Once I get the sand out of my camera (I went to the beach a few weeks ago) I'll definitely be taking pictures <3 Thank you!