what will my snail eat?

[gasmaskman]

I have a couple of rosy wolf snails, and can't figure out what they want to eat. I've tried lettuce, turkey, smaller rosy wolf snails, and worms. I have no idea what to feed them, and am nervous they might die. I tried looking for slugs, and couldn't find any. My last resort is going to a petsmart and buying some.aquatic snails. Or hit up a seafood joint and get some clams. Help pllease.

[coyote]

It's my understanding that rosy wolf snails prey primarily on other snails (usually smaller ones) by following the chemicals left in the slime trails. To my knowledge they do not eat fruit or veg.

[morningcoffee]

They prefer to eat snails, smaller than themselves, and as coyote said, they'll hunt the smaller snails using their slime trail. They like to consume other snails, including the shell for calcium. They'll also eat slugs.

Try finding some small snails or slugs in your garden or a local park, bring them home, give them a wash in case of mites etc. and add them to the wolf snail tank. Don't expect them to start hunting straight away - leave them with the "prey" for a while and see if they pick up on the slime trail.

I don't think they'd eat clams or shellfish at all, and maybe not aquatic snails either. If you can't find any snails or slugs to feed them, maybe try some red meat like raw bacon or raw beef mince. I'm not sure they'd eat it though - I believe they only eat prey that they've hunted down.

[coyote]

I believe that if there isn't a slime trail for them to follow, they won't eat. They have to hunt.

[gasmaskman]

Kay guys, i went to a lake near my place and visited a floating dock. i checked the pillars holding it up, and found about 8 snails. i took them home and cleaned them up, removing little worm/leech things with a tooth pick, and stashed them in a bucket with water. one by one, i put them in the snail tank right in front of the biggest wolf snail. he looked right at it, crawled over, and this little tube thing popped out of his lips. he flipped the snail over, and had dinner. im pleased to say that they are all fed now. thanks guys.

[morningcoffee]

That's good! I'm glad you were able to feed them.

You might want to consider keeping a second tank of local snails, so that you can breed your own food for the wolf snails without having to worry about not being able to find wild snails, introducing parasites, or depleting the local snail population!