Starting out with a native grove snail

[amilynn]

My three year old and I found a snail shell sitting out in our driveway completely unresponsive. We assumed it was dead and took it in to sit with one of our houseplants as decoration. Needless to say, we were very surprised when it woke up from hibernation and started crawling around our sink!

We've decided to keep it as a first, temporary pet for the kids (3 and 6). It'll live indoors for the winter then rejoin its family when they wake up in the spring. It's living in a washed out salsa jar that was already re-purposed once as a potting jar, for the time being we leave the lid off during the day and cover it with a paper towel and rubber band at night or when no one can keep an eye on it.

My one health concern is the shell looks really translucent, and I've seen it munching on its shell twice now. We've got some eggshell in the jar now and watched it eat some, so hopefully that improves a little with the calcium.

Other than that, I'm just curious if anyone else is keeping native snails and if there are any major differences in care between these little guys and the giant african snails the website focuses on.

[coyote]

Congrats on your new snaily friend. I keep naturalized native snails (Helix aspersa, Cantareus apertus, Otala lactea and Oxychilus alliarius, all of which are native to the Mediterranean but have become naturalized in my part of California, which shares a similar climate).

The only major difference in terms of care is that the little guys do not need a heat mat the way the GALS do. But they can eat the same kinds of foods as the GALS, and the same kind of tank set-up (but in a smaller tank, and, of course, without a heat mat).

Many snails are fussy about eggshells, so I suggest you go to the pet supply store and get a parakeet cuttlebone. Break off a small piece and rinse it off well before placing it in the tank. Having a source of calcium is critical to the health of the snail, and almost all snails will go for cuttle.

House plant potting soil would probably work as a temporary substrate, and a couple of plastic aquarium plants for cover. (If you have a green thumb, you can try a tiny live house plant too.) The snail needs some humidity, so mist the tank a couple of times a day.

A lot of good info can be found among the care pages on the main website, www.petsnails.co.uk/ , so have a look. But remember -- yours will not need a heat mat.

Good luck with your little snaily. Let us know how he's doing, and please don't hesitate to ask any further questions.

[amilynn]

My daughter named the snail "Sam" after a little bit of concern about whether to give it a girl or a boy name, and both of the kids are taking to it very well (the toddler said "I LOVE YOU SAM" while hugging the jar at lunch time).

It seems to like the eggshell, I accidentally interrupted it munching on some again today. It's also got a little climbing stick and we swap out lettuce leaves every couple of days for cover (and food). Next step: working out the right amount of water. Sam's not very happy with the mud!

[coyote]

Sam is a fine name for a snail, because all land snails are both male and female. Any name would do.

The substrate should be damp but not wet. Snails don't like it too wet.

In lieu of cuttle if you can pulverize the eggshell into a powder it will make it easier for Sam to consume. You can use a coffee bean grinder or other similar device.

Have you tried offering a thin slice of sweet potato or cucumber? Those seem to be universally loved by all snails. Mine also like kale and collard greens, as well as thin slices of winter squash.

[amilynn]

I guess we got lucky, Sam seems really happy with the eggshell as it is. Fell asleep on it last night and started right back again this morning. Grove snails are transparent enough you can actually see all the digestive system at work when he's eating. I actually just went over to check and he's got his foot completely curled around a piece of eggshell lying on his back and nomming on it like a puppy with a chew toy.

He just recently discovered the thin slice of apple we put in there and made a good dent in it. We've got part of a sweet potato going to waste in the fridge, maybe we'll give that a shot later today.

[coyote]

Snails can absorb calcium directly through their foot, so I'm not surprised Sam was sitting on the eggshell.

[amilynn]

So, Sam's been with us just over a month now, and already grown a full new whorl of its shell and grown almost half again his original size! It's been really interesting getting to know his little quirks and sharing things with the family. Even people who were squicked out by the idea of a pet snail are warming up to the little dude.

I'm a little nervous about letting it back into the wild this spring, I think it's gonna have an unfair advantage over all the other neighborhood snails after all the eggshells and free food.

[coyote]

Glad to hear Sam's doing well!