jessicamartin
Achatina achatina
Jessica and Drew's Wonder Zoo.
Posts: 58
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Help?
Jul 22, 2011 16:48:01 GMT
Post by jessicamartin on Jul 22, 2011 16:48:01 GMT
I don't really know where to put this, so i guess that if it doesn't go here then it can be moved by one of the moderators, sorry in advance to them if that has to happen.
A moment ago, I discovered two snails that I have never seen before, one had a dark shell, and was quite light skinned, but had darker eye stalks. The other was completely light shelled and light skinned but had dark eye stalks, almost black. Both of the shells were quite flat. I've narrowed the species down to Cepaea Hortensis and Cepaea Nomoralis, is this right? and can anyone tell me what species they are from my description?
What I really want to know is if there are any laws protecting these snails from being collected? Because atm I have them at home as me and my boyfriend are fascinated by them, having never seen them before, but if there is any laws against it, I will realease them back in the exact same spot that I collected them from.
Also, what do they eat? and what conditions do they like the best? They are bing kept in quite a cool part of my room, with a compost substrate and have been sprayed with quite a lot of cool water, as this is mimiking what the conditions were like outside.
Is there anything else that I should give them? Any help would be grateful, thank you in advance. Jessica.
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coyote
Archachatina papyracea
Cochleas ego amo
Posts: 2,955
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Help?
Jul 23, 2011 0:00:36 GMT
Post by coyote on Jul 23, 2011 0:00:36 GMT
Since your post covers more than one issue (species identification, and care and feeding) I'm going to leave it here for the time being.
A pic would be really helpful to narrow down the species of your snails. I don't think of Cepaea as having flat shells, although I suppose in comparison to a GALS they do. (Garlic snails, however, have bona-fide flat shells, no spire at all.) C. hortensis has a white aperture, C. nemoralis has a dark aperture. That may help you narrow it down a little.
If that's what they are, they do well with the same kind of care for a brown garden snail, Helix aspersa. Keeping them cool is good. I'm sure they would enjoy some cucumber and sweet potato. I don't know about the legality of collecting them, though. I hope someone else can post here and answer your question.
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Help?
Jul 23, 2011 8:37:36 GMT
Post by Robert Nordsieck on Jul 23, 2011 8:37:36 GMT
Hi there, I have got an overview page with pictures of different snail groups, which might be helpful: www.molluscs.at/gastropoda/terrestrial/terrestrial_snails_europe.htmlWhat is important to know for an identification of snail species is: - Size of the shell (length, width or diameter) - Form of the shell - Form of the shell mouth (lip, colour, form) - Presence and form of the shell navel (umbilicus): That's the hole on the other side of the shell tip. If your snails are Cepaea snails those characters would be: - Shell size: Width: 18 - 25 mm; Height: 12 - 22 mm (nemoralis, hortensis is a bit smaller) - Shell form: Globular, not flat (just like Coyote says) - Shell mouth with widened lip, colour dark (nemoralis), white (hortensis) - Shell navel covered by shell lip (invisible). Cepaea nemoralis (top) and Cepaea hortensis (bottom). No matter what type of snails they are, they need food of course (vegetable in the case of Cepaea: Cucumber slices, carrot slices, different types of salad are also OK) and they need a calcium carbonate source, like egg shells, sepia shell. Banded snails (if indeed they are those) are not protected, but many other snail species are, so we would have to determine the species first. Concerning banded snails (grove snail, garden banded snail) you might have a look here: www.molluscs.at/gastropoda/terrestrial/helicidae2.html. Kind regards Robert
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coyote
Archachatina papyracea
Cochleas ego amo
Posts: 2,955
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Jul 24, 2011 23:07:17 GMT
Post by coyote on Jul 24, 2011 23:07:17 GMT
Thanks for those links, Roberts, I have bookmarked them.
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jessicamartin
Achatina achatina
Jessica and Drew's Wonder Zoo.
Posts: 58
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Help?
Jul 25, 2011 13:10:29 GMT
Post by jessicamartin on Jul 25, 2011 13:10:29 GMT
Thank you both for your replies.
I think from the pictures, that they are Cepaea hortensis, although one of them has a dark shell. Are there colour variations? Or are their young different colours?
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