Territorial slugs

[pinkunicorn]

So I acquired a few new slugs and without thinking more about it I put them in the same box with everyone else. Sluggy has been just fine with my four aspersas so I thought these would be as well. Well, the new slugs don't care of the aspersas but Sluggy has shown to be fiercely territorial, attacking the oldest looking newcomer when they came into contact for the first time. Wish I'd caught that on video, it was quite a sight...

The slug is of the same species as Sluggy, probably Deroceras reticulatum, judging by their milky pale coffee colour. Definitely Deroceras in any case. I also found three younger Deroceras slugs, which are quite dark brown. Maybe a different species or maybe a variation of the same. All from the same balcony. These brown ones are also quite territorial, I saw the biggest bite a baby when it got too close (they are currently in a plastic jar separated from the main tank).

Anyway, I understand after reading a bit that this is normal for some slugs. But what does this mean in terms of keeping slugs? This species is also omnivorous and cannibalistic, the biggest I caught this afternoon from the balcony feasting on a very unfortunate brother of his. Poor slug got squished apparently last night when it was dark outside... No way to see a dark brown slug on the dark tiles...

Is this species vicious enough to kill or can they settle their territorial disputes with biting and running away if necessary? Or, slugs in general if nobody knows of this particular species... Do they need to be kept separated to avoid possibly lethal damage?

[coyote]

I fixed the italic formatting for you.

In a tank, a slug's (or snail's) behavior is going to be a little different than it would be outside, due to being in a confined habitat. Being in a tank may accentuate its cannibalistic behavior more than it would be if it was outside.

I have not had good luck keeping slugs, so I'm hoping others will chime in to the discussion with their experiences and observations. Perhaps until then you could keep them separated, just to be on the safe side?

[ness]

I'm not so sure it's so much territorial as simply a taste for protein, and being in a confined space the smaller species will quite likely end up caught by the larger sooner or later.

I think seperation is the best option.

[saki114]

I agree with ness. I used to have a slug with my snails (experiment), but I soon got rid of it after it attempted to attack twice;once on my juvenile snail, Sandy, and the other time it tried to eat some eggs!!! How strange!!

[rosiesnail2]

that certainly is strange. how big is your habitat? I've never liked slugs and always loved snails its strange I wonder why but after your Sluggy updates i want one If your tank has alot of snails and slugs and is fairly small thats the problem but maybe its just where they came from or natural. I agree with ness mainly.

[pinkunicorn]

Thanks for the replies. The problem got solved on its own eventually. I kept them slugs separated for a few weeks and then simply tried putting two in one box first and see what happens. They didn't kill each other... and the next morning I found them sleeping side by side. So I put them all in my main terrarium. Now I've already had to clean up four batches of slug eggs within two weeks! Five slugs in total putting out that amount of eggs...

They've grown like crazy, too. No more tiny babies, but you can see the ridges on the backside and the tail's shape properly. I also got to witness mating twice so far, and judging by that I have identified the species properly as Deroceras invadens, which is quite a common pest here. This particular species has a very distinct mating dance: they quite literally fight each other, bashing each other with their, ahem, penises and bite like crazy. It's quite funny to watch and I managed to catch a little video of the latest one I saw, lol.

There's five of them with my four aspersas and they seem to get along now just fine, with the occasional bite if one gets too close when the other is eating (though not every time... I'm trying to find a pattern what triggers aggressive behaviour). But they prefer sleeping next to each other, so they're not intent on killing their own kind after all. I snapped a lovely pic of all five sleeping under the same piece of pottery, will post it in my piccy topic. (though, when I picked up the shard to get a better picture of them all they got disturbed and started a group fight... had to put them back into the terrarium right away)

[ness]

Hiya, thanks for updating us

That's interesting that it seems to be resolving itself now. May I ask if you have altered their diet to include extra protein?

[pinkunicorn]

Yeah! I've tried a few things, from cooked mince to cooked liver (nothing raw to keep the terrarium clean from pathogens), but the stuff they ab-so-lu-te-ly love and will gorge on as much as given is tortoise food, the little shrimps and fish pellets. They prefer this food over any other, although they also will try anything I give them, unlike the picky aspersas. I started the protein-high diet while they were still separated from each other, so perhaps it contributed to their mutual tolerance. It's also always available for them now, I put a few shrimp pieces on slices of cucumber or some other moist food every time I refresh the food.

[ness]

Cool, hopefully that's done the trick then.
I like the photos on your other thread btw

[malacophile]

Just stumbled upon this thread. I've got a number of Deroceras living with all the others listed in my signature. I've noticed that these guys, by far, are much more aggressive than any slug or snail I've ever seen. None of them sleep together, oddly, and I get the feeling that they merely tolerate one another. I've seen them lash out at their tubmates when they ventured too close. I've even watched them do it to other snails and slugs they've bumped into of their own fault.

They also do this weird tail-lashing thing when they're irritated. It's quite hilarious to watch.

My Lehmannia valentiana slugs, on the other hand, get along swimmingly. They're like the hippies of the slug world. Peaceful, tolerant, gentle and lovers of wild multi-partner sex parties. These guys regularly form slug piles. They try playing nice with the Deroceras, but the Deroceras are having none of it.

Since I put everyone in their tub home, the Deroceras are more chilled out, but I still witness the occasional act of aggression.

[pinkunicorn]

My Deroceras slugs are now kept in one box and they often form slug piles. But they also lash out at each other. I've not paid much attention to it now as the situations solve themselves by the other slug dodging so it's often just one bite they get. It seems like natural behaviour to them.

It's the same with my Limax maximus slugs, they sleep in piles but sometimes bite, even chase each other. It's almost always when they are disturbed so I try to do it less often.

I've actually been wondering if it's mating related, like a question if the other slug wants to mate. I always witness a lot of biting with a different response before mating.

[malacophile]

I'm not certain if it would count as territorial behavior or just an example of how even slugs can be jerks for no reason, but I've witnessed 'altercations' between my slugs on two separate occasions.

Both times, my relatively peaceful-seeming L. valentianas were the jerks in question. They slimed up behind sleeping Deroceras, prodded them with their lower tentacles a little, then started biting viciously. The most recent incident was particularly shocking. The poor Deroceras, after being rudely awoken, began thrashing about, but the L. valentiana wasn't perturbed. He kept biting the Deroceras all along his body. I intervened before the Deroceras could get seriously hurt, because I don't think the other slug would have stopped.

[pinkunicorn]

That's what my leopards do to each other sometimes. They keep biting and I have to prod the assaulter to make it stop. I've not kept them with my little sluggies so I don't know how they would interact.

[grassroots]

While reading this I found this really clear video of two slugs fighting with exposed penises, well worth a look!



<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RkMMwuUOqIY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[pinkunicorn]

That's the Deroceras invadens mating dance! They go on like this for some time and then they calm down and well, mate, haha. I've also observed some REALLY odd mantle movements during the mating itself... it looks painful and the slugs emerge from their little encounter looking rather stunned.

[grassroots]

Should have figured! I did think fighting with penises was a bit....risky