maximise breeding chances?

[Deleted]

how do you maximise the chances of snails breeding? i really want my thaumastus to have babies. they had eggs last year, beautiful clear 1cm oval shaped ones, but they never hatched

shud i have deep soil? heat? different types of food? spacious tank?

kind regards

mike

[Paul]

I would say the best thing to do is to try and mimic wild conditions as much as possible. Whereabouts in Brazil are they from? If we can find that out we can find out how equatorial they are, light/dark patterns, heat and seasonal humidity changes etc. I have come to the conclusion that a lot of equatorial animals use the moon (10 month cycles) to determine seasonal change and breeding. Whether snails are the same is anyone's guess.

It'd be nice to have a Brazilian section, if only we could get more snails from there. I did the following for West Africa:

www.petsnails.co.uk/index.php?action=environment&type=westafrica

Perhaps this can be done for other parts of the world where we get snails from.

[Deleted]

i guess i should put them in one of those giant propagators. i'll get another one i suppose. theyre good because theyre 60cm long, extremely humid and you can have very deep soil. i'll try and make it humid, but not turn the soil into a swamp as happens sometimes

my snails are from eastern brazil i think.. i dunno what the climate is like there

oh yeah...on that west african page is says about archachatina 'restricted to the West African sub-region.'
are you sure? i thought there was some archachatina in south africa like Archachatina granulata

www.gasteropoda.net/pagina%20tassonomia%20achatinidi.htm

this website says where they all come from

kind regards

mike

[Kevin]

Maybe a UV light, on for several hours a day, would be beneficial for them?

[Deleted]

whats a UV light it sounds expensive?

[Kevin]

lotsofsnails said:

whats a UV light it sounds expensive?

a UV (ultra violet) light is essential for lizards and other reptiles, like chelonia etc...It substitutes for the sun, and gives the animal energy...I have a UV light for my Bosc Monitor, Bearded Dragon and my Rainbow Crabs, I have considered getting one for my snails, and may get one for my Tigers soon, I think they would benefit from it
You can get them in different strenghs, i'd guess the ones with the weakest output would be best for snails


They arent expensive, the light itself would be around £20 and a further £20 for the starter...Heres a link to a place that sells them

www.livefoods.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=286

www.livefoods.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=161

[Deleted]

but i thought snails were nocturnal and most active in the dark?

[Kevin]

lotsofsnails said:

but i thought snails were nocturnal and most active in the dark?

A day-night cycle may still be beneficial to them, which can be accomplished via the uv light, and may seem more natural to the snails? im not saying its essential, just a suggestion, to help them feel more at home to lay fertile eggs...Most of my snails are nocturnal, but some (the fulica, smithii, and Zachyrysia to name a few) are very active and are always moving around during the day

[Deleted]

yes fulica do seem very diurnal. maybe because theyve been bred in captivity for so many years they are used to it.

my thaumastus are wild and seem to be nocturnal. so i'm not sure. also, the apple snails tank is right next to the brazilian tank, and that has a light and a heat mat, and they seem a bit more active now.

i need a bigger tank though. i moved them to a smaller aquarium (45x30x30) to make room for the other growing achatinas. but i need another anyway now ive got these immaculata.

kind regards

mike

[Kevin]

Reading Pauls post I agree, that mimmicking theyre natural habitat in Brazil as closely as possible may make a big difference...

How long have you had these snails? did you remove the eggs? Maybe the people that sold you them can help with advice in regards to breeding them in captivity...

[Deleted]

ive had them about a year now. i think i did remove the eggs, well some of them. i put some in a tub and some in the tank, but none hatched my friend is sending me some vermiculite, will that help?

the brazilian person does not reply to my emails. which is a shame cus id love some more brazilian snails, theyre all so strange and different to british and african ones

kind regards

mike

[Arno]

Mike,have you tried www.femorale.com.br for living snails and info about the habitats of Brazilian snails?

[fatslug]

I keep my slugs and snails in the shed where my fish are. Thay have a 13/11 light / dark routine in the summer, which I change to 11/13 in the winter months, (all the lights are on a time switch). This helps with breeding the fish, some of which are Brazilian, and I've had good results with slugs and snails, roaches, stick insects and tarantulas. The ambient temperature is around 26C and humidity ranges between 60-80%, (but can be higher in closed tanks.

[Paul]

petsnails.proboards3.com/index.cgi?board=habitat&action=display&n=1&thread=4754&page=1
petsnails.proboards3.com/index.cgi?board=behavior&action=display&n=1&thread=1472&page=1

[Paul]

I've not got the thing yet, but I will do. I'm even thinking of investing in a lunar lamp. Or is that going too far!?, lol. I watched a bbc documentary about equatorial animals and the moon and how the moon is more significant to them than the sun, because the sun hardly changes. I also fancy one of those misting devices but I've heard they break easily.

Also, this kind of set up would require a change to the tank. I'd need a reservoir of water underneath the soil that gets recycled. I'd love to have some sort of pump or drainage so I could give them a good drench without flooding the tank. I may buy a cheap garden water feature pump and try that out by creating a false floor in my tank. I think they'd like a good hard rain now and again.