immaculata, carnivorous?

[Kevin]

Theres been several instances now where people has seen they're immaculata eating at other snails shells, and even at they're bodies, I first heard about it last year, when someone told me that his striped panthera (immaculata) juveniles ate his limicolaria, or appeared to, since then theres been other instances with immaculata apparantly eating at other snails, so is it possible they could they be carnivorous? could there be something needed in they're diet that isnt supplemented in captivity, so they're eating they're tankmates? (maybe dead animals that they would eat in the wild?) should everyone who keeps them be advised to housing them seperate from other snails?

[gabi]

hmm, imo I think each snail is kind of carnivorous. They definitiv need protein. Since I am feeding my snails weekly dead crickets even the wildcaughts have stopped eating on their own shells (only 2 of them are still doing it and those are that ones rarely seen on the crickets).

Kind regards,

Gabi

[Kevin]

do they eat the whole cricket? are the crickets your feeding them freshly killed ones? I hadnt thought about feeding them crickets.

[LisaLQ]

I dont think they're carniverous as they'd eat the snails they're rasping on rather than just damage them?

My margies have scars on their feet from Phil the panthera (and the baby smithiis were seen to rasp on my baby margies shells at one point and were promptly removed). They seem to rasp harder when eating and being handled too. But I dont think they're carniverous. But Kathy says she thinks that it might be a dietary thing (being omniverous rather than carniverous) and link in with the sickly babies/poor shells?

[Arno]

I've noticed my immacs eating other snails shells too,since then they have their own tank.They do seem to need and eat quite a bit of cuttlefish or oystershell.

[section8angel]

I've never noticed mine rasping on flesh, only on shells but they rarely do it.
I only have my two-tones in their own tank because it's easiest and the 3 immacs are in with fulica as that's easiest too. They have all been in with a few of my other species at one point or another though.

I fed my 3 oldest fulica 3 crickets the other week and not a single bit was left!! (The crix were about 3cm and there was only 3 left otherwise I would have given them more lol) They had probably been dead about a day, I can't remember.
It's great for me as I have crix all the time now for other animals, and now any dead ones can be used instead of wasted.

Yup I like the number 3 today lol.

[Val]

Hmm, so it's back again to whether or not they should be offered meat in some form or another, personally I think that they need it, I feel that they would probably eat a lot more insects/carrion than what we allow for in their diet. I don't have crickets here as I have no need for them, certainly couldn't bear to kill them so I am unsure how is best to offer my snails animal protein.

Val

[gabi]

I use too the dead ones (died naturally). An option would be to kill them in the froster.

[Paul]

I think snails are not carnivorous in the sense that they will kill animals to eat, they are scavengers and will eat meat, vegetable and even faeces.

I beginning to think meat protein could be a factor in the immaculata problems.

[LisaLQ]

So is there an alternative for those of us who dont/wont buy crickets in? I wont buy them, not because I'd feel bad or anything (as have had tarantulas in the past), just that I only have a few immacs and they wouldn't go through a tub of crickets - it'd be a waste.

[section8angel]

You could feed them to the rest of the snails too. I've only tried them with my fulica so far but I reckon the others would also eat them.

You can keep a tub going for quite a while if you get the conditions right. The ones I have at the moment have been going for almost a month and have grown well.

[apple]

I give meat to may snails once per week. They really love it.