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Post by GailTheSnail on Apr 16, 2018 19:11:14 GMT
I've read that garden snails have a life span of a few years, but I wanted to ask all the garden snail mommies and daddies how long you've had them for, and what in your experience their typical life spans are.
I know it's hard to tell how old the adults are, but I was curious to see the longest you've had one live and in your experience how long they typically live.
Thanks all 🐌
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Post by Liguus on Apr 17, 2018 4:57:53 GMT
By garden snail you mean Cornu aspersum right? From the time they hatch they will live for about 4 or maybe 5 years on average. Some might say that in captivity they live longer but I haven't seen this personally, I went through generations very fast.
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Post by blackscorpion on Apr 17, 2018 17:53:29 GMT
Snail mom here since not yet a full year. My very first snail (Cornu aspersum / Helix aspersa) I got from outside in May or June 2017. I picked him up to to put in the garden as he was crawling on the stairs. His shell cracked and I decided to keep him until he was better. He ended up staying and got joined by 3 other snails, amongst which another Cornu aspersum. They got loads of babies of which I kept 5.
Unfortunately Plumeau, my first snail, died a 3 weeks ago or something. He was not an adult when I got him, so I fear he did not reach 1 year old. What happened, I honestly don't know. He hardly moved the last weeks / months. The last week he moved again and I saw he got thinner and thinner. Friday morning he was sliming around and Saturday morning he had died.
As for the 5 babies, those I will be able to say their exact age once they will go, as they were born in captivity with me. Of course I do hope that will be not yet for some years as they were born in Janiary this year...
Curious myself, following this topic!
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Post by GailTheSnail on Apr 23, 2018 19:47:14 GMT
Snail mom here since not yet a full year. My very first snail (Cornu aspersum / Helix aspersa) I got from outside in May or June 2017. I picked him up to to put in the garden as he was crawling on the stairs. His shell cracked and I decided to keep him until he was better. He ended up staying and got joined by 3 other snails, amongst which another Cornu aspersum. They got loads of babies of which I kept 5. Unfortunately Plumeau, my first snail, died a 3 weeks ago or something. He was not an adult when I got him, so I fear he did not reach 1 year old. What happened, I honestly don't know. He hardly moved the last weeks / months. The last week he moved again and I saw he got thinner and thinner. Friday morning he was sliming around and Saturday morning he had died. As for the 5 babies, those I will be able to say their exact age once they will go, as they were born in captivity with me. Of course I do hope that will be not yet for some years as they were born in Janiary this year... Curious myself, following this topic! See this is exactly my question! How long do they REALLY live in captivity? I have 24 now and only two of them are from my OG group meaning I've had them over a year. They're no doubt much safer than they would be in the wild and get more food and nutrition than they could as well so they should live longer but idk. I want to meet someone who's had a garden snail/Cornu asp. For three years or more lol |
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Post by GailTheSnail on Apr 23, 2018 19:48:17 GMT
By garden snail you mean Cornu aspersum right? From the time they hatch they will live for about 4 or maybe 5 years on average. Some might say that in captivity they live longer but I haven't seen this personally, I went through generations very fast. Yes the Cornus. That's my exact question- how long in reality have yours lived? |
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Post by Liguus on Apr 24, 2018 13:27:48 GMT
about 3 years
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Post by saulpanzer on Apr 25, 2018 20:49:13 GMT
Would the shorter lifespans you're all seeing just be the normal realistic lifespan or a result of breeding stresses?.
I mean that with ~10+ years often being a lifespan search result for the various Helix species which I'd class as garden snails.
I'd have assumed in captivity you could negate a lot of the stress from weight/nutrient loss by power feeding them GALS type mixes with boosted protein, calcium, vitamins and so on.
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Post by Liguus on Apr 26, 2018 14:40:56 GMT
It's the normal lifespan, they are well fed in captivity which does decrease the effects of any stressors. Helix species can live very long in captivity, but we are talking about Cornu aspersum here, not Helix. Different snails will have different lifespans.
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Post by blackscorpion on Apr 26, 2018 17:58:01 GMT
It's the normal lifespan, they are well fed in captivity which does decrease the effects of any stressors. Helix species can live very long in captivity, but we are talking about Cornu aspersum here, not Helix. Different snails will have different lifespans. But the previous name of Cornu aspersum is Helix aspersa. It only changed some ime ago. So still a Helix specie? |
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Post by Liguus on Apr 27, 2018 15:34:20 GMT
Cornu is a close relative of Helix, just like Cepaea is a close relative, but not a true Helix. With modern genetic research we can classify things more accurately which is the reason for the name being re-evaluated. I will attach a link showing a family tree of the Helicidae family where you can see that Cornu aspersum does not group together with the true Helix species, such as H. pomatia, H. lucorum, H. albescens, H. ligata, etc. Cornu aspersum is more closely related to things like Theba, or Eobania. Even looking at pictures of different Helix species you can see Cornu does not really fit in, they all have a pretty wide flat foot and very similar shell shape/build. www.researchgate.net/figure/Fifty-percentage-majority-rule-consensus-phylogram-from-the-Bayesian-inference-BI_fig5_264199757 |
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Post by blackscorpion on Apr 28, 2018 5:33:26 GMT
Cornu is a close relative of Helix, just like Cepaea is a close relative, but not a true Helix. With modern genetic research we can classify things more accurately which is the reason for the name being re-evaluated. I will attach a link showing a family tree of the Helicidae family where you can1 see that Cornu aspersum does not group together with the true Helix species, such as H. pomatia, H. lucorum, H. albescens, H. ligata, etc. Cornu aspersum is more closely related to things like Theba, or Eobania. Even looking at pictures of different Helix species you can see Cornu does not really fit in, they all have a pretty wide flat foot and very similar shell shape/build. www.researchgate.net/figure/Fifty-percentage-majority-rule-consensus-phylogram-from-the-Bayesian-inference-BI_fig5_264199757I hope you won't find me annoyijg, I just want to know more. But here in Belgium they call the Segrijnslak (Helix aspersa /Cornuaspersum) the little brother of the Wijngaardslak (Helix pomatia). Can you explain why it looks so much alike the Helix pomatia but they still changed the name to a Cornu? |
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Post by Liguus on Apr 28, 2018 15:39:20 GMT
What people call them or what they physically look like is irrelevant. Genetically, Cornu aspersum is not a true Helix. Anyways, as I said before, in my opinion the Cornu does not look like other true Helix which have a characteristic wide foot and robust shell.
Many animals look similar because of convergent evolution but that doesn’t mean they are closely related, for example hedgehogs and echidnas look similar but they are not even in the same order of animals. Someone could also say that Caracolus marginella, Monadenia fidelis (there is an orange and yellow form) and Cepaea nemoralis look similar so they are “brothers” but they are all very different snails.
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Cashell
Archachatina puylaerti
Posts: 1,124
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Post by Cashell on Apr 28, 2018 20:56:43 GMT
Very interesting topic and posts. While I've read things online stating how they can potentially live up to like 12 years or so, I have yet to actually see this.
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Post by gastropodkeeper on Sept 12, 2021 16:29:08 GMT
They are not Helix, they have been correctly reclassified as cornu aspersum. Cornu asersum live on average 2-5 years in the wild, if they're lucky. In captivity, captive bred snails are not exposed to the same diseases, parasites or stresses and a healthy example of this can live up to 10 years. If you take a snail from the wild, it will likely have a shorter lifespan, but a captive bred snail is a true representative of lifespan in ideal and safe environments. I have had several cornu aspersum before, a few wild ones, who I kept from about 10 months for nearly two years, then released them back again. So those snails were nearly 3 and still had plenty of life in them. Other snails I have had have been infected with mites, and lived to just under a year. Just be careful about where you get your snails from and how healthy they seem, if you're lucky they could reach a good age, say, 6-8 years I would expect on average.
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