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Post by slomojoanie on May 8, 2018 20:42:16 GMT
dear pet snail forum,
i am new to snails and new to the forum as well. i am writing to ask what you think is the best substrate to use for my pet snails? currently, i have potting soil, (i’ve baked it) and coir. i am considering mixing the two together and i can top this with both so called, “frog moss” and sphagnum moss. 1) what do you think of this combination? 2) please tell me what sort of containers or habitats you’ve enjoyed most for your snails. mine are currently in a large plastic “critter carrier” but i think i am going to want to expand my collection. i like the small snails, of which i currently have 9. i would like to expand to perhaps 20-30 max.
any info on these two topics would be most appreciated. and any other info for newbies with pet snails would be accepted gladly. i am madly in love with my current snails.
-j
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Post by slomojoanie on May 8, 2018 20:45:55 GMT
i also meant to include that i would like a container that would be as practical as well as visually appealing. i want to really show off my snails and keep them happy.
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Post by seastar on May 8, 2018 20:59:13 GMT
I think that these mixes for substrate would be cool! For the container, you can use a plastic box with holes on the top, it looks good and the plastic shouldn't harm the snails.
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Post by morningcoffee on May 9, 2018 15:31:41 GMT
Hi and welcome to the forum!
I would generally not recommend potting soil for snail tanks as it can contain things like fertiliser, anti-fungal agents, wetting agents etc that could be harmful for snails. If it can be verified that it's 100% soil with no additives then it's OK. Coir is generally an excellent substrate for pet snails. Snails also often seem to enjoy sphagnum moss (I'm not totally sure what "frog moss" is, but any kind of clean natural moss should be OK) so it would be fine to use some in the tank, however they need access to a soil-based substrate to ingest in order to get natural bacteria that helps them digest their food, so you should keep a balance between moss and soil.
If you have small snails then I think plastic tanks or "critter keepers" would be fine. Sometimes these have a lot of holes in the lid which can lower the humidity and let in pests like fungus gnats. When I've used these types of tanks, I've covered most of the holes with clear tape or plastic to prevent this as much as possible. I personally like the Exo Terra glass terrariums (and other brands that are similar) as they are very practical and look great, however they are expensive and the mesh lid tends to rust when keeping snails due to the humidity.
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