Post by Sky on Mar 29, 2020 10:31:59 GMT
Hi all!
Synopsis: I have a Giant African Land Snail (Achatina Achatina / Tiger Snail) which has barely grown at all since we bought it back in August 2019, which her fellow sibling who was the same size as well as other snails that we own have grown considerably. I've done some prior research and found this thread on another forum which seems to have a smiliar issue but it never really got any clear answers so was wondering if anyone can help me wrt food/heating/lighting or anything else I might be doing wrong. I've tried to be as comprehensive as possible but do let me know if you need more info.
First, here's a photo of the snail in question (her name is Snaily Rae Jepson) on the day that we bought her. She's on the top left of the photo and her sibling, also an Achatina Achatina, is on the bottom right. It's hard to tell, but they were roughly the same size (this photo was taken around 25th Aug 2019)
At the same time as getting the two Achatina Achatinas, we also got two Achatina Reticulatas. All four were put in a nice viv with all proper heating and substrate etc. Here's a photo of the viv as it sits currently, with the other AA and the two ARs in:
As you can see, the other three snails are doing just fine.
The tank has been through some iterations over time, but currently it has a full size heat mat on the side (as you can see) and underneath the tank on that same side, rigged to a Komodo thermostat set to 30c.
It takes up roughly 1/3-1/5 of the tank and laser spot readings on top of the substrate are 20c on the cool end and 23.6c on the hot end, with the glass that has the heat mat against it (and the thermostat sensor on the other side) reading 30c currently.
They have ZooMed EcoEarth loose coconut bark substrate (This stuff) as well as a multiple water bowls, hides, etc.
They are fed on a diet of mostly organic cucumber (pre-washed) and round and little gem lettuce (also washed). Have also tried them on grapes, apples, banana and brussles sprouts which they don't seem to care for
They also have regular access to both large pieces or broken cuttlefish bone AND powedered calcium supplements
They also have regular access to pet-approved spagnhum moss, which they delight in hiding inside.
Anyway - that's the "good" hide. Here you can see a photo of our small snail on the left along with her sibling - the same one from the first photo - taken today, about 7 months later:
About a month ago we made the decision to separate the small snail from the rest for fear that she might get "nibbled" by her siblings sensing the free calcium, and also in case she was feeling threatened trying to access food.
Generally when we found her in the big tank she was either hiding in a hide or more likely, buried under the substrate. She had often "closed up" and sealed herself over with that mucous plug that they do when they're unhappy. We moved her to a smaller enclosure on her own, but with the same basic supplies and setup:
That's her in her new small viv. It has all the same stuff - same substrate, same moss, same heating setup except that the thermostat is Habistat branded. I'm currently away in the US on holiday but my partner who also looks after the snails with me has measured and sent me these stats pertaining to the new smaller tank:
*Thermostat temp set to 33c (91F), was originally on 30 but spot temps always read too low
*Thermostat is Habistat branded and the sensor is on the inside of the tank, underneath substrate against heat map
*Laser thermometer spot temp 23C on warm end and 18.6c on cold end
(but had just misted so maybe be a little lower than usual)
*Thermometer currently reading 18.7c
She will barely, if ever eat anything - the only thing being cucumber and even then she will only nibble the dark green edges rather than chomping on the juicy middle bit like all of the other snails do. Even if we put her on top of a piece of cucumeber, lettuce or cuttlefish bone she will slowly crawl away sometime later without putting a nibble in it.
Here are two more photos of her to show both a closeup of her markings as well as her size:
And finally, a shot of her tank with the lid on showing the insulation:
Is it possible that the seller fobbed me off with a real AA and some other species or simply a garden snail, either accidentally or maliciously? I bought them from Snails4You, although as you can see from that link, they don't currently have any in stock (the AAs came from Snails4You, the two ARs came from another source)
Also, I didn't want to flood the post with massive pictures but I do have larger versions for those who are interested - you can find an album of them Here.
So! Thoughts? Have I been duped? Am I doing something wrong? We have a variety of different foods on the way to try all of the snails with (varying leafy greens, fruits and veggies) but I wanted to put this out here and see if anyone has any ideas.
Thank you for your time!
Synopsis: I have a Giant African Land Snail (Achatina Achatina / Tiger Snail) which has barely grown at all since we bought it back in August 2019, which her fellow sibling who was the same size as well as other snails that we own have grown considerably. I've done some prior research and found this thread on another forum which seems to have a smiliar issue but it never really got any clear answers so was wondering if anyone can help me wrt food/heating/lighting or anything else I might be doing wrong. I've tried to be as comprehensive as possible but do let me know if you need more info.
First, here's a photo of the snail in question (her name is Snaily Rae Jepson) on the day that we bought her. She's on the top left of the photo and her sibling, also an Achatina Achatina, is on the bottom right. It's hard to tell, but they were roughly the same size (this photo was taken around 25th Aug 2019)
At the same time as getting the two Achatina Achatinas, we also got two Achatina Reticulatas. All four were put in a nice viv with all proper heating and substrate etc. Here's a photo of the viv as it sits currently, with the other AA and the two ARs in:
As you can see, the other three snails are doing just fine.
The tank has been through some iterations over time, but currently it has a full size heat mat on the side (as you can see) and underneath the tank on that same side, rigged to a Komodo thermostat set to 30c.
It takes up roughly 1/3-1/5 of the tank and laser spot readings on top of the substrate are 20c on the cool end and 23.6c on the hot end, with the glass that has the heat mat against it (and the thermostat sensor on the other side) reading 30c currently.
They have ZooMed EcoEarth loose coconut bark substrate (This stuff) as well as a multiple water bowls, hides, etc.
They are fed on a diet of mostly organic cucumber (pre-washed) and round and little gem lettuce (also washed). Have also tried them on grapes, apples, banana and brussles sprouts which they don't seem to care for
They also have regular access to both large pieces or broken cuttlefish bone AND powedered calcium supplements
They also have regular access to pet-approved spagnhum moss, which they delight in hiding inside.
Anyway - that's the "good" hide. Here you can see a photo of our small snail on the left along with her sibling - the same one from the first photo - taken today, about 7 months later:
About a month ago we made the decision to separate the small snail from the rest for fear that she might get "nibbled" by her siblings sensing the free calcium, and also in case she was feeling threatened trying to access food.
Generally when we found her in the big tank she was either hiding in a hide or more likely, buried under the substrate. She had often "closed up" and sealed herself over with that mucous plug that they do when they're unhappy. We moved her to a smaller enclosure on her own, but with the same basic supplies and setup:
That's her in her new small viv. It has all the same stuff - same substrate, same moss, same heating setup except that the thermostat is Habistat branded. I'm currently away in the US on holiday but my partner who also looks after the snails with me has measured and sent me these stats pertaining to the new smaller tank:
*Thermostat temp set to 33c (91F), was originally on 30 but spot temps always read too low
*Thermostat is Habistat branded and the sensor is on the inside of the tank, underneath substrate against heat map
*Laser thermometer spot temp 23C on warm end and 18.6c on cold end
(but had just misted so maybe be a little lower than usual)
*Thermometer currently reading 18.7c
She will barely, if ever eat anything - the only thing being cucumber and even then she will only nibble the dark green edges rather than chomping on the juicy middle bit like all of the other snails do. Even if we put her on top of a piece of cucumeber, lettuce or cuttlefish bone she will slowly crawl away sometime later without putting a nibble in it.
Here are two more photos of her to show both a closeup of her markings as well as her size:
And finally, a shot of her tank with the lid on showing the insulation:
I don't *believe* that the issue is her food or living circumstances because they have been identical as with three other snails (one other AA and two ARs), however if you can see something that might be a problem, do let me know!
Also, I didn't want to flood the post with massive pictures but I do have larger versions for those who are interested - you can find an album of them Here.
So! Thoughts? Have I been duped? Am I doing something wrong? We have a variety of different foods on the way to try all of the snails with (varying leafy greens, fruits and veggies) but I wanted to put this out here and see if anyone has any ideas.
Thank you for your time!