Identification of a snail found on broccoli from Spain

[lunax]

Hello everyone!
I live in the Slovak Republic and I bought some broccoli and I found three snails on it. Sadly two were already dead. The broccoli is from Spain
It's winter and I didn't want the snail to die, so I put him in a big plastic box and bought him some cuttlefish bone (He's my first snail). His shell is really thin and it's cracked. But otherwise, he seems to be doing okay. 
He's probably not an adult - one of the snails that died was much bigger than this one. Sadly I didn't take a picture of him, but his shell was split in half and I already buried him.

I'm not sure if identification will be possible. Since it's just a small snail and his shell is not in its best condition. But I'll be grateful for any ideas! I want to give him the best care I can.
Traits: his shell is quite flat
beige with brownish line
The backside of the shell is very light 
not smooth

I can provide more info or photos later when he grows a bit. The second picture is in natural light. Oh, and his name is Frankie!

[SuspiciousBagel]

Hello! This guy looks like a Theba Pisana. You won't be able to release them, though as I don't believe they are native to the Slovak Republic and can spread foreign illnesses to the native population. But they are sooo cute! I'd put him in a small box though rather than a big one, like maybe a decently sized clear tupperware would work well. As they are very small they need all of their essentials to be easily accessible- food, cuttlefish, etc and if they're in a large box they can exhaust themselves looking for it. You've got the right idea buying cuttlefish for them, and I can link some care guides other aspects of care like  housing, feeding, etc if you'd like?

[lunax]

Jan 15, 2022 21:26:22 GMT SuspiciousBagel said:

Hello! This guy looks like a Theba Pisana. You won't be able to release them, though as I don't believe they are native to the Slovak Republic and can spread foreign illnesses to the native population. But they are sooo cute! I'd put him in a small box though rather than a big one, like maybe a decently sized clear tupperware would work well. As they are very small they need all of their essentials to be easily accessible- food, cuttlefish, etc and if they're in a large box they can exhaust themselves looking for it. You've got the right idea buying cuttlefish for them, and I can link some care guides other aspects of care like  housing, feeding, etc if you'd like?

Thank you so much! It does look like Theba Pisana! And they are in Spain, so that would definitely fit.

He's currently in a big Tupper wear box it's 24cm x 24cm (9.4 inches) the height is 12cm (4.7inches). He keeps on one side of the box. Would you recommend to go smaller? I could possibly give him food on several places rather than just one.

I'll appreciate any guides! I already did some research but the more the better.

Currently he's living in a box with coconut coir, several branches and a ceramic pot to hide in. I'm looking for an alternative for the pot so he doesn't hurt himself if he falls.

If I was to get another snail so Frankie's not alone. do you have any recommendations?

Also I wanted to ask. Can he reproduce by himself or not? I've read a few articles and they were in opposition to each other.



Thank you so much for your huge help!

[SuspiciousBagel]

Jan 15, 2022 23:29:15 GMT lunax said:

Jan 15, 2022 21:26:22 GMT SuspiciousBagel said:

Hello! This guy looks like a Theba Pisana. You won't be able to release them, though as I don't believe they are native to the Slovak Republic and can spread foreign illnesses to the native population. But they are sooo cute! I'd put him in a small box though rather than a big one, like maybe a decently sized clear tupperware would work well. As they are very small they need all of their essentials to be easily accessible- food, cuttlefish, etc and if they're in a large box they can exhaust themselves looking for it. You've got the right idea buying cuttlefish for them, and I can link some care guides other aspects of care like  housing, feeding, etc if you'd like?

Thank you so much! It does look like Theba Pisana! And they are in Spain, so that would definitely fit.

He's currently in a big Tupper wear box it's 24cm x 24cm (9.4 inches) the height is 12cm (4.7inches). He keeps on one side of the box. Would you recommend to go smaller? I could possibly give him food on several places rather than just one.

I'll appreciate any guides! I already did some research but the more the better.

Currently he's living in a box with coconut coir, several branches and a ceramic pot to hide in. I'm looking for an alternative for the pot so he doesn't hurt himself if he falls.

If I was to get another snail so Frankie's not alone. do you have any recommendations?

Also I wanted to ask. Can he reproduce by himself or not? I've read a few articles and they were in opposition to each other.



Thank you so much for your huge help!

Its absolutely no problem!

1. That size sounds ok, though I'd personally go as much as like ~30% smaller considering how teeny they look from the picture but it'll also work fine to just spread everything out well. Baby snails (Which Frankie is) will grow very fast so you'll notice they won't stay that size for long, anyway! Also, Its normal for a snail to spend a lot of time in one area, my snail always favours a particular corner to sleep in.


2. Here are the guides I recommend;

FEEDING
Calcium
Protein
General Feeding Guide

BREEDING (Though you probably won't need this for a while haha)
Breeding and Culling

HOUSING
General Housing
Heating (I don't think you'll be needing any extra heating for Frankie, but its worth baring in mind in case it gets particularly chilly)
Safe/Unsafe plants and trees
+ One extra thing I add is you should 'turn' (Just lightly mix up) the coco coir weekly to aerate it and prevent stagnation. As Frankie gets older you'll probably need to use this as an opportunity to check for eggs too

3. That setup sounds great! But definitely find something to replace the ceramic pot, yes. Even like a well washed food container will work. If his shell is so fragile you really don't want to risk them falling as it could leave permanent damage. It might even be better just to have no hide at all until you find a suitable one, hides aren't really crucial as long as a snail can still have somewhere to hide like burrowed into the substrate, and some snails don't even use them when offered anyway. Are you keeping them humid too?

4. Snails do just fine alone honestly. I'm not sure where the myth originated from that they get lonely/need company but there's no definite evidence proving either way, and I know alot of keepers (and myself) who have snails alone with absolutely no issue. They are not very complex animals, so in my opinion they don't have to have company. There are some anomalous species that I believe should be kept in groups like Rumina Dellocata or Subulina Octona (AKA the Unicorn Snail) as I only ever see them kept that way, but Theba Pisana will be ok. If you want to get it a friend though, thats totally fine. I'm not sure what other snail species can cohabitate with them, besides others of the same species but if you ask other Theba Pisana keepers they might know. Just as long as they're similarly sized (you don't want a big size difference as a much bigger snail will try to outcompete a smaller snail for food and could hurt the smaller one by smothering it), and you quarantine a newcomer for a month or so to check for parasites like snail mites, etc then you're all good.

5. Yes, Frankie can reproduce by himself. Its not that common but can happen, as they have both sex organs. In that case, you can't keep any of the eggs as they will be basically super inbred as all the genetic material only comes from one snail and thusly the offspring resulting from it will be very unhealthy. You can dispose of any through crushing very finely and/or freezing. You can then feed them back to Frankie as a protein-rich snack as egg-laying is quite exhausting for them, and snails have no moral compass. You'd have to do the same for any spontaneous babies too unfortunately. Definitely don't put any eggs/babies outside for the same reason you can't put Frankie outside. You definitely won't see any eggs yet though as they're no more than a baby.

Hope this helps! Good luck with Frankie, he's a little trooper for making it all the way to you from Spain! Also, I LOVE that name, its suits him nicely 

[lunax]

Jan 16, 2022 11:52:14 GMT SuspiciousBagel said:

Jan 15, 2022 23:29:15 GMT lunax said:

Thank you so much! It does look like Theba Pisana! And they are in Spain, so that would definitely fit.

He's currently in a big Tupper wear box it's 24cm x 24cm (9.4 inches) the height is 12cm (4.7inches). He keeps on one side of the box. Would you recommend to go smaller? I could possibly give him food on several places rather than just one.

I'll appreciate any guides! I already did some research but the more the better.

Currently he's living in a box with coconut coir, several branches and a ceramic pot to hide in. I'm looking for an alternative for the pot so he doesn't hurt himself if he falls.

If I was to get another snail so Frankie's not alone. do you have any recommendations?

Also I wanted to ask. Can he reproduce by himself or not? I've read a few articles and they were in opposition to each other.



Thank you so much for your huge help!

Its absolutely no problem!

1. That size sounds ok, though I'd personally go as much as like ~30% smaller considering how teeny they look from the picture but it'll also work fine to just spread everything out well. Baby snails (Which Frankie is) will grow very fast so you'll notice they won't stay that size for long, anyway! Also, Its normal for a snail to spend a lot of time in one area, my snail always favours a particular corner to sleep in.


2. Here are the guides I recommend;

FEEDING
Calcium
Protein
General Feeding Guide

BREEDING (Though you probably won't need this for a while haha)
Breeding and Culling

HOUSING
General Housing
Heating (I don't think you'll be needing any extra heating for Frankie, but its worth baring in mind in case it gets particularly chilly)
Safe/Unsafe plants and trees
+ One extra thing I add is you should 'turn' (Just lightly mix up) the coco coir weekly to aerate it and prevent stagnation. As Frankie gets older you'll probably need to use this as an opportunity to check for eggs too

3. That setup sounds great! But definitely find something to replace the ceramic pot, yes. Even like a well washed food container will work. If his shell is so fragile you really don't want to risk them falling as it could leave permanent damage. It might even be better just to have no hide at all until you find a suitable one, hides aren't really crucial as long as a snail can still have somewhere to hide like burrowed into the substrate, and some snails don't even use them when offered anyway. Are you keeping them humid too?

4. Snails do just fine alone honestly. I'm not sure where the myth originated from that they get lonely/need company but there's no definite evidence proving either way, and I know alot of keepers (and myself) who have snails alone with absolutely no issue. They are not very complex animals, so in my opinion they don't have to have company. There are some anomalous species that I believe should be kept in groups like Rumina Dellocata or Subulina Octona (AKA the Unicorn Snail) as I only ever see them kept that way, but Theba Pisana will be ok. If you want to get it a friend though, thats totally fine. I'm not sure what other snail species can cohabitate with them, besides others of the same species but if you ask other Theba Pisana keepers they might know. Just as long as they're similarly sized (you don't want a big size difference as a much bigger snail will try to outcompete a smaller snail for food and could hurt the smaller one by smothering it), and you quarantine a newcomer for a month or so to check for parasites like snail mites, etc then you're all good.

5. Yes, Frankie can reproduce by himself. Its not that common but can happen, as they have both sex organs. In that case, you can't keep any of the eggs as they will be basically super inbred as all the genetic material only comes from one snail and thusly the offspring resulting from it will be very unhealthy. You can dispose of any through crushing very finely and/or freezing. You can then feed them back to Frankie as a protein-rich snack as egg-laying is quite exhausting for them, and snails have no moral compass. You'd have to do the same for any spontaneous babies too unfortunately. Definitely don't put any eggs/babies outside for the same reason you can't put Frankie outside. You definitely won't see any eggs yet though as they're no more than a baby.

Hope this helps! Good luck with Frankie, he's a little trooper for making it all the way to you from Spain! Also, I LOVE that name, its suits him nicely 

I really can't thank you enough for giving me jump start on how to take care of my snail.
Frankie is doing great. And I feel like he's getting bigger everyday and his shell seems to be repaired 🥰💓
Some of the links are broken for me, just fiy. I looked at those that worked and joined some discord server that was linked there. So I think I'm all set.

Thank you once again!

[SuspiciousBagel]

Thats wonderful! So glad that Frankie is thriving and I was able to help. Sorry not all of the links worked, I'm not sure why as I can view them all on my end. And I'm also in the discord server! Maybe we'll see each other