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Post by jayne on Mar 4, 2006 12:36:58 GMT
I've been lurking for a while now so I thought it was time to introduce myself.
I'm Jayne and I found the site courtesy of KathyM who mentioned it on a dog rescue forum I use. I have spent the last couple of weeks finding out as much info. as I can and I have decided that snails are for me ;D
So I have bought loads of stuff and everything is ready and waiting all I need now are my first snails.
As a first time snail owner would babies or older snails be better? I really love Margies and would like a couple of those to start off I think - what do you all reckon?
I look forward to your comments, and now I'm officially 'out of the closet', I can't wait to join in the chats.
Jayne
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LisaLQ
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Post by LisaLQ on Mar 4, 2006 13:37:31 GMT
*waves to Jayne* I'll tell Kathy you're here, she's up in Newcastle at the moment, so she's not nicking my computer *lol* Margies are fab, and so are fulicas...well...actually...all varieties are lovely. I'd start off with one of the "easier" ones, like margies or fulicas though Anyhoo nice to see you on here - welcome to the nuthouse ;D
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Post by section8angel on Mar 4, 2006 13:46:49 GMT
Welcomeeeeeeeee ;D
I think it's totally up to you whether you start with adults or babies. With babies it can be more "fun" so to speak as you get to watch them grow up, but even if you start with adults it's still great.
Margies are great if you love lazy things hahaha. All my snails have character, but my margies have the most ;D
I find them pretty easy, not as easy as fulica, but easier than some of my others. A lot of eggs have been laid by margies lately so there should be lots of babies around if you want some.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2006 14:06:42 GMT
Hi Jayne and welcome ;D
baby snails are much more fun to start with, its great watching them grow and they last much longer.
at the moment i have lots of lovely fulica rodatzi babies (well i think they are)
mike
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Post by sezzy5889 on Mar 4, 2006 14:08:19 GMT
Helloooo, Babies are great as Sian said it's fun watching them grow, although it would probably best to have fulica babies as they are easiest to raise and look after, whereas margies babies are a lot more difficult :-) Plus fulica are incredibly easy to get hold of, many people here have babies for sale including myself... Margies are lovely, one of my fav species, although most margies are wildcaught and the age unknown, not to mention a little harder to get hold of for the right price, they can easily be purchased for about £10 each, but if you are able to wait a few months then you can get some for about £2 each from Brixton
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Post by section8angel on Mar 4, 2006 14:11:19 GMT
They're more difficult? Elvira is easy lol Maybe it depends on company, food etc. I don't know.
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Post by sezzy5889 on Mar 4, 2006 14:13:51 GMT
but what size was she when you got her? i mean ickle babbies, first few months are diff, Elvira is a jeuvenile now. Compared to fulica anyway, difficult, and take aggges to grow and need more care thats what i mean...
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LisaLQ
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Post by LisaLQ on Mar 4, 2006 14:16:37 GMT
Mine are easy And mine are still baby babies.
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Post by jayne on Mar 4, 2006 14:28:19 GMT
Thanks for your replies so far.
My love of Margies is mainly because of Sherman,Kathy's boy.I saw his photos and fell in love, I thought 'that's the type I want', but maybe I should start with one or two Fulica babies first.
Maybe someone here could sell me a couple to get me started,then I'll progress to Margies when I'm a bit more experienced, hopefully in a few months.
Does that seem reasonable?
Jayne (42 years old and getting excited about buying snails, what am I like!)
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Post by section8angel on Mar 4, 2006 14:31:25 GMT
She was about 2cm. They do take ages to grow though yes. But Elvira gets exactly the same amount of care as everyone else and is doing great. Obviously she's kept a bit differently as she's a margie, but she doesn't get any special treatment or anything lol Same food, same day, same cuttlefish and all that. Only thing diff is they're tank is a bit wetter, but the iredalei and smithii tank is kept the same way.
Would 2cm be past the "difficult" stage? Obviously size isn't a great thing for working out the age as they do grow so slow. Maybe I'll get to experience what you mean if my eggs hatch.
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LisaLQ
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Post by LisaLQ on Mar 4, 2006 14:45:21 GMT
Dont worry about being excited Jayne, my first snail was technically my daughters, and I didn't understand why she liked them - but got Sam anyway, thinking I'd not like the slime and things. Then Sam came home with us, and hey presto, I became a huge snail fan.
I'm currently getting jittery about my adult albino margie that's hopefully coming this month, tigers from Brixton, possible iredaleis, and one of Sian's baby albinos (if they get off their egg arses and hatch!)...
Oh and the new tanks!
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LisaLQ
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Post by LisaLQ on Mar 4, 2006 14:46:40 GMT
Sian - Magenta's gone from 2cm to 3 or so, in the last couple of weeks. She's catching up with Gary, and he's 4.5cm *lol*
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Moracai
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Post by Moracai on Mar 4, 2006 16:57:39 GMT
Welcome! I started with fulica babies, they were very easy to care for. After a couple of months I added 2 margies, adults, when I felt I was a bit more experienced in their care. I am currently at 13 gals now! Oh, and don't worry about being 42 and excited about snails, I am 41 and like an excited little girl at the prospect of each new snail I get! *grins*
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Val
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Post by Val on Mar 4, 2006 18:23:16 GMT
Hi Jayne and welcome to the forum. Yes I like babies best as well, it is so gratifying to watch them grow and try them out on different foods and see which is their favourites. Fulicas are really nice and they are all so different to each other as well which makes them just that bit more interesting. You will love it here, sooooooo many snail addicts!! ;D
Val
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Post by jayne on Mar 4, 2006 20:00:18 GMT
Thanks everyone for the lovely warm welcome.
Can anyone point me in the direction of someone who has young Fulicas or Margies currently available, I'd rather get them from someone on here if possible.
Jayne
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Post by section8angel on Mar 4, 2006 20:03:47 GMT
I think Sarah still has some fulica? They're from a lovely looking one too
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KathyM
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Post by KathyM on Mar 4, 2006 20:16:26 GMT
Hiya Jayne!
I've just this minute got back from Newcastle and nipped into Lisa's - she told me about your message.
I wouldn't be put off margies as a first time snail TBH. They like it warmer and wetter than fulicas, but other than that they're very hardy and our baby is dead easy to look after and growing well.
Sherman was only my fourth snail, and I've only been keeping them a short while, so I can't see why it has to be fulicas first time (other than that people are desparate to get rid of them when they let a batch hatch so they're easy to obtain). I haven't noticed any more difficulty in keeping margies compared to fulicas.
I'd go with your heart and what setup you have ready as to whether to go for fulicas or margies, the only recommendation I'd have would be to get two so they have company.
Hope that helps!
Kathy xxx
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Post by sezzy5889 on Mar 4, 2006 20:55:51 GMT
it depends really, how long are you prepared to wait? I have babies that just hatched today (fulica) and will be ready in about 1 month, i have baby fulica that hatched last month and are therefore ready now! or you can wait a couple of months for Brixton trips to start again or baby margies to be ready to send out, you coul deven get fulica now AND margies when they are ready, tis up to you
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LisaLQ
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Post by LisaLQ on Mar 4, 2006 21:10:09 GMT
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KathyM
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Post by KathyM on Mar 5, 2006 15:12:46 GMT
Margies seem to be nearly as easy to get hold of as fulicas, so I wouldn't worry about that What I wouldn't suggest though is putting margies in with fulicas, so if you buy fulicas first, you'll end up having to get another setup. Sherman is in with my fulicas at the moment and the sooner he is out of there the better (waiting for his companion) as they have different needs when it comes to temperature and moisture. So if you're wanting to put what you really want in your new setup, I'd hol out for the margies - there really isn't any need to get fulicas first.
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Post by jayne on Mar 5, 2006 19:44:43 GMT
I've decided to hang on and wait for some Margies as that is what I have set my heart on.
Hopefully I won't have to wait too long - in the meantime I'll just have to look at everyone elses.
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KathyM
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Post by KathyM on Mar 6, 2006 9:20:43 GMT
Aww I'm really pleased you went with your heart. Margies come up quite frequently so you shouldn't be waiting long! ;D
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Post by jayne on Mar 6, 2006 9:23:47 GMT
Thanks Kathy ;D
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KathyM
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Post by KathyM on Mar 6, 2006 9:25:34 GMT
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KathyM
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Post by KathyM on Mar 6, 2006 9:25:59 GMT
D'oh Lisa already posted the link
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