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Post by copigeon on Nov 28, 2005 10:42:39 GMT
Wondering how people are doing with helix Lucorum, for some reason I just cant seem to keep them from trying to hibernate, and Ive almost come to the conclusion I should just let them. Ive moved them from a relatively night cool environment to quite the oposite, and yet am still getting the same behaviour. Is this just me? And how is everyone who has them keeping them? With or without heat? What substrate? Open water? High humidity? Etc, Any information kindly recieved
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Post by Paul on Nov 28, 2005 11:06:20 GMT
I struggled at first to find the optimum conditions for them, more often than not they were aestivating when I found them, sometimes buried. But I've pretty much cracked it after some experimentation. I say cracked it because they no longer seal up, they have better appetites and they have put down loads of new shell growth. They were quite underweight when I first got them; when they retracted they revealed a lot of shell lip but they've filled out now. Firstly they seem to glue themselves to a nook or cranny during the day like Helix apsersa do on a hot, dry day. Not always, but most of the time. This seems to be fairly normal, I can only assume they do this in the wild as a matter of course every day rather than aestivate for long periods like you may expect them to. Then at night they unseal themselves and become active. They like it reasonably warm and they like it humid. They require more humidity than any of my other snails I would say and that is perhaps the biggest factor rather than temperature. I keep them in a glass tank, with only a little ventiliation. I compensate for this by regularly airing it out, and mopping any excess moisture up off the sides or lid which isn't that much because I don't heat the tank. The tank is just at room temperature which fluctuates between 18-25°C depending on the heating, which is on all of the time. These conditions seem to suit all my small snails; pomatia, lucorum, Zachrysia and the Pleurodonte. They've all been active, eating loads and laying eggs (with the exception of the lucorum) but one lucorum is quite small compared to the other so I don't think breeding is an option yet.
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Kevin
Archachatina dimidiata
Posts: 2,227
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Post by Kevin on Nov 28, 2005 11:08:06 GMT
My Helix lucorum are doing really well, I keep all 6 in a fairly small container, Ive sometimes noticed them retracted into your shells a bit, I leave them a few hours and then check if they're still like it, and upto now they've woken up on they're own. Without additional heat, in a room thats usually around 20-22c. Coco humous with a layer of moss, and a layer of crushed cuttlefish bone across the substrate. I dont give my lucorum open water, I spray they're tank once daily, they're kept fairly humid, less humid than my African Snails.
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Post by Paul on Nov 28, 2005 11:09:25 GMT
Further to that, I use coir substrate and I don't use a water dish as the humidity is high, they get liquid food (snail mix/water) and there are logs and silk plants in there that provide water droplets after spraying.
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Kevin
Archachatina dimidiata
Posts: 2,227
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Post by Kevin on Nov 28, 2005 11:10:59 GMT
They like it reasonably warm and they like it humid. They require more humidity than any of my other snails I would say and that is perhaps the biggest factor rather than temperature. Thats why mine must be retracting into they're shell, the humidity...Mine are kept fairly humid, I'll raise they're tub's humidity.
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Post by copigeon on Nov 28, 2005 11:33:56 GMT
Humidity would probably explain it, very helpful both of you thankyou very much, I'll give it a go.
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