Post by moni on Dec 13, 2006 2:05:48 GMT
Hi everyone,
my name is Moni and I've recently developed a keen interest in land snails. I currently live in the North Eastern U.S.
I grew up in Nova Scotia where as a little girl I enjoyed keeping local snails I found. I remember the first time I ever saw a snail. I was about 3 yrs old and home in bed with a cold. My Mom returning from a walk said she had a surprize for me. She had several snails that she had found in the yard. We put them in a plastic tupperware container with some wet lettuce. I was thrilled with them, hense the vivid memory. We grew big gardens and even had a greenhouse but the snails were never a problem with our crops. I mean maybe a tiny nibble here or there but basically they did no real damage. I don't know what species they were.
Anyway, just recently I read the book "The Last Child in the Woods;Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder".
The author talks about how children nowadays (in the U.S. at least) are less in touch with nature than previous generations. Most people don't know what native trees, plants and wildlife exist around their homes. I decided to start taking more nature walks with my 4 yr. old son. We use binoculars, magnifying glasses and carry around little bug houses for things we catch. I think I have as much fun as he does 
That's when we ran across snails. I haven't seen any snails in my yard only slugs, but we visit parks where ocassionally we run across one. My son adores them and lets them move around on him. At first it creeped me out but now I like holding them too. It looks like they have a form of intelligence to me and behave as though they enjoy being held. I read somewhere that snails only see light with their eyes but I swear it seems like they are looking right at me when I hold them up close. Their eyes look like they're following me. I've been searching around online and have discovered many amazing thngs I did not know about snails, like how their slime is a non-Newtonian fluid with strange properties. I didn't know about the GALS until I visited your site. I know they're out of the question for me to keep. I'll just console myself with the knowledge that they would be a bigger job to care for and clean up after. The pictures are so cool though. Can't imagine what it would be like to actually hold one. I've read about some endangered snails in this country and how the preditorial Rosey Wolfsnail(who can kill GALS) has destroyed 75-80 percent of the native snails in Hawaii, driving many to extinction. While on vacation I've seen Rosey Wolfsnails in a state they weren't listed as being in. So it causes me concern that possibly they are destroying species in other parts of the country and maybe no one knows or cares. It seems the state I live in looks at snails as pretty much only being a pest and is highly concerned with exterminating them. I've been searching around to see what snails are legal to keep here. So far it's not too promusing except that I can have aquatic ones like apple snails. It was my intention to search for new species of wild snails that I could hopefully identify and keep in my home to observe (and love . Plus it's a good learning experience for my children. Well, now I don't know if it's even legal to keep the ones I find. I don't see what the harm could be. I'm not going to release them in different areas. I do care very much for the environment and preserving it for future generations. Where I live is considered one of the cold states. We get lots of snow and ice in the winter.
See here's an article that states the common browngarden snail is illegal to keep even if I find it here!
www.msu.edu/~atkinso9/pestsnailpage.htm
Well, now that I've explained all that about my snail keeping situation I should add that I have some ideas about keeping snails which I'll share later and lots of ?'s
Snails really do appear to be the perfect pet
glad I found this site. I don't usually post this much info.
Moni
my name is Moni and I've recently developed a keen interest in land snails. I currently live in the North Eastern U.S.
I grew up in Nova Scotia where as a little girl I enjoyed keeping local snails I found. I remember the first time I ever saw a snail. I was about 3 yrs old and home in bed with a cold. My Mom returning from a walk said she had a surprize for me. She had several snails that she had found in the yard. We put them in a plastic tupperware container with some wet lettuce. I was thrilled with them, hense the vivid memory. We grew big gardens and even had a greenhouse but the snails were never a problem with our crops. I mean maybe a tiny nibble here or there but basically they did no real damage. I don't know what species they were.
Anyway, just recently I read the book "The Last Child in the Woods;Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder".
The author talks about how children nowadays (in the U.S. at least) are less in touch with nature than previous generations. Most people don't know what native trees, plants and wildlife exist around their homes. I decided to start taking more nature walks with my 4 yr. old son. We use binoculars, magnifying glasses and carry around little bug houses for things we catch. I think I have as much fun as he does 
That's when we ran across snails. I haven't seen any snails in my yard only slugs, but we visit parks where ocassionally we run across one. My son adores them and lets them move around on him. At first it creeped me out but now I like holding them too. It looks like they have a form of intelligence to me and behave as though they enjoy being held. I read somewhere that snails only see light with their eyes but I swear it seems like they are looking right at me when I hold them up close. Their eyes look like they're following me. I've been searching around online and have discovered many amazing thngs I did not know about snails, like how their slime is a non-Newtonian fluid with strange properties. I didn't know about the GALS until I visited your site. I know they're out of the question for me to keep. I'll just console myself with the knowledge that they would be a bigger job to care for and clean up after. The pictures are so cool though. Can't imagine what it would be like to actually hold one. I've read about some endangered snails in this country and how the preditorial Rosey Wolfsnail(who can kill GALS) has destroyed 75-80 percent of the native snails in Hawaii, driving many to extinction. While on vacation I've seen Rosey Wolfsnails in a state they weren't listed as being in. So it causes me concern that possibly they are destroying species in other parts of the country and maybe no one knows or cares. It seems the state I live in looks at snails as pretty much only being a pest and is highly concerned with exterminating them. I've been searching around to see what snails are legal to keep here. So far it's not too promusing except that I can have aquatic ones like apple snails. It was my intention to search for new species of wild snails that I could hopefully identify and keep in my home to observe (and love . Plus it's a good learning experience for my children. Well, now I don't know if it's even legal to keep the ones I find. I don't see what the harm could be. I'm not going to release them in different areas. I do care very much for the environment and preserving it for future generations. Where I live is considered one of the cold states. We get lots of snow and ice in the winter. See here's an article that states the common browngarden snail is illegal to keep even if I find it here!
www.msu.edu/~atkinso9/pestsnailpage.htm
Well, now that I've explained all that about my snail keeping situation I should add that I have some ideas about keeping snails which I'll share later and lots of ?'s
Snails really do appear to be the perfect pet
glad I found this site. I don't usually post this much info.
Moni
