Snail rescue ABC

[danielle101]

hiya, well ive been taking in unwanted snails, eggs, hatchlings and many breeds, and i repetedly hear that children grow out of them so soon so i wondered if i should give snails a helping hand, im only 15 myself but i really do feel like they could do with a place to live out their lives, if u follow my post on classified for unwanted snails u will be able to find out what their life will be like, what they will live in and how many tanks i have... thanks for reading and i will be looking forward to ur replies... Thanks again xox Danielle xox

Renamed - CroSSLeSS

[Dusk]

It's a noble idea, but at 15, do you have the time to clean out a dozen tanks and the income to feed dozens of large adult snails? I'd be interested to see your financial planning for the project

ETA: I've just had a look at your post in the classified section, and with the tanks you mention, you have room for about 15 adult fulicas - a few more if you have smaller species like iredalei, a few less if you have large species like margies. Given that the majority of the snails you'll be offered are fulica, if you're planning to keep them for their entire lifespan you'll be full up fairly quickly, and you'll have to be madly vigilent about egghunting if you're keeping a colony of them all together. How many snails have you taken in so far? How many more tanks are you planning?

[danielle101]

hahaha, yep im 15 and i have thought it all out, i get £20 a week of my dad and then i babysit my 6 year old cousin for £10 a night and i usually do that for friday and saturday so thats £40 a week, i have also had a health problem, i dont go to school because of this, its a anxiety problem and it affects me when im in crouded places and that sucks cos i cant go shopping but il live if i have my animal companions xox its a good question, xox thanks for replying xox i have a few at the moment and i have loads of free time to look for eggs im always on the laptop and my eyes are going to be smashed when im older, and i am always on the hunt for free tanks any sizes are okay xox

[Dusk]

How many adult snails do you anticipate having at any one time?

[danielle101]

i would keep about 2 or 4 in a tank, but i would be also rehoming them if anybody wanted them and knows how to care for them, if they want to rehome him when they are get bored i will ask them to send it back, i have another 6 foot coming tomoz, so i will split that into 6 tanks its got a wire mesh top, so there is enough for 6 snails if i have to keep them seperate... plus the other tanks i have... i have about 4 babies at the mo...

[Dusk]

You sound like you've thought this through One problem is that you won't be able to rehome many fulicas - you'll have to assume that you've got them for life. Other species are a little easier to rehome, but that means you won't end up with many of them in the first place.

Good luck - do keep us updated on how it's going!

[danielle101]

thanks, i dont mind about keeping them till they sadly pass away but thanks and i will start a new post about the rescue, i just need a name and then i can make a website and get me up and running, just to say we do take donations of any kind (tanks, snails, heat-mats) but NOT money as it could be illegal, and im pretty fine with how im doing with money xox lol thanks again xox Danielle xox

[ade2009]

HI Danielle,
As Dusk put forward yes its a fine idea, one thing that seems to be overlooked is, what if you get better? and want to go out / shopping etc, would having so many snails hold you back??. I'm really not trying to crush your wonderful idea, just have a good think before you act. i work part time ( gardening ) i only have around 40 snails in around 9 tanks and believe me after a days work ( not just at work lol ) sorting the kids out etc its a rough time cleaning them all. Dusk also rightly pointed out there are certain snails you just cannot/will not be able to sell.And as the snails get bigger your feeding costs will also increase.

If you decide to go ahead with it i wish you the best of luck.
Ade

[danielle101]

hiya its not a problem asking is a great thing, and no im not going to school, im going parttime in a health school, and the hours is 12 till 3 and i dont go out at all... basically im house bound, but thanks for asking xox

i have chosen to call it S.H.R - Snail heaven rescue... hehe im making the website now...

[Rachel]

lol, I sort of started the sanctuary aged 7, i've been looking after sick/injured wild snails since then, and its only been the past couple of years i havn't had enough time or money to take in anything but emergency GALS or natives (which is why I'm going mad with my own snails, get more free time with them) so 15 doesn't sound that young to me. good luck with it

[danielle101]

my parents dont know that im this extreme they know im getting some snails and so on, as i said before i get £20 a week of my dad, £20 for baby sitting... so i should be okay...

[Dusk]

Well, you're probably going to hate this advice - I know I would've at 15 - but you really need to have a long talk about this with them before you dive headlong into it.

One of the several zillion downsides of keeping pets when you have severe health problems is that you need to have people in place to care for them if you can't for a while. You said you don't go out - so you're planning on relying on your parents to get in food and substrate and all the rest? What happens to your snails if there's no food left in the house and your parents won't or can't go shopping for you?

I've got a large number of pets and seriously dodgy health. I've also got a network of people I could drop them on and they'd care for them, no questions asked, until I was back on my feet. I'd do the same for them.

You need to have the 'will you care for my pets' conversation with people *before* you actually need them.

[ade2009]

Dusk,
You are quite right concerning that fact , if we have to rely on others we need to seek their agreement before hand.
Ade

[danielle101]

I have 2 dogs, a cat, 2 bearded dragons and lots of fish, i order online and i dont have health problems, i have people phobia in public, i have no problems with my family and i have just told them and they said its okay cos im helping them, i set up in january and i have 4 snails, it wont pick up, if people only ask me to take them on i will, i dont go searching for 1s for sale, i mean that i have a topic on forum boards saying i take in any unwanted snails, if they want one rehomed they will ask me... but i do want an adult that i will keep for my self... so thats why im interested in the adult in classified...

[Sarah]

I run The Snail Shelter, and currently have over 100 fulicas. This is really, really quiet at the moment - I have had over 1,000!

It is an awful lot of hard work, and expensive. My snails take over an hour a day to feed and a whole day to clean out.

No-one wants normal fulicas. I have many contacts with zoos, museums, schools and clubs in Britain and Europe and I find it very hard to shift them.

I am inundated for requests for albinos and the larger snails, but very rarely have them in, and don't have any at the moment, which really sucks as I would love some of the other species but just don't have time to look after them.

Honestly? I wish I had never started the Shelter sometimes, especially when I have 300 babies come through the door. But I would never stop now.

I am skint, never have any time (I can't work due to health issues) but I do it cos I love snails and I have done it for years and years.

If you want to do it, then set yourself an upper limit, say 50 babies at a time, and put people on a waiting list until they have been rehomed.

[Dusk]

I'm not saying you shouldn't do it - if your parents are fine with it and you have contingency plans in place, then that's two fewer reasons not to.

I apologise if I've misinterpreted, but a few posts further up this thread, you said you had health problems.

>> i have also had a health problem, i dont go to school because of this<<

If you ask for advice people can only go on what you tell them.

[danielle101]

sorry but the nurse said my people phobia is a health problem...

Thanks for all comments and help every 1 xox

[copigeon]

I wanted to keep away from this - because I think its a really bad idea for any young person to take on that sort of responsbility without guarenteed income. But you pmed me?

Strikes me youve jumped headlong into this prior to any sort of setting up?
Only reason Im commenting here is because you pm'd me if I wanted to give you any snails to rehome? Had you done some research you would of realised I run Bristol Inverts, and maintain my own large collection of species.
Seems odd to me, to ask someone who runs a buisness in their spare time dealing in exotic land snail species if they have any snails to rehome?
That being the case, you clearly need to slow down and think about what youre doing.

From my half meanderings of the forum you announced this idea only days ago, and in that time youve already spammed everyone for their cast offs?
How could you have possibly established the sort of housing, feeding and other carestuffs needed to support what could potentially be an influx of mollusc in that short time?

Not to be down on it, but youve run it arms akimbo with no preparation that I can see and are already badgering via pm?

Costs me £25 a week in greenstuffs for my 30 species, most of which are small species, I keep around 60? Adult large species individuals, Achatina/Archactina.
£35/50 in cuttle a month.
Get through about £15 worth of moss/similar bedding.
Then theres dried feed, seeds etc.
Heating.
The housing costs to start.

Basic costs a week just to keep the livestock £40 plus, varies depending on what I can gather/grow myself but still.
Takes me a day to feed the whole lot, clean it. And then regular spot cleaning.
Do you really want all your spending money sucked up by hundereds of fulica?

It can get really tedious, and Ive already given up the collection once during my time with Land Snails just because of the sheer volume of maintenance required for such large messy inverts ontop of working full time to afford both life and hobby/buisness.

Just a bit of advise really.
At very least get yourself setup before you start asking every tom dick and harry if they want to give you unwanted snails.

[danielle101]

okay sorry to bother any of u on here, i asked for a reason, i set up in january, okay so i am young, so i am rude, so i am unhappy and so i love animals, i only want something new to do... caring for unwanted snails is not wrong, ive limeted it now to babys only, and i will rehome when they are adults unless i like them tooo much... i have done my website now, thanks anyway for ur help... ;D and sorry to sound angry but i am... please close this or lock it...

[Dusk]

You're young and enthusiastic about snails, and that's something nobody wants to squash out of you We're just making sure that you know what you're getting in to, as if it all goes wrong it'll be the snails that get the sharp end of the stick. This sort of project is far bigger than it looks, as copigeon, snailsanctuary and sarah have shown.

[ade2009]

Danielle,
I think everyone knows your intentions are good, copigeon has just told you from experience that you are probably taking on more than you realize, you know what weve all done it , even copigeon just admitted to doing it at some point in life, so listen to a little wisdom. Please bear in mind everyone is only trying to stop you causing yourself too much stress and being stuck with it. I'm sure if you accept the advice now you really will thank these people in a short time.

I think Sarahs idea was great, set yourself a limit on how many you can take when you rehome, them , take some more, get a comfort zone so to speak, stick with that limit and see where you stand in say a years time.

Hope this helps
All the best
Ade

[coyote]

Hi Danielle, I think there's been some good advice given here. When people play devil's advocate they're actually helping you find loopholes in your plans and things you've overlooked, making it more likely you'll succeed in the long run. Your heart is in the right place. Why not start out slowly, small-scale, and see how it goes. I guarantee you that problems will pop up that you hadn't anticipated and will probably be unprepared for, and your odds of facing them are better if you're not trying to cope on a massive scale.

[danielle101]

Hi thanks for all comments including lizzie, i am very independant with my animals and my home, my parents just go and do the outside stuff, i can go to local shops but not on my own, i have set the website up and i will give the link as soon as i have it, thanks for all comments again xox Danielle xox

[danielle101]

Finally i have the website, here it is - www.wix.com/danielle101/snailheavenrescue - all comments are valuble to me, so i would like comments if u have time to write them, thanks for visiting my site if u do xox Danielle xox

[herpmadboi]

Well, obviousley you need to think this through, everyone does. I only started in snails after my next door neighbour had babies, and i took six off them. Although, i'm 14, and have tooken in a few rescue reps/inverts, it does cost alot of money and time. And to be honest, i wish i didnt take on this or that, but looking at their little faces and just see them living a happy life with me, really gets me going *cries*. What I do, is basically become Mr Green. I try and grow foods for my pets, breed crickets for lizards. I know snails aren't as mainstream as in care compared to reptiles, but they do take alot of time up. I have a unit with vivariums on top, and a shelf buit under the unit, with boxes of breeding foods lol. Just try and figure things out a little more.

As for not being able to look after them regarding illness. I don't go to mainstream school, becuase of post traumtic stress disorder and anxiety, but luckily I have a few keen family members who'd look after them if i couldn't. Think through things alot more ... Jake