ebay ukbugsclub

[Paul]

I was just looking on ebay for someone who sells snail mix when I came across the following seller:

myworld.ebay.co.uk/ukbugsclub/

Now, I'm sure the mixes are good but the following:

My mixes are the original and BEST mixes on EBAY which i started to make over 15yrs ago and which have been fully tested by various zoos and snail farms which all concluded that their snails had stronger shells and grew quicker using these mixes.

It ssound pretty outrageous and I'd be very suspicious of claims like that.

It seems to be similar to the snail mix you'll find details of on this forum from quite a while ago which stemmed from a discussion between Fredrik and myself, and with input from the owner of Achatinidae.com. The information about better shells was theorised based on nutrients and studies done with various sources of calcium which is published here:

www.cipav.org.co/lrrd/lrrd15/5/eben155.htm

and the 12% ratio was obtained from Dai Herberts book on Eastern South African snails. Other bits came from information on commercial snail farms and suggestions and discussion here with the deworming and health pumpkin seeds ingredient inspired by all the discussion of worms ages ago. It was an, organic process with inputs from lots of people and it's there for everyone to use or develop further.

The 15 year bit also sounds like lies to me. The may have done a mix years ago but I doubt it was similar and I know for certain that you couldn't buy stuff like that on ebay not too long ago though I guess they could be new to ebay rather than snail food.

Now, it is possible this person's mixes are very different and have been tested by zoos and snail farms but all I'm saying is, be careful when buying from people who make pretty large claims... it looks to me like lying and underhand methods to sell.

[coyote]

Jun 30, 2009 21:41:12 GMT Paul said:

The information about better shells was theorised based on nutrients and studies done with various sources of calcium which is published here:

www.cipav.org.co/lrrd/lrrd15/5/eben155.htm

That link didn't work. But I think I found the relevant document here:
www.lrrd.org/lrrd15/5/eben155.htm


WRT the original claim, it's sad that some people feel compelled to make such outrageous statements in order to drum up more sales. Buyers have to have a lot of healthy skepticism these days.

[Paul]

ta, I'll update the link on the site.

[lucyjames]

I bought this mix (I admit it, I am easily swayed by said outrageous statements ) and tried it, and my snails wont touch it...

On the other hand, I bought from The Verminator (Paul) at myworld.ebay.co.uk/theverminator/ and my snails loved his mix...

So even IF it IS true, doesn't mean that it is good stuff!!!

[nicolasnail]

Back when I first had my snails I bought this mix and my snails became ill after eating it and within a few days one had died, the rest recovered but took a long time to eat food properly again.
Normally I wouldn't blame other people but I've never had a problem with any of my snails other than that incident and I found it way too much of a coincidence.
I also found a rusty paperclip inside the food.
Made me really worry what else could have got in there.
I know they don't like copper so maybe they didn't like the metal parts etc.
The seller never emailed me back.
I did message a few people through her/his feedback and they did say their snails either didn't eat it or were a bit off their food for a few days afterwards.

[coyote]

Jul 19, 2009 15:58:53 GMT nicolasnail said:

I also found a rusty paperclip inside the food.

OMG! That's nasty.

[madmum29]

OMG i bought the dewormer mix from him,, it came saturday now im scared to use it ..
what els can i use as a dewormer as dont wanna risk my snails health

[lucyjames]

You can use pumpkin seeds - crush them up and sprinkle on the food, or just chuck them in whole for them to rasp on...

I *did* find that the whole seeds went furry quickly, so my personal preference is to mash up the pumpkin seeds and mix with a little water, and they seem to quite enjoy that ;D

[lucyjames]

Jul 19, 2009 15:58:53 GMT nicolasnail said:

Back when I first had my snails I bought this mix and my snails became ill after eating it and within a few days one had died, the rest recovered but took a long time to eat food properly again.

I also found a rusty paperclip inside the food.

I did message a few people through her/his feedback and they did say their snails either didn't eat it or were a bit off their food for a few days afterwards.

This said, while my snails didn't like it, my friend buys from this seller, and her snails LOVE it... and she has never had any problems...

But finding the rusty paperclip... gah.... I will go through EVERYTHING I buy now from everyone with a sieve, just in case... after all, it can happen to anyone...!!!!

[snailysnail]

There are so many 'fantastic' snail mixes and food on Ebay now, i think it is safer just to buy the main ingredients myself and so then i know exactly what is in it, and it probably works out cheaper anyway!

[coyote]

There is a lot to be said for making it yourself, especially because you know exactly what's in it and don't have to worry about any stray rusty paper clips turning up.

[amber]

Dusk sells on ebay, mixed bags of pumkin seeds and hemps seeds which you can grind yourself and make tasty treats for you snails.
I also have land hermit crabs and a site called www.ab-crabs.co.uk (i think) sells pouches of ground hemp seed... which i also buy. And a handy pouch of ground mixed hemp and cuttle powder.... de worming and calcium in one. I sprinkle on their food here and there and they all seem to like... apart from my immacs. They hate hemp and will only have pumpkin seeds no matter how we try to disguise it. Its like trying to feed boiled greens to a little child some days!

[nacre]

Regarding the mix he claims to be the best.
Snail farmers have used chicken mash as a supplement for ages.
Just google snail farming and diet...
Regarding the other ingredients in his mix, especially the hemp seed, I would like to give you, Paul, the credit for discovering it. You brought hemp seeds up in one of our discussion, many years ago and I have never seen it mentioned elsewhere.

And to call that a perfect mix is just plain bull shit.

I think it's very difficult to make an ultimate diet for snails, especially when we have so many different species in the hobby.
One diet might work great for just A.achatina but not for other species.

But on the other hand, my snail food mix will not be the ultimate, but close I'm very close now

Sorry for not visiting you guys often, but I am still suffering from my illness and it makes me quite anti social...

Take care everyone!

Best wishes
Fredrik - Sweden

[aerliss]

Odd. I was looking at this seller yesterday (or the day before... days run into each other with my sleeping patterns). I'm pretty sure I didn't see that declaration then.

Not been doing it long, but I think I shall continue to mix my own... seeing what proportions of what seeds my snails prefer. I was just ambling around various snaily places when I came across said seller.