Feeding and Nutrition :: snails

[tbs00152]

snails.. are they ok or not

[SpotsMama]

Yes and No!

I honestly don't know a lot about snails so some of the more experienced snail keepers on here will need to respond, but there are some in Spot's tank and I think they are a good thing. They are tiny little black snails. I think Spot eats them and they are a source of calcium and entertainment. I find some in his filter but I just wash them out and they haven't caused a problem.

Some people have had snail population explosions and it's been a real mess. The snails leave icky egg slime around and clog up the filter.

I don't know why sometimes snail populations get out of hand and sometimes they don't. Maybe there are different types of snails.

Sometimes people buy big pretty snails for their tanks but most often snails come into tanks as stowaways on water plants. You can prevent them from coming in this way by washing the plants very well before putting them in your tank. Once you get them in your tank they're really hard to get rid of if you don't want them.

[DavidY]

Personally, I prefer my snails baked in butter with garlic! Mmmm mmmm!

[Tenodera]

Wouldn't a turtle choke on a snail shell? Or are the shells soft?

[SpotsMama]

The shells are hard but I don't think they have a problem with it. They eat cuttlebones, too, which are hard. The snails in Spot's tank are really tiny. I don't think the poor things get a chance to grow up. Come to think of it, I'm surprised they get old enough to breed.

And DavidY, I'm with on you the snails but Spot's palate isn't that refined.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Dont some snails ditch their shells and walk about without one? A couple of nights ago I was walking home when i looked at the ground and i saw this huge slimy black thing on the ground that looked like a leech (ewww) but then after investigating it more, i found out it was a snail..it was realy big though, for a snail.

Snails breed like crazy, dont they?

[Tenodera]

No, snails aren't able to take off their shells...that's hermit crabs you're thinking of...
Well this is true for terrestrial snails.. Can aquatic snails take off their shells?!

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Yeah that is what I meant, land snails.

[Tenodera]

Ohhhh I thought you said you found the snail in your turtle tank...LOL sorry

[SpotsMama]

What you saw was neither a snail nor a hermit crab. It was a slug! They are like snails without shells. They mostly come out at night to eat your tender plants. Around here they get huge - up to four inches.

Did it looks something like this?

[Tenodera]

probably a giant banana slug u saw, those things are HUGE

[SpotsMama]

Aren't the banana slugs yellow? Eddie said the one he saw was black. We get a lot of gigantic black ones around here. You pick up a rock and....yuck! Sometimes they try to crawl into the house.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Yeah! Thats identical to what I saw! I never heard of a slug before..

[bubblestheturtle]

snails are alot cooler than slugs.

i like shails. alot. i had pet snails at one time. here is a picture of a Giant african Land snail on my leg. i found it in hawaii. unfortuanately, i couldnt keep it, i would have to fly it back to texas which is illegal, and GALS are not legal to have as pets in the US. i wish they were tho. i had three land snails instead, they were about 2 inches long.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

ewwwwww