- Review Centre
- Fashion and Lifestyle
- Pets
- Other Pets
- Giant African Land Snails
- Helen of Troy's review
Have a picture of Giant African Land Snails?, please send it to us.
Picture courtesy of Helen of Troy.
| Value for Money | 8.6/10  |
|---|---|
| Reviewer Rating | 9.4/10 |
| Overall Rating | 9.3/10  |
By Helen of Troy
on 22nd Nov 2006
| Value for money | 10/10 |
|---|---|
| Overall value | 10/10 |
 Helen of Troy's recommendation | |
Very low maintenance pets
Ideal for responsible children to look after
Don't take up much space
Cheap to keep
No odour
Hermaphrodites - You could end up with hundreds if you don't remove the eggs!
Giant African Land Snails are ideal for children to look after, as they are so easy to keep. They are not noisy, do not smell and don't take up a lot of space. They can grow to about 20cm long and 15cm high, so bear that in mind if you buy baby snails!
Snails are Hermaphrodites, they carry both sexes, so they will breed readily. Unless you want hundreds of babies I suggest you remove the eggs and dispose of them before they hatch. They hatch between 14 - 21 days. They burrow under their peat to lay the eggs, so if you house them in a large clear container you can usually see them from the bottom.
A small plastic aquarium with air holes in the lid is ideal to keep your snails in. Just a layer of peat in the bottom, a couple of smooth stones and a piece of bark and you have an ideal home for them. The peat needs to be kept damp, so a light spraying with lukewarm water is necessary every day. They dislike anything sharp, so no twigs or sharp stones.
Cleaning the snails out is only necessary every couple of weeks or so, providing you remove old uneaten food daily. The snails can be rinsed under lukewarm water to keep their shells clean.
When handling the snails take care not to touch the outer lip of the shell, it is very delicate and can be easily broken. This is where they add new shell as they grow larger.
They are more active in the evening than they are during the day, and they can be woken up by spraying them with water; they like this. Do not try to pull them off the sides of the tank; a light spraying of water will release them for easier handling.
Feeding them is very easy, they need a piece of cuttlefish which they will rasp on. This provides calcium to help them make their shells. You can put in a shallow tray of water, but if you lightly spray them on alternate days they will drink the spray on the sides of the tank.
They love to eat lettuce, and it is very interesting to watch them gobble through a lettuce leaf. They also like cucumber, cabbage and carrot. Fruit you can feed are strawberry, apple, banana, peach and melon.
No extra heating is required for the snails. If you are comfortably warm in your house then they will be too. But needless to say, never put them on a window sill in direct sunlight or they will become overheated and die.
Most children will be fascinated by these snails, and as they are so easy to care for, minimum adult supervision is required.
| Helpful | Unhelpful | Agree | Disagree |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Total Respect: +3
e4chin
on 28th Nov 2006
Helen of Troy
on 29th Nov 2006
e4chin
on 30th Nov 2006
Helen of Troy
on 30th Nov 2006
e4chin
on 1st Dec 2006
Helen of Troy
on 1st Dec 2006
e4chin
on 4th Dec 2006
Helen of Troy
on 5th Dec 2006
Helen of Troy
on 7th Dec 2006
e4chin
on 9th Dec 2006
taylor9991
on 14th Jan 2007
Helen of Troy
on 15th Jan 2007
taylor9991
on 15th Jan 2007
Helen of Troy
on 16th Jan 2007
e4chin
on 17th Jan 2007
Helen of Troy
on 17th Jan 2007
e4chin
on 19th Jan 2007
rebel 4 life on 10th Mar 2008