Species: Giant african Land Snails Achatina sp
Expected lifespan: 4-6 years
DOB: Unknown
Giant
snails like Sammy and Sam-Bob can make interesting pets for
young children due to their relative ease of care and hardiness.
There is also no chance whatsoever of a snail being able to
give a nasty bite due to all their teeth being tiny and on
the tongue.
Our
land snails are reaching their full size and have already
began laying eggs. As long as there are two snails in an enclosure
you will nearly always find eggs around at some point due
to snails being hemraphrodites. Two snails are needed to breed
but both possess male and female sexual organs so both should
lay eggs. They are prolific breeders and can lay up to 1200
eggs a year. Sammy has had a number of babies hatch with us
and we have just over 20 of his young at the present time.
Our
two chaps are very well handled snails and as a result they
very rarely pop back into their shells when picked up. This
plus the fact they can do no damage to a person makes them
excellent for shows.
They
live with a few other similarly sized snails in a large plastic
storage container which sits atop Tyree the boas tank so that
the snails may get a little heat. They are given fresh food
every second day and will eat most vegetables and fruit. They
enjoy cucumber the best and this seems to be what is eaten
first.
Sammy
and Sam-Bob also have a large piece of cuttlefish in their tank.
This is so they may lick off calcium in order to keep their
shells strong and help them grow. They cannot leave their
shells and so must eat something in order for the shells to
grow with the snails.
Sammy
& Sam-Bob at the vet
Sammy and Sam-Bob have never visited a vet
