Snails are not only garden pests, as many people mistakenly believe. For some, these creatures are beloved pets, for others they are the object of close study. There are a huge number of snail species in the world, and these creatures have developed amazing life mechanisms through evolutionary processes.

1. Snails appeared on Earth about 600 million years ago. This allows us to consider them one of the most ancient inhabitants of our planet, along with jellyfish (see).
2. Snails are one of the most convincing evidence of Darwin's theory of evolution; they can adapt to almost any living conditions.
3. These mollusks can retract themselves entirely into the shell thanks to a special muscle that covers the entire body of the snail.
4. Snails are far from stupid creatures. They are able to think and make decisions based on their life experiences.
5. Snails are able to crawl along the blade of a knife and not get hurt - while moving, the sole of their foot rests on a kind of “cushion” of mucus that protects the mollusk’s body and helps it move.
6. If environmental conditions become unfavorable, snails can hibernate for up to six months. Thanks to this ability, garden snails can tolerate temperatures down to -120 degrees.
7. The average lifespan of snails is 15 years. This is comparable to the lifespan of e.g. Amur tiger(cm. ).
8. Most snails are hermaphrodites, that is, females and males at the same time. They do not need a partner to procreate.
9. At one time, the snails lay about 85 eggs, from which the cubs hatch within a month.
10. The shells of almost all snails curl clockwise. The strength of this “dwelling” depends on the amount of calcium in the mollusk’s diet.
11. Snails do not chew, but grind food with 25 thousand teeth. Yes, yes, they have more teeth than any shark (see).
12. These creatures are capable not only of drinking in the usual sense of the word, but also of absorbing moisture from the surface of their body.
13. Snails' vision is so poor that they can only distinguish day from night.
14. Almost complete absence vision is compensated by a very developed sense of smell - an individual without a shell can smell food at a distance of up to two meters.
15. Snails are completely deprived of hearing and the ability to produce any sounds. But they have organs of balance and chemical sense.
16. The horns of snails are a nose turned inside out (all the receptors that are located inside in humans are located outside in snails).
17. Snails communicate with each other using touch.
18. Snails are capable of carrying objects 10 times heavier than themselves.
19. The largest snail in the world is the Australian sea snail. The weight of these mollusks reaches 15-18 kilograms, and the length of the shell is 60 centimeters.
20. The color of the shell of all snails is different, since it depends on the composition of the mollusk’s food and the color of the soil in the place where it lives.
21. Snails fully deserve their reputation as the slowest creatures on Earth - on average they cover 7 centimeters per minute. For comparison, a sloth moves at a speed of about two meters per minute (see).
22. Doctors are conducting experiments on using snails as donors of nervous tissue for diseased brains - in particular, we're talking about about epilepsy. Experiments on rats are successful.
23. In Great Britain, “snail races” are very popular - mollusks slowly crawl from start to finish along a trail of lettuce leaves (see).
24. Salt and sugar are tantamount to poison for snails.
25. The nervous system of snails consists of 20 thousand neurons (the human brain, by comparison, contains several hundred billion neurons).
26. The snail became the first “cyborg” that scientists were able to create - its neurons were successfully attached to a silicon chip.
27. It is not for nothing that snail meat is considered a delicacy in many countries - it has a pleasant taste, and in terms of protein content it is superior to a chicken egg.

In our century, the list of the most popular pets has long included the Achatina snail. Why has this interesting, large gastropod won the hearts of many people?

Description of the Achatina snail

Giant clam Achatina(Achatina) is the largest gastropod pulmonate animal in its class. Anyone can recognize this snail. Only she has the most massive, thick-walled, bright shell. It consists of seven or nine revolutions. The shells of some adult Achatina land snails reach twenty centimeters, the whole body has about thirty centimeters, and these animals can weigh half a kilogram. The width of the animal's body reaches four centimeters. Achatina breathe through their skin. If you look closely, you can see wrinkled skin with irregularities on these mollusks. The organs of touch for Achatina are the horns. At their tips are the eyes of mollusks. The snails have red lips and a yellow-brown body. On average, large snails can live for about ten years under favorable conditions. And they can grow - all their lives.

Not only in Africa, where this mollusk comes from, but also in other countries they eat Achatina. But as for restaurants, they rarely purchase this type of shellfish, since their meat does not have excellent taste.

This is interesting. In Africa, the weight of one Achatina snail was six hundred grams. For such “merits” they decided to include her in the Guinness Book of Records. It is a pity that in Russia, due to the poor climate, Achatina cannot weigh more than one hundred and thirty grams.

African Achatina mollusks are mainly bred by too busy people who do not have enough time to pay much attention to dogs, cats, hamsters and other pets. Achatina requires almost no care, does not need a veterinarian or walking, and is also a very economical and quiet mollusk. This means that you will sleep peacefully at any time of the day: you will not hear any noise, barking or meowing. Also, your favorite clothes and furniture will never be damaged. There are enough reasons to take and have such an exotic pet. A huge plus of this cute creature is that it does not cause allergies and does not emit any odors. According to scientists, Achatina can even relieve stress. Surprised? The way it is…

A little history on the topic...

The homeland of the Achatina snail is East Africa, but after a while, this type of mollusk began to be noticed very often in the Seychelles, and then throughout Madagascar. Already at the beginning of the 20th century, the snail was discovered in India and Sri Lanka. And after 10 years, the mollusk successfully moved to live in Indochina and Malaysia.

After Achatina began to multiply at a rapid pace on the island of Taiwan, people simply did not know what to do with it. When the Japanese began to travel south, they saw that the local Pacific residents happily ate the meat of these snails, so, a little later, they began to cook these mollusks themselves.

Having learned that Achatina meat can fetch good money, Japanese farmers began to breed them on their farms. artificially. However, Achatina does not live north of the Japanese island of Kyushu, which is why the natural balance natural resources The Japanese islands fortunately have not undergone significant changes. After all, as you know, in India they no longer know where to get away from these mollusks; they devour the entire Indian harvest with extraordinary speed.

Most recently at the Ministry Agriculture India declared a “red fight” precisely against the Achatina, which was brought here from Africa at the beginning of the 20th century. What is interesting is that Africans are not worried about the large number of Achatina, since they have very dangerous enemies in nature - gonaxis, which exterminate snails and, thus, do not allow them to multiply at a rapid pace.

Despite its invasiveness, there has long been a belief in India that soup made from Achatina will help overcome even the last stage of tuberculosis, which is why the mullus was brought to this and other tropical countries on purpose.

This is interesting. The most effective Achatina cream for facial rejuvenation was invented by the Chileans. And in France, these giant snails have long been used to make anti-aging cosmetics. It is noteworthy that the Brazilians went further and began to create special products from the mucus of mollusks that help heal lacerations and even deep cracks and ulcers.

Habitat of the Achatina snail

The gastropod snail Achatina is common in tropical countries. There is especially a lot of it where sugar cane grows: her favorite delicacy. They wanted to bring snails to the USA, but the authorities did not support the invasion of these mollusks that began in the last century. By the way, in the USA the law prohibits keeping Achatina at home. Anyone who dares to violate it faces up to five years in prison or a fine of five thousand dollars. It all started when one boy living in Hawaii decided to visit his grandmother in Miami. He took several snails with him and released them into his grandmother's garden. The snails began to breed in it so rapidly that a short time managed to infest all the agricultural lands of Miami and destroy the local cultivated plants. It took Florida state authorities a lot of money and several years until there was not a single snail of this species left in the United States.

In Russia, as you know, there are very harsh living conditions for many gastropods, and Achatina will definitely not survive here. You can keep only in warm terrariums, as a favorite pet, profitable, interesting and very loving.

Achatinas live in warm terrariums at home. A ten-liter “house” is enough for them. But this is if you only have one snail. If you want your snail to be big, you need to buy a terrarium the right size with a roof so that Achatina could not crawl out of it. It should also be equipped with several small holes. To access fresh air, you can also move the roof of the terrarium slightly. Line the bottom with special soil. This may be a regular substrate. Achatina loves water, so don’t forget to put a saucer with some water. You can build a small bath in which the snail can bathe. Just always make sure that the water does not spill out: Achatina does not like dirt.

There is no need to invent a separate temperature for snails; the usual one will suit them room temperature. But you need to think about the humidity in the terrarium. If it is damp inside, the snails will crawl on top, and if, on the contrary, it is too dry, then the Achatina will always burrow into the ground. When the humidity inside the snail's house is normal, you will see for yourself how the mollusk crawls around the terrarium during the day, and at night wraps itself in its shell and in the soil.

Once a week Be sure to completely wash the entire terrarium, always monitor the humidity in it, and if necessary, spray the soil with water. You cannot wash the terrarium if the snail has already laid eggs, then the humidity inside the house of the future babies should not change.

Proper nutrition of giant Achatina

Feeding gastropods Achatina is not difficult. Achatina loves greens, fruits and vegetables. Although in their homeland Achatina also ate meat, which is interesting. Try to give your crawling pets a variety of foods so that they get used to eating whatever is given to them. If with early childhood feed Achatina their favorite green salad and fresh cucumbers, then in the future they will not want to eat anything else. Give small snails chopped vegetables, but large snails cope excellently with large pieces of food. Bananas, ripe apricots and peaches, for example, should not be given to small snails. They can simply crawl into them completely and suffocate. Give the kids grated carrots and apples on the finest grater. In a couple of days you can give green salad and fresh herbs.

So, you can feed Achatina:

• Watermelon, bananas, figs, grapes, strawberries, cherries, plums, apples of different varieties. Try kiwi and avocado.
• Cucumbers, any pepper (except hot), spinach, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, zucchini, pumpkin.
• Legumes: lentils, peas, beans.
• Porridge, white loaf soaked in water, bread of life.
• Baby food.
• Herbs, plants: elderberry (flowers), chamomile flower.
• Spring color of fruit tree.
• Minced meat, boiled poultry.
• Special feeds.
• Fermented milk, unsweetened products.

It is important to know! Never pick flowers and plants for your Achatina near factories, highways, garbage dumps and dirty, dusty roads. Be sure to wash any plants under the tap.

Achatins should not be fed sweets. Spicy foods, smoked and salty foods are taboo for them! It is also very important that calcium is present in the daily diet of domestic snails.

How does calcium affect Achatina snails?

In order for the snail shell to be hard, tough and properly formed, snails vitally need the presence of such an important element in their food. chemical element, like calcium. If calcium is present in the minority in Achatina food, the shell will not protect the snails from external environment, it will become softer day by day, deform and take on a crooked shape. Since everything internal organs snails are closely attached to the shell; if it is damaged in any way, the snail will not develop correctly and may die

Domestic Achatina can be given any foods rich in calcium. This is an eggshell, nutritious mixture obtained from cereals with a high calcium content. This feed is called calcekasha. It contains a mixture of cereals, wheat bran, gammarus, eggshells, biovetan, as well as fish food. The main thing is to choose very high quality grain. If you give this calcekash to small snails every day, they will grow by leaps and bounds. Also, such feed should be given to snails to restore their strength after laying eggs.

Reproduction of Achatina snails

Achatina are mollusks - hermaphrodites: they are not divided into females and males at all. Do you want to breed little Achatina? Just take any two adult clams. These individuals are always fertilized internally. In this case, both snails participating in mating lay eggs in the ground.

It's interesting to watch them mate. Achatina's soles approach each other, then they begin to exchange energy, love discharges - needles located in a separate bag. The muscles become very tense, and these needles come out of the snail’s genitals and immediately pierce the partner’s body. Such needle-arrows in snails can change their size each time, being larger and smaller.

Achatina, like other mollusks, has a very complex reproductive system. Sperm from one individual enters the special hole of another slowly, which is why snails do not become fertilized as quickly as animals. They can even store fertilized eggs for a long time until they develop properly. Only then can the snail release a bunch of small snails into the ground at a time.

In order for Achatina to reproduce frequently, they need to create all the necessary conditions for this. For example, they definitely will not reproduce in dirty soil. Therefore, the terrarium should always be clean, as should the soil itself. There have been cases when adult Achatina individuals, which had already been separated from other mollusks, made several clutches of eggs. Moreover, they multiplied several months after last time mated.

Achatina mollusks are capable of laying from forty to three hundred eggs at once. On average, snails lay up to one hundred and fifty eggs. Often, snails themselves stretch out the laying of their eggs for several days. This is due to the fact that mollusks sometimes scatter eggs in different corners of the terrarium. Although. This is rare; noble Achatina are accustomed to keeping all their eggs at the bottom of terrariums in the same warm place.

After some time, after four days (maximum a month), the clutch is opened, and weak, delicate snails appear from it. Baby snails do not immediately appear on the surface of the ground; they first live in the ground. Once the snails are born, they eat their own shells to get their first dose of calcium. After a couple of days they are already crawling out.

Looking at the giant noble snails, you can immediately say that they really attract you with their alien charm. It’s so interesting to be the owner of the most intelligent domestic mollusk, which does not require excessive care, but only gives peace and tranquility to the house.

Children by nature are very inquisitive, ask a lot of questions, want to know more about the world around them and nature. This is good. Parents can introduce their children to the world around them in an accessible way.

Today I invite you to spend with us for the child elementary biology lesson and tell about the snail.

IN Lately My granddaughter and I often watched snails. It often rained here, and after the rain the snails crawl out and you can watch them. Just the other day, Yulia and I were walking and a large snail crawled onto the road right in front of us. She was not at all timid, because she was not afraid of us, but on the contrary, she posed very funny. Julia took a good look at her.

Children are interested in knowing everything: what snails eat, how they live, how they hibernate, why they need horns, how snails are born: with a shell or not. Let's introduce children to these inhabitants in an accessible playful way. Children need such biology lessons. They learn to be observant, learn the world, learn to treat nature and animals with care.

We once had a lesson with my granddaughter, sculpting a snail out of plasticine and guessing riddles about the snail. Yulechka was smaller then. You can see our plasticine snail.

We tell the children about the snail.

1. The amazing world of snails
2. Game "Where is whose house?" Sink - house
3. How does a snail move?
4. What does a snail eat - game "Treat for the snail"
5. Where does the snail live and where does it spend the winter?
6. Why does a snail need horns?
7. Does the little snail have enemies?
8. Interesting facts about snails

The amazing world of snails

Yulia and I took a photo of our snail, which posed for us. It was very funny to watch her.

Snails are also called mollusks. There are a lot of them, different types. This ancient group animals. They differ from each other in structure, size, shell, habitat and type of nutrition.

There are aquatic snails that live in ponds, and there are terrestrial snails that live in damp places.

Game "Where is whose house?"

Let's solve the riddle:

My motto is simple -

“I carry everything I own with me!”

Two antennas above the gate,

Carrying its house….(snail)

Let's play a game. The picture shows different animals and their houses. It is necessary to resettle the animals in their houses.

Game for children

How is a snail different from other animals? She carries her house on herself.

The shell is a reliable home for the soft body of the snail. She closes the entrance to the shell with mucus and can survive both cold and extreme heat in her house.

The shell is part of the snail's body. She cannot change her home to another, because she is born with it and grows with the shell. The shell is twisted in a spiral. You can touch it. How does it feel to the touch: soft or hard, warm or cold, smooth or rough?

In humans, the body is supported by the skeleton: bones and spine. But the snail does not have such reliable support; they are invertebrate animals. And the shell is a support for snails. If we pick up a snail, it hides in its shell, it’s safer for it. She is hiding from uninvited guests. You should not step on snails. You can crush it, the shell is fragile. But these little creatures also want to live.

How does a snail move?

Snails are mollusks. Among the mollusks there are gastropods. This is a pond snail grape snail, slugs. We see them most often. Slugs don't have a shell.

In the body of these snails, one can distinguish a torso, head and leg. But there are no sharp boundaries between them. The snail's body follows the shape of its shell and is adjacent to its inner surface.

How many legs do children have? Two. What about dogs and cats? Four. The snail has only one leg. The snail moves with the help of its leg. The snail moves in different ways. Sections of the leg alternately bend and straighten. When a snail crawls, it leaves a trail. This is the mucus she secretes to keep herself from drying out. The mucus protects the snail from damage.

Let's play a game" Treat for the snail."

Look at the picture and choose what the snail is eating.

Game for children

Does she like ice cream? Or sausage? No. Then what does she like, what does she eat?

The snail does not eat the pies, potatoes and lard that children promise it when they ask it to stick out its horns. The snail is a herbivore. What does it mean? It feeds on grass and plants. They love fresh lettuce leaves. What does a snail eat, how does it chew food? After all, she doesn’t have teeth like ours. She has small teeth that look like a grater. So she grinds plant food with them.

How does a snail live and where does it winter?

The snail loves moisture very much. She is moisture-loving. Dry hot weather the snail hides under stones, in the shade of plants, in damp moss. Located in its own shell house. The snail becomes active only at night or after rain. Then we can get a good look at them; they crawl out.

In the fall, snails burrow into the soil for the winter and leave their shelter in the spring.

Why does a snail need horns?

“Ravlik-Pavlik, stick out your horns...” - kids often ask when they find a snail. A snail does not have horns like a cow, but has two pairs of horns. These are the sense organs. One pair has eyes, like stalks. When you and I look around, we turn our heads and turn our necks. But a snail doesn’t have a neck. She rotates the stem-horns on which the eyes are located.

Another pair of horns are like antennae, for the perception of taste and smell. So a snail is nowhere without “horns”! These horns are very sensitive and there is no need to touch them with your hands.

Does the little snail have enemies?

The snail has many enemies: hedgehogs, mice, birds, lizards, toads, and other snails.

In some European countries, snails are specially fed and eaten.

How are snails born?

Snails lay eggs in the hole, about 100 in total, once a month. then they are covered with dirt and mucus. The eggs hatch into small snails. Which ones are they born: with a shell or not? 7 Snails are born transparent along with a shell. After a while, when they grow up, they crawl out and begin to look for food for themselves.

I suggest you watch a video of how snails lay eggs and are born.

Yulia and I watched small snails. There were a lot of them on the grass. In hot weather, they hid in the shell and did not crawl out of it. But in the evening you could already see them crawling on the grass.

• The maximum speed of snails is approximately 7 cm per minute;
• In Europe, snails are eaten. They contain more protein than chicken eggs;
• The giant land snail Achatina fulica can reach 20 cm in length. but its speed is less than that of a grape snail;
• The snail's tongue is equipped with a radula - a kind of grater covered with numerous chitinous teeth. Using the radula, the snail scrapes off food, which it then swallows. The radula is constantly renewed, worn out “teeth” are replaced with new ones.

On average 25,000-30,000 teeth;

• Almost all snails have a shell that twists clockwise when viewed from the pointed end.

Now we have learned a lot about snails. their structure, why they need a shell, where the snail’s eyes are.

I invite the children to look at the picture and say what the artist did wrong.

Children can try drawing a snail with pencils.

Julia also made a snail from plasticine. This is the picture she got.

These are the classes Yulia and I had about snails. Soon I will make a selection of poems for children about a snail.

This elementary biology lesson can be taught for children and they can learn a lot of interesting things about the small snail.

We learned about the snail's lifestyle, what it eats, where it lives, and how it is born. We also drew a snail and played games. Now my granddaughter knows a lot about the snail and its way of life.

Did you like our lesson? Then write your comments and share the information with your friends on social media. networks. I will be very grateful to you for this.

One of the oldest inhabitants of the planet are snails. Scientists claim that these crumbs appeared more than 500 million years ago. They can adapt to any environment and do not require much food. These amazing creatures are the most striking example proving Darwin's theory and his principles of evolution.
Snails belong to the class of shell mollusks. Their body is asymmetrical and consists of a leg with a sole, a torso and a head. The head and leg are retracted into the shell with the help of a very strong special muscle that covers the entire body of the snail.

Snails live both on land and in water. Even when humanity interferes with their environment, they are able to survive and adapt to a comfortable existence next to us. Scientists also confirm the fact that snails are much smarter than we think about them.

These creatures have a brain divided into four sections, thanks to this property they have the ability to think. Snails can even take various solutions based on their life experiences.

These creatures primarily move by sliding slowly on the sole of their foot, and movement is carried out by waves of contraction running from back to front along the sole. Mucus, which is secreted by the skin during movement, facilitates sliding because it softens friction. When the snail moves, its body is on a kind of cushion of mucus, so even if it crawls along the blade, its body will not be damaged.


Snails live on average about 15 years. Their vitality is amazing: during unfavorable conditions, they can hibernate even for six months! With the onset of the cold season, the mollusk pulls its leg and head into the shell, first hiding under leaves or in the ground. The entrance is closed with mucus, which hardens over time.

This dream lasts until the onset of spring. Thus, snails can tolerate extreme cold and heat. For example, garden representatives can withstand temperatures down to -120 degrees. With the onset of the warm season, snails wake up and greedily pounce on food. When strength is restored, nature tells the mollusks to start thinking about offspring.


It turns out that most snails are hermaphrodites; creatures of different sexes are very rare. They reproduce by laying eggs. During one period, a snail lays an average of 85 pieces. The egg maturation period lasts 3-4 weeks. Babies are born with a transparent shell, which becomes denser as they grow. The strength of a snail's shell depends on the amount of calcium in its food: the more it consumes, the more reliable its “house”. In almost all species of snails, the shell twists to the right, i.e. clockwise. But sometimes, very rarely, there are left-handed shells.

Snails are distributed throughout the globe. In many parts of the planet, their shells are used as decoration and for counterfeiting; many cuisines around the world use their meat as a delicacy; there are even special farms for breeding them.


Recently, scientists have begun to use the snail as a donor of nerve tissue for brain treatment. There are even results of similar therapy in rats.


Today we tried to learn more about such wonderful creatures as snails, to touch a little about their habitat and way of life. Nevertheless, it is always worth remembering that flora and fauna must be preserved and protected for future generations. We hope you had a good time.

Land snails are unpretentious and cute pets. Many breeders believe that these gastropods have very high intelligence, and watching them is a real pleasure.

It should be noted that land snails at home are not that uncommon. The popularity of these gastropods is determined by various factors. So, snails are not at all boring, as it may initially seem. In addition, they are incredibly easy to maintain, since they do not require large financial costs and special care.

• does not make noise;
• does not require walking;
• does not smell;
• eats almost everything;
• does not stain clothes and furniture with wool;
• does not require expensive, complex or frequent maintenance;
• does not scratch or bite;
• does not take up much space;
• you can take the snail with you on vacation, or leave it alone at home;
• practically does not get sick and lives a long time;
• does not cause allergies.

Types of land snails

These creatures are great for keeping at home. For example, the land snail Achatina is considered the most popular inhabitant of terrariums.

It is a large snail whose shell reaches 20 cm in length. She is not picky about food and is very inert. The snail rests most of the time.

Achatina immaculata is distinguished by a stripe along the entire head, as well as a pinkish rim running along its shell.

Achatina reticulata is a curious and active representative of the family.

The land snail Achatina vulgaris has a tiger coloring and gigantic size, its shell reaches 20 cm in length. At home, it has more modest parameters.

In addition to Achatina, Achatina is also popular among domestic breeders because it has a huge variety of colors, while being much smaller in size than Achatina. Their shells reach 5 cm in length and 4.5 cm in height.

Advantages

The main advantages of these pets are their undemanding maintenance. The land snail lives well at home in terrariums or small aquariums. It is clear that such a pet does not need to be walked. While the financial costs are also insignificant, they can be fed fruits and vegetables in small quantities. For land snails can be done only once a month, and its cost is low.

It is worth noting that keeping land snails is very simple. To do this you will need a 10 liter glass terrarium. Top part The terrarium should have small holes for normal ventilation so that pets cannot crawl through them. The temperature in the terrarium should be constant and not exceed 27 °C.

It is advisable to place heating sources on the outside of the aquarium - they can be thermal cords or thermal mats. At the same time, internal heat sources pose a danger to land snails, as they can suffer serious burns.

It is better to use it as soil. The thickness of the flooring should correspond to the overall size of the snails, which will allow gastropods to completely bury themselves in it during daytime sleep. It is necessary to maintain constant soil moisture, for which it will be enough to lightly spray it with water once a day. It should not be over-watered.

The soil needs to be loosened periodically. But in the terrarium it is necessary to plant green non-toxic plants, for example, leaf salad or cat grass.

Continuing to figure out how to care for land snails, it is worth noting that their aquarium needs weekly cleaning of its walls every day with a damp cloth, without using household chemicals.

Land snails are very fond of water treatments. To do this, you can bathe them under a thin stream slightly warm water or in a shallow, separate bowl. The pet's sink also requires special care; it must be cleaned during bathing with a soft brush to remove dirt.

If something irreparable happens - for example, a sink breaks or there is a hole in it, try gluing it together with BF glue. Such a snail has very little chance of survival, but it still exists. At the same time, in young animals, any damage to the shell is healed without problems, while adults suffer much more severely (although their shell is more durable). But a snail with a shell split into pieces cannot be saved.

Nutrition

Land snails rely on plant foods as their main source of nutrition. Pets happily eat all kinds of greens, as well as fruits and vegetables, which are served cut into small slices. Solid foods should initially be grated.

Domestic land snails, as a supplement to their plant diet, happily consume various protein foods - fish food, seafood and meat purees, gammarus, daphnia. Such feeding should be offered to pets several times every week.

Domestic snails should not be offered various salty foods, since salt is poisonous to any gastropod!

For the proper development and strength of the shell, you can introduce calcium into the diet of your pets in the form of sepia or crushed eggshells.

Reproduction

Snails are hermaphrodites, which means keeping two or more snails in one terrarium can lead to their fertilization. The majority of these mollusks lay eggs, although viviparous species are also found. Basically, the snail buries its clutch in the ground, while this moment It is advisable not to miss it, since the masonry is removed from the terrarium and placed carefully in a separate container.

In this case, it is necessary to maintain the same soil consistency and humidity where adult individuals live. Soon the small snails hatch and then crawl to the surface. The babies are completely ready for life and feed on the food that their parents eat, but until their shells get stronger, it is better not to put them with large snails.

Walks

Land snails do not need walks, like other domestic animals, and fresh air has a very good effect on them - the gastropods' appetite improves and activity increases. They are taken outside on a cool day in a container. A very short walk is enough for them - only about half an hour. At this time, you must carefully ensure that the snail’s skin does not dry out; for this, it is recommended to spray it with water from time to time. Also protect the container from direct sunlight.