Land Snails

Snails are a gardener’s worst nightmare. The way most people treat them includes buying poison and getting rid of them. But they don’t mean any harm. They simply want to exist and eat to their heart’s content. You can even keep them as pets and they make brilliant companions. Read on to find out why we adore these slimy creatures.

Diet

Snails eat a wide variety of plants. They will happily munch on many different vegetables, and they enjoy eating some of the UK’s most loved plants. For an example, we have noticed that Pup, our garden snail mascot, will get very excited when he finds Lupin leaves in his food bowl. They also love Echinacea leaves, Hollyhock leaves and Dandelion leaves. Interestingly, Pup dislikes Lettuce leaves and instead likes nibbling some Spinach leaves. When it comes to calcium for shell growth, they will eat bits of chalk or eggshell. For protein, they will eat dead insects or decaying animal matter. In short terms, snails are opportunistic scavengers and will eat whatever they find.

Habitat

Snails are very good at adapting to their environment. If they live next to a pond, they will learn that they can drink from the water. If they live in a hedge, they will learn that it is sheltered and safe. If they live near a chicken house or pen, they will learn about the chicken’s bed time and habits. They are smarter than you think. Typically, they will live in a moist and lush area. They will always try and find a good place to call home.

Behaviour

Although snails are slow and easy-going, they are remarkable when it comes to their behaviour. Snails are mostly nocturnal, which means they will eat and exercise at night and will sleep during the day. We have seen that snails in the wild will go into their shell to sleep, but when our pet garden snail, Pup, goes to sleep, he usually hangs out of his shell. This is likely because he feels safe in his terrarium and wild snails know that they are prone to being eaten.

We think that snails know if they are safe or not depending or their recent encounters with other animals. For an example, if Pup was to find himself being picked up, moved around a bit and then put down (By his owner), he would know that the scent of the animal is safe and would trust it. If a snail is picked up by a bird, it would then know that he isn’t safe because it hurts to be picked up by the head and pecked. Therefore the snail would learn that the bird’s scent means danger. We also know that if a snail is deep in their shell, it is likely dehydrated, stressed, or in pain.

Life Cycle

Snail do not have genders. They are hermaphrodites, meaning they have both female and male organs. People often think this means that they can reproduce by themselves, but this is only true with some species. A typical garden snail requires a mate to give birth to live young.

Picture a garden snail. The snail is called Bob. Bob starts out as an egg, and in 2-4 weeks he will turn into a tiny baby snail. He will then grow over the next 2-4 months and become a juvenile snail. After 8-14 months of growing, bob will become an adult. Around this time, Bob will reach sexual maturity and will be able to make mini-Bobs.

Our Observations

After keeping Pup for around 6 months now, we can solidly say that we have experienced a lot. Once a week we will hand feed Pup some onion-and-garlic free fake bloodworms. He enjoys scraping them with his radula, and it also makes him have a bit of blue on him. This is probably because of the “Colour Enhancing”. As we said in “Behaviour”, he likes sleeping with his head poking out and will completely devour food overnight. If you would like a pet snail, please make sure you look at expert advice.