Keeping the Snails Healthy
Snails are generally very easy to keep but there are some very simple rules that we need to stick to.
The most important point is that Giant African Land Snails need to have a source of calcium available at all times. This is very important for them to allow their shell to grow and keep it healthy. I normally use cuttle fish bone in my tanks and the snails seem very happy with this. Sometimes though I use a calcium drop liquid in their water to supplement this.
The tank itself needs to be safe and all furniture in the tank needs to be secure enough so it will not damage the snails shell. A crack in the shell may heal itself if the snail has access to enough calcium but if a snails shell is broken it could actually kill the snail so this is REALLY important.
These snails can live in a large temperature range from about 18 degrees C to 29 degrees. So keeping the temperature in the middle of this range is the best for normal growth and the snails are plenty active, so just about anytime I go to the tank they are normally on the move.
Just because they are quite active though, the snails like to have a bit of a sleep every now and again. They normally bury themselves in the substrate and retreat into their shell for this. It is important that the moist substrate you use is deep enough for them to do this and feel safe. If the snails feel safe they act a lot more normally in the tank, which makes them so much more fun to watch.
The most important point is that Giant African Land Snails need to have a source of calcium available at all times. This is very important for them to allow their shell to grow and keep it healthy. I normally use cuttle fish bone in my tanks and the snails seem very happy with this. Sometimes though I use a calcium drop liquid in their water to supplement this.
The tank itself needs to be safe and all furniture in the tank needs to be secure enough so it will not damage the snails shell. A crack in the shell may heal itself if the snail has access to enough calcium but if a snails shell is broken it could actually kill the snail so this is REALLY important.
These snails can live in a large temperature range from about 18 degrees C to 29 degrees. So keeping the temperature in the middle of this range is the best for normal growth and the snails are plenty active, so just about anytime I go to the tank they are normally on the move.
Just because they are quite active though, the snails like to have a bit of a sleep every now and again. They normally bury themselves in the substrate and retreat into their shell for this. It is important that the moist substrate you use is deep enough for them to do this and feel safe. If the snails feel safe they act a lot more normally in the tank, which makes them so much more fun to watch.
In order to keep the snails healthy it is important to keep their area clean - they do poo a lot! Their poo needs removing as regularly as you see one. One of the best things about snails is that they do not stay on the floor of the tank. Mine regularly climb up the walls and sometimes even across the ceiling, but this means they leave their slime trail across these surfaces aswell. To keep the tank looking good I clean these marks off the surfaces each weekend.
The substrate sometimes gets little mites in it, this is not normally a problem but if there are too many mites that can irritate the snails or even eat little babies. If there are too many mites I change the substrate for new coconut husk or change the substrate about every couple of months anyway. It is not very expensive and another good thing about snails is that you can be sure if you put them in a bucket to clean them out they generally are still in the same area when you are ready to catch them again.
The substrate sometimes gets little mites in it, this is not normally a problem but if there are too many mites that can irritate the snails or even eat little babies. If there are too many mites I change the substrate for new coconut husk or change the substrate about every couple of months anyway. It is not very expensive and another good thing about snails is that you can be sure if you put them in a bucket to clean them out they generally are still in the same area when you are ready to catch them again.
