Feeding and Nutrition :: Snails on the sidewalk>>>

[MrScratchTheRES]

So I live in an apartment complex with lot's of lanscaping and grass.. which leads to alot of snails in the morning.. I was reading eairler that res eat snails sometimes... should I purchase them somewhere to see if he'll eat them or can I use the ones I have to avoid on the sidewalk each morning? might lead to interesting thoughts from the neighbors "Look at the snail collector!!!"Let me know whatcha think?

[missibsu]

You don't know where those snails have been, and what they might have picked up. Pesticides, debris from cars, etc can be nasty.

Pet stores that sell plants often have snails that hitch rides on the plants. These are considered pests, so they don't sell them. If you ask for them, they might just give them to you. That's how I got started on my snails, and now I breed them.

[MrScratchTheRES]

yeah that's what I thought... just thought I'd ask. You breed snails? how is that done? and does your res eat them?

[missibsu]

Yes, my res eats them, that is why I breed them! LOL!

The small kind that I was talking about are known locally as cornucopia snails. They are asexual, so they don't need a mate to reproduce. I started with 6 and have too many to count these days. About once a week I scoop some out and put them in the turtle tank. The shells are a great source of calcium. They are egg layers and they eat the waste from my feeder fish that I also breed. The only unfriendly thing about the habitat is that some of the snail eggs get eaten by the fish. Enough survive though.

[MrScratchTheRES]

Send send some picks of your breading set-ups I'd be interested in starting to breed my own res food- might be interesting? I own several tanks and rubbermaid containers that I could use to do such...

[missibsu]

Give me a couple of days. I've misplaced my battery charger for the digital cam. Once I find that I'll get some pics and post them for you.

It isn't anything special though. A 30 gallon tank, a regular filter for that size tank, some fake plants (for the guppy fry) and an aquarium light. I also use a heater to maintain temps around 78F.

Just be warned, they lay eggs everywhere. At first it was neat to see the eggs on the glass and watch as they grew and changed colors, etc. Now it's just disgusting. When I clean I sometimes have to grab onto the aquarium decorations and there can be snail eggs all over it. Talk about slimmy!

[Shavannah]

The shells are a great source of calcium.

missibsu, do you know if too much calcium is bad for them? Just curious, because I'd like to try snails, and I also give him cuttlebone.

[missibsu]

You know, I've never worried about too much calcium. I'm not sure what the results are, or how the body of a turtle deals with that. I feed snails weekly and cuttlebone.

[Shavannah]

I'll stop by Petsmart and see if they have any of those hanging around on their plants to give to me to try. If Gandalf likes them, I may have another hobby ahead of me lol.

[MrScratchTheRES]

I stopped by petco today and they had plenty snails to offer and they offerd them at no charge, aparently there are several pet owners in my area who request these already.. so they are already putting them aside in little plastic containers.

[MrScratchTheRES]

I believe a abundence of calcium leads to excissive mineral deposits in there shell causing it to turn a cloudy white, which is not hazardious to there health only astecticly displeasing.. this is just a memory from something I read and a picture of a turtle believed to have shell rot on autstians turtle page. I could be wrong.

[Shavannah]

Thanks for the info. Do you happen to know how much calcium is too much?

[MrScratchTheRES]

I've seen many different things based on size and other things, nothing ever really said that there was a specific amount to use... The only time I ever saw health mentioned along with calicum was when it talked about it's shell... and other than the cloudness or claulky appearence it also said to watch for a brittle shell. And even then it just suggested cutting back and never defined how much was good or bad... I also never saw the words "to much"... like something bad would happen. but that's just from my current research.. might want to see if someone else gets in on this one to get a second opnion.

[marisa]

I remember a pic on ATP of a turtle with a chalky-looking shell, but it was the result of mineral deposits from the water, not from dietary calcium.

[Shavannah]

Thanks for all the info. I'll just keep an eye on him like I always do and watch for those signs of chalkiness, etc.