Snail farms

For raising snails there are at least two types of snail farms. Open panels are the oldest; they date back from the Roman, when they developed the production of snails in open, fresh and sunny places as the walls of their houses.
Nowadays, this mechanism has been intensely modified into walls of 18 to 21 feet tall with irrigation through aspersion, halls and shelters, with complementary plants for their nutrition.

Other type of farms the closed panel that consists of the adaptation of a hermetic place as a barn with plantations, which is conditioned with temperature and humidity equipment.

This type of snail farm is the most preferred by professional snail farmers to ensure the security and wellbeing of snails, which are fragile creatures that like to crawl over different surfaces, therefore they get hard to find by the human eye.

Getting to know snails

These crawling little creatures love moving through different surfaces by jeans of wavy muscular contractions. In the case of terrestrial snails this is different, since they move thanks to the slime they segregate.

Snail slime helps these animals get very well used to the conditions of stimulated reproduction.

The best way to find out the health of your snails is through their color and the contact with the substance inside the snail’s shell. Placing a plastic layer to let them crawl upon is a good way to check them without altering their behavior.
It is important to respect the position snails adopt, they do not remain as still and inactive as we may think because we may interrupting their normal activities as sleeping, eating, reproducing or just reposing.

Is snail farming profitable?

It all depends on the management the snail farmer makes of his production. According to financial cost studies snail raising is one of the most profitable entrepreneur undertakings in these days.

When we talk about profitability, you have to take into account to see the first income of the sale of snails you have to wait at least one cycle of life of this animal that is between 8 to 12 months from the beginning of the exploitation.

Raising Snail Business.Part III

Where can I get snails to farm?

You can do it through wild recollection yourself, of pay somebody else to do it; or buy them from a snail provider you can find online.

To whom I can sell my snails?

In the U.S. the consumption of snails there is a considerable demand for this seafood, but it is much more significant in France, Spain and Italy.
This does not mean though that all snail farmers have to be exporters.
Basically there are two ways for snails sale:

- Becoming a snail provider that can buy your production to sell it to a compiler that buys small volumes of snails to get the enough volume (tons) to export them to the markets above-mentioned.

- Taking in charge of a whole snail production since the growing, reproduction, and increase for commercialization oversea.

Raising Snail Business. Part II

What type of place I need to farm snails?

You may use any type of physical space as barns, farms, rooms, etc. you have to consider that snails require a specific photoperiod, and all those structures that are not greenhouses require more electricity consume.

What kind of food snails need?

Snails can eat vegetables as balanced food as well. In the latter, you have to prepare ad hoc “dishes”, since there is no specific commercial food for this seafood.

What are the best temperatures for raising snails?

The best temperature to keep snails during their active cycle is among 55°F to 77°F. During hibernation periods there are necessary 45 °F.

The snail producer have to look to keep the adequate temperature levels to assure the survival of snails during their active cycle, that is of growing and reproduction.

Special: Raising Snail Business

Part I

Due to the increasing demand of snail in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries,snail farming have become a very interesting and lucrative business you can start with a relatively small budget and in your own place.
We are going to present a series of posts that will explain the basics you need to know on the raising snail business:

How much space do I need to raise snails?

Each type of snail breeds, according to its complexity, present different yields. This is directly related to the quantity of space you used to obtain a determined quantity of snails in a determined time.

When we talk about an intensive system, the performances are better and the space to occupy is minor, but that surface is much more expensive since you have to control temperature, moisture and electricity.

Different is the Italian system or complete biological cycle, where the soil surface of the snail farm is very large but only consists on one cultivated field.

Raising snails: Part IV

Building up a snail home

For preparing a home for your snail pet you may:

- Place a 5 inch layer of garden soil and water it regularly to keep it moist.
- Renew the food when it is withered.

Snails growth

Snails present a high level of growth during their first phases of life, which stops when it reaches adulthood, and decreases as long they get older.

It is hermaphrodite, but needs of another snail for reproduction.

The raising period goes from June until October.

What you need to raise snails

- Aquarium with a grilled tap.
- Garden soil.
- Rocks rich in carbonate calcium to provide them calcium.

Snails health

We have to avoid the excess of humidity to prevent the proliferation of pathological bacteria as Pseudomonas aeruginosa that can cause the snail’s death.