Snails can be adorable pets (II)

Snails are not only nice decoration for the fishbowl; they can also be adorable pets that can live alone or with other animals.

There are two types of snails, that due to their differences, each kind has a particular care.

Water snails

• Also known as conches, water snails are small and have eye-catching colors (they present different shades of green and yellow).

• They can live alone or with other small sea animals in a fishbowl. You better leave 8 inches free of water, since they lay their eggs in the dry areas.

• For hygiene reasons, when changing the fishbowl water add chlorine tablets to prevent diseases.

• You can get them pet stores for $1 each.

Terrestrial snails

• Mostly known as escargot, these snails present a brown or coffee-like color and they can reach up to 10 inches (as the ones in Ecuador). Their feeding is mostly vegetal; they eat lettuce, papaya leaves, and any other edible leaf.
  

• The best place to have soil snails is a delimited place in your garden or a humid place with compost so they can comfortably lay their eggs on.

• You can get them pet stores for $2 each.

Source: El Universo

How to take care of a snail pet

Snails are fairly cheap and easy to maintain as pets, though you have to be careful of releasing them into the wild because someone could step on them or get caught by predators.

A special case is Giant African Snails which can not be released into the wild at all; they can cause ecological havoc due to their great devastating power, especially for agriculture. If you have or found one, contact the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

As for raising a pet snail you would need:

• A wide transparent and well-ventilated tank.
• Soil or compost.

Fun stuff for the snail, such as:

• A stick or log.
• Plant pot
• Ornaments
• Leaves
• Twigs

As for food:

• Fresh apples
• Carrots
• Celery
• Lettuce

As for cleaning:

• A bowl of water to drink and bathe.
• A Water spray gun to keep the tank moist.

For more on exotic pet animals, you may visit our friend site Exotic Pets.

Source: Petsnail.co.uk