He LOVES snails!

I wonder how they are selling them without the buyer needing a USDA permit. I shall look in to this as I have plenty of extras, but thought you had to get a permit each time you ship to someone as I had to get a permit to order them.
 
I think as long as you aren't sending it across state lines, you don't need the permit. But, I'm not 100% on that, it's just what I've read on a snail forum when I was looking for these.
 
sandrachameleon said:
my panthers enjoy snails, my veiled does not seem interested. but I've given snails to others with veileds and theirs eat them.
Click to expand...
Hey Sandra, considering we are in the same geographical region, could you tell me how you obtained your snails? I have a hunch you likely just snagged some from the garden since we get plenty during the spring, but are all kinds we have locally safe? Any insight would be helpful, thanks Sandra!
 
ReptiGeek said:
Hey Sandra, considering we are in the same geographical region, could you tell me how you obtained your snails? I have a hunch you likely just snagged some from the garden since we get plenty during the spring, but are all kinds we have locally safe? Any insight would be helpful, thanks Sandra!
Click to expand...

You guessed correctly :) I collected a bunch of wild grove snails (which are not a native species) from the organic farm (in scrub trees and amongst plants) next to my parents property (agricultural pests that they step on /are happy to be rid of), and from my own property, and then used their off-spring as feeders.
Pictures of the type of snails I feed off (scroll towards the bottom) and info on how I kept them:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/133-snails.html
At first I collected them to keep as neat temporary pets. And I didn't think I'd be able to used the babies as feeders. Turns out, they produce so much poop that they fast became less cute and easier to see as prey!
 
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You have got to have a state permit to ship agriculture pest in your own state and a federal permit to ship across state lines. Lets say I want to ship from California to New York I would have to have a federal permit to ship to New York and each other state. This being some states may have native species that would be considered agriculture pests in other states. These federal permits prevent their spread.

As for snails my Parsonii eats adult snails occasionally. It is extremely neat when he does. He shoots his tongue and it sounds as though he is eating a bag of chips when he is chewing a snail. I used to breed my snail colony in a 15 gallon terrarium and snails shells are a great source of calcium.
 
I've ordered some... we'll see what happens...

I am in the process of getting my Level 2 USDA permit. I went up to the USDA office a few months ago after not being able to reach anyone by phone, but no one there had any idea what I was talking about! Apparently there is not a big run on pest permits :D I have called around and think I finally tracked down the person I need to talk to. Ah, the government.

Thanks for the tip. I have a suspicion my Jax will love snails, so hopefully, they will come through for me!
 
Lathis said:
I've ordered some... we'll see what happens...

I am in the process of getting my Level 2 USDA permit. I went up to the USDA office a few months ago after not being able to reach anyone by phone, but no one there had any idea what I was talking about! Apparently there is not a big run on pest permits :D I have called around and think I finally tracked down the person I need to talk to. Ah, the government.

Thanks for the tip. I have a suspicion my Jax will love snails, so hopefully, they will come through for me!
Click to expand...

I have got a Level 2 USDA permit they take a while to acquire. Then there is once you have got your USDA level 2 permit, permits to ship in state and out of state federal permits. All of them can be difficult to obtain.
 
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Motherlode Chameleon said:
I have got a Level 2 USDA permit they take a while to acquire. Then there is once you have your USDA level 2 permit, permits to ship in state and out of state federal permits. All of them can be difficult to obtain.
Click to expand...

Yeah, and that's why I am curious about this website. They dont mention anything about permits and state that they ship to all 50 states. I have my permit and did send them an email asking about whether they require buyers to have permits.
 
pigglett79 said:
Yeah, and that's why I am curious about this website. They dont mention anything about permits and state that they ship to all 50 states. I have my permit and did send them an email asking about whether they require buyers to have permits.
Click to expand...

It is worth checking on, avoiding legal trouble especially at the federal level is an intelligent idea.
 
So here is the answer I got from snailsinthemail regarding my question about why they don't ask buyers to provide a USDA permit. I'm not 100% sure what it means.

"Good afternoon,
We have network of permits that forward the mail on to the buyer. Once the snails are in the state, they are free to move about freely. (We are having problems in Virginia, but we are diligently working the issue out as we speak.)"
 
pigglett79 said:
Needs to be at least an inch of soil. And a lid that is mesh works best as baby snails are tiny and can get out of the metal aaquarium lid holes.
Click to expand...

Are those critter keepers okay to use? The ones used for crickets?

And how often would you feed your chameleon these?

One more question! Can they multiple and survive in 60F temps? Right now my house is at about 60-70.. I live in a basement and all the windows & back door have cold air always coming in. (going to fix that soon!.. hopefully).. Do they need higher temps?
 
happiness said:
Are those critter keepers okay to use? The ones used for crickets?
Click to expand...

The slits in the lid need to be very tiny as the baby snails are so small. I have some in one of the 5 gallon critter keeper type cage and they seem to be ok. I have most in a large plastic tub w a Lid that I have cut out and glued screen to.

Edit: they make up about 20% of my Jacksons diet.
 
pigglett79 said:
The slits in the lid need to be very tiny as the baby snails are so small. I have some in one of the 5 gallon critter keeper type cage and they seem to be ok. I have most in a large plastic tub w a Lid that I have cut out and glued screen to.

Edit: they make up about 20% of my Jacksons diet.
Click to expand...


They have 5 gallon critter keepers! :eek:
The one I have is called a "Large" size. i bought it at Petco, it was only $12 since it was missing a piece to it.. so I felt i had to have it. heh. Now its empty with nothing in it .. If I got snailed.. It'll have a new purpose :D 7 x 12 x 9.5 inch. Would this be too small?
 
happiness said:
They have 5 gallon critter keepers! :eek:
The one I have is called a "Large" size. i bought it at Petco, it was only $12 since it was missing a piece to it.. so I felt i had to have it. heh. Now its empty with nothing in it .. If I got snailed.. It'll have a new purpose :D 7 x 12 x 9.5 inch. Would this be too small?
Click to expand...

It will be too small if you have more than A few in there.
 
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