Raising snails - learning experience

snitz427

Chameleon Enthusiast
Well we have a lot of new insects going at the same time, so I figured I’d post along the way of things that worked/didn’t. I find other people’s threads like this really helpful when I’m trying to learn, so I hope this helps someone else.

I *cough* found *cough* a small colony of snails. They are supposedly a great feeder for chameleons, with a high moisture and calcium content. @jamest0o0 has shared a lot of knowledge and tips for keeping them, which is much appreciated!

I’ve had the colony for about a month now, and preformed minimal maintenance other than adding cuttlebone, and the occassional lettuce leaf and misting.

It was pretty clear to me that this was insufficient care after lifting the lid and finding a reeking cage, a dead snail, and zero eggs. The cage accumulated a lot of waste, moisture, and decaying food. I spotted small mites on the large snail, as well. It’s possible they were springtails, since my eyesight isn’t great... but since they were on the snail I’m going to say no, they were mites.

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So tonight I gutted the cage. I misted the entire cage, which encouraged movement, and moved each snail over to a holding pen. The snails definitely liked their little snail shower and the increased light, as they all became extremely active, including the snails that went dormant.

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I poured the old, funky soil into a 5 gallon home depot bucket. I’ll check it occassionally to look for any small snails we may have missed. I will add a handful of BSFL and let them and the springtails clean the soil up for the next full cleaning.

I squirt the container vigoursly with the hose and then soaked it in warm, soapy water. Afterwards I wiped the sides with apple cider vinegar and rinsed well. I added 3-4 blocks of coco earth to the bin, a little plastic planter as a hide, fresh cuttle bone and food.

I then gave each snail another little shower to ensure any remaining soil or mites were rinsed off before throwing them in the new bin.

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They need lots of calcium to develop and maintain their shells, so in addition to the cuttlebone I sprinkle their food with calcium powder.

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I was throwing in a piece of lettuce or collards and leaving it... eventually the little strips left behind turned black and I am sure contributed to swampy soil. So i added a small plastic dish to slightly raise the food off the soil and will remove/replace it every other day. This will help with mites, as well, should they reappear. I’ll add some BSFL and springtails to this bin, too, to act as a CUC.

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I didn’t get any eggs the first month, which I am sure was partly due to 2 of the adults sealing themselves off (which they do when unhappy), and 1 eventually dying. If conditions aren’t great, they go dormant and seal up.

So I think I had a few problems...

1. There was some light entering the cage (evidenced by a few pumpkin seeds sprouting), but probably not enough. I don’t think they need bright light, but similiating dusk/dawn is good. The lighting for the stick bugs should fix this.

2. The cage was too dirty. I will be removing food regularly and giving the sides a good wipe weekly. The snails were super active with a bath so they’ll likely get pulled out for a rinse every week or two, as well.

3. They like mistings, but too many/too much makes the cage muddier. The baths will help, but I’ll just have to be careful to use a finer, shorter mist and keep the lid off a bit for air exchange.

4. More airflow. They are in an airtight container with a small screen and small holes. I think this is fine so long as I take the lid off every now and then to air it out. These guys move surprisingly quickly and make a break for the exit, so I’ll be careful to check the lid and sides for potential escapees.

I’m hoping the new digs and fresher food will help encourage breeding. There are 3 adults currently and several small snails. Not sure how quickly they grow so I’ll check back in a few weeks with these guys.


Kids of all species are annoying.... but they sure are cute!
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Family photo
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Thank you for sharing. I would imagine this to be a great food for the larger species. probably why @jamest0o0 Parsons looks so good! I hope to have one in the future. Backwater is selling ccb for $200. Just not ready for that yet. I may have to try.
 
Thank you for sharing. I would imagine this to be a great food for the larger species. probably why @jamest0o0 Parsons looks so good! I hope to have one in the future. Backwater is selling ccb for $200. Just not ready for that yet. I may have to try.
I noticed they had Ccb parsons as well but I watch lots of unboxings that make to second guess buying from them
 
Well we have a lot of new insects going at the same time, so I figured I’d post along the way of things that worked/didn’t. I find other people’s threads like this really helpful when I’m trying to learn, so I hope this helps someone else.

I *cough* found *cough* a small colony of snails. They are supposedly a great feeder for chameleons, with a high moisture and calcium content. @jamest0o0 has shared a lot of knowledge and tips for keeping them, which is much appreciated!

I’ve had the colony for about a month now, and preformed minimal maintenance other than adding cuttlebone, and the occassional lettuce leaf and misting.

It was pretty clear to me that this was insufficient care after lifting the lid and finding a reeking cage, a dead snail, and zero eggs. The cage accumulated a lot of waste, moisture, and decaying food. I spotted small mites on the large snail, as well. It’s possible they were springtails, since my eyesight isn’t great... but since they were on the snail I’m going to say no, they were mites.

View attachment 231620

So tonight I gutted the cage. I misted the entire cage, which encouraged movement, and moved each snail over to a holding pen. The snails definitely liked their little snail shower and the increased light, as they all became extremely active, including the snails that went dormant.

View attachment 231612View attachment 231613View attachment 231614View attachment 231615View attachment 231616View attachment 231617View attachment 231618View attachment 231619View attachment 231620

I poured the old, funky soil into a 5 gallon home depot bucket. I’ll check it occassionally to look for any small snails we may have missed. I will add a handful of BSFL and let them and the springtails clean the soil up for the next full cleaning.

I squirt the container vigoursly with the hose and then soaked it in warm, soapy water. Afterwards I wiped the sides with apple cider vinegar and rinsed well. I added 3-4 blocks of coco earth to the bin, a little plastic planter as a hide, fresh cuttle bone and food.

I then gave each snail another little shower to ensure any remaining soil or mites were rinsed off before throwing them in the new bin.

View attachment 231613

View attachment 231614

They need lots of calcium to develop and maintain their shells, so in addition to the cuttlebone I sprinkle their food with calcium powder.

View attachment 231619

I was throwing in a piece of lettuce or collards and leaving it... eventually the little strips left behind turned black and I am sure contributed to swampy soil. So i added a small plastic dish to slightly raise the food off the soil and will remove/replace it every other day. This will help with mites, as well, should they reappear. I’ll add some BSFL and springtails to this bin, too, to act as a CUC.

View attachment 231617

View attachment 231618


I didn’t get any eggs the first month, which I am sure was partly due to 2 of the adults sealing themselves off (which they do when unhappy), and 1 eventually dying. If conditions aren’t great, they go dormant and seal up.

So I think I had a few problems...

1. There was some light entering the cage (evidenced by a few pumpkin seeds sprouting), but probably not enough. I don’t think they need bright light, but similiating dusk/dawn is good. The lighting for the stick bugs should fix this.

2. The cage was too dirty. I will be removing food regularly and giving the sides a good wipe weekly. The snails were super active with a bath so they’ll likely get pulled out for a rinse every week or two, as well.

3. They like mistings, but too many/too much makes the cage muddier. The baths will help, but I’ll just have to be careful to use a finer, shorter mist and keep the lid off a bit for air exchange.

4. More airflow. They are in an airtight container with a small screen and small holes. I think this is fine so long as I take the lid off every now and then to air it out. These guys move surprisingly quickly and make a break for the exit, so I’ll be careful to check the lid and sides for potential escapees.

I’m hoping the new digs and fresher food will help encourage breeding. There are 3 adults currently and several small snails. Not sure how quickly they grow so I’ll check back in a few weeks with these guys.


Kids of all species are annoying.... but they sure are cute!
View attachment 231615

Family photo
View attachment 231616
Yooo that’s so sick!!!! I love your posts. I need your bug collection!!

I haven’t had luck on find snails still
 
Thank you for sharing. I would imagine this to be a great food for the larger species. probably why @jamest0o0 Parsons looks so good! I hope to have one in the future. Backwater is selling ccb for $200. Just not ready for that yet. I may have to try.

Great for all sizes! The little guys I have I need to grow up to be my next breeders, but they can be fed off to smaller chameleons. I’ve heard the Parson’s have no problem crushing up a large snail shell.
 
Yooo that’s so sick!!!! I love your posts. I need your bug collection!!

I haven’t had luck on find snails still

Thank you! I’m anxious for them all to breeeeeeeeeeeeed!

They’re really common in greenhouses/nurseries. I actually got some in a schefflera. I’d bet if your local nursery has a snail problem they’d have no problem with you doing free bug patrol. Just make sure you wash them and wait for babies... to avoid both parasites and pesticides.

I’ve also heard good things about adding a snail/frog cave to your garden. The snails will look for a moist hide like an overturned, or broken terra cotta planter.
 
That’s cool, I’m just surprised a chameleon can bite up such a hard shell.

The smaller shells are very easily crushed up. Easier than an empty eggshell, IMO. Its calcium carbonate so not very dense like a seashell, more like TUMS antacids. Not sure about the larger snails, but the small empty shells I’ve found are easily crushed between fingers.
 
Thank you! I’m anxious for them all to breeeeeeeeeeeeed!

They’re really common in greenhouses/nurseries. I actually got some in a schefflera. I’d bet if your local nursery has a snail problem they’d have no problem with you doing free bug patrol. Just make sure you wash them and wait for babies... to avoid both parasites and pesticides.

I’ve also heard good things about adding a snail/frog cave to your garden. The snails will look for a moist hide like an overturned, or broken terra cotta planter.
I think I need to go back to the dollar store for a container and really dig around. Your colony inspires me. I wish I had a friend to go big hunting with @Beman let go hunting lol
 
I am inspired to try raising more bugs. Lets hope the wife shares the same level of enthusiasm. May try some other things before snail and learn from you @snitz427!
 
I think I need to go back to the dollar store for a container and really dig around. Your colony inspires me. I wish I had a friend to go big hunting with @Beman let go hunting lol
If you want banana slugs I have tons in my back yard the length of my hand!
 
Maaaannnn still no eggs. My babies are pretty active but the adults are usually on the roof of the container retracted. I think I am still doing something wrong, but everyone looks healthy and otherwise happy.

I definitely used too much substrate. It really doesn’t make a difference but makes digging for eggs a bit more work.

The snails seem to like their little hiding spot (plactic nursery planter). I added some cork bark tonight. Not sure if they’ll use it since it’s a bit rough, but gives another hiding spot... and something for springtails.

Lettuce gets funky in a hurry. I think I’m going to stick with thin cucumber slices and carrot slices for a while to see if it helps keep cage cleaner. They definitely like the cucumber.
 
Have you seen any of the snails mate? What are your temps? They need warmer weather to encourage mating. I only offer cuttlebone and then greenery every day, just enough for them to eat. And then they have moss and dead leaves. I mist once a day heavily. I don't believe in too much soil for these guys, even if it's a pain for us, they are more likely to lay in deeper soil and they survive drier days better when there is more soil.
 
You can also easily check for eggs by checking their airway.

Thank you! I have not seen them mate. They are at 70 degrees, I’ll move them to the bug rack to increase the temps. Thank you!

I’ll have to look into how to check their airway for eggs. I dont think they’re mating... just eating and napping :)
 
Maybe the diameter of a quarter? I have only had them a few weeks so not sure ok the age. I had one die that was slightly larger so maybe they’re not of age yet. Thanks Andee!
 
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