Very interesting about Land Snails Helix aspersa

[Lovereps]

I know that a number of people, myself included have wondered whether or not land snails are a source of parasites or not.
This may not be the final word but it is an interesting comment by an experienced cham keeper Don Wells.
If anyone knows Don, perhaps they could ask him if he has learned differently in the 11 years since this was posted on Chameleons! Online E-Zine
scroll down to question 3
http://chameleonnews.com/02MayWells.html

 

[Reganold]

I would never use snails anthem produce mucus as a defense, can have parasites, and could harm your chameleons. Most animals that hunt after snailss are specialists in doing so and I don't believe chameleons are.

 

[mphelps]

A few species of chameleons love land snails and slugs, and eat them readily in the wild. Years ago, I regularly fed land snails to a pair of jacksons (xanth), and they loved them.

The jacksons knew just what to do. I'd set a snail on a branch, and the jacksons would see it and immediately show excitement. The jacksons wouldn't shoot their tongues at snails, but would climb over, grab it in their jaws, and crunch. After a few crunches, the entire snail -- shell and all -- would disappear.

I had a source of wild snails, where I was assured that they were never exposed to pesticides or fertilizer, and I made sure that the shells were not too thick.

 

[mphelps]

I should add that I met Don Wells on several occasions years ago. If he says that snails introduce parasites, he is likely right. All I can say is that my jacksons enjoyed snails as one part of their diet, and they did well for me.

 

[Reganold]

A few species of chameleons love land snails and slugs, and eat them readily in the wild. Years ago, I regularly fed land snails to a pair of jacksons (xanth), and they loved them.

The jacksons knew just what to do. I'd set a snail on a branch, and the jacksons would see it and immediately show excitement. The jacksons wouldn't shoot their tongues at snails, but would climb over, grab it in their jaws, and crunch. After a few crunches, the entire snail -- shell and all -- would disappear.

I had a source of wild snails, where I was assured that they were never exposed to pesticides or fertilizer, and I made sure that the shells were not too thick.

Well goes to show you are always learning. I didn't know Jackson's would take snails so easily

 

[dlegare]

I know that a number of people, muself included have wondered whether or not land snails are a source of parasites or not.
This may not be the final word but it is an interesting comment by an experienced cham keeper Don Wells.
If anyone knows Don, perhaps they could ask him if he has learned differently in the 11 tears since this was posted on Chameleons! Online E-Zine
scroll down to question 3
http://chameleonnews.com/02MayWells.html

Some Chameleons in fact do have specialized feeding responses to deal with snails. Jackson's are one that I know of.

It would be nice if we could get a parasite free snail but I don't think you can in the US.

I definitely would NOT! feed any wild snails to my Chams. Wild snails are vectors for many parasites and I don't want to introduce anything like that to my animals.

 

[Ferrah88]

Now the big question is: What chameleons CAN eat snails? I know there is the obvious jackson's, but what other species can eat them? Would be interesting to know if my chams can eat them, as we have a LOT of garden snails about, and I could start a small "breeding program" with them. I find eggs all the time, and I doubt taking some of those and putting them into a controlled environment would do any harm...

 

[little leaf]

hmmmm.....we have snails all over our woods too- my sister comes and gets them for her land tort/s
and I do have a Jackson- (not that I would feed them to her, she is so picky as to what she eats, but I would wonder if she would show interest in them - she is a WC I am sure, even tho the place told me she was a cb- but he could not tell me the breeder - ) but I would wonder if you could get the sails to a point by breeding your own so they would be safe, but the shell would worry me very much ~ I will stick to more "mushy" food items but I have not found anything she will eat except crix - if it looks like any type of worm she will have nothing to do w/ it- that is why I am going to try mantis - see how that goes - lol

 

[Alexl]

Snails are no problem for chameleons to eat. I use Helicidae sp. as feeders in summer for Furcifer as well as for Bradypodion every year. I even know breeders and keepers feeding Trioceros or Chamaeleo with snails from time to time. Some individuals don't like them, most shoot them without problems once knowing those slow moving non-insects are eatable. The little snail houses are no problem to chew or swallow and offer high calcium content additionally. Nudibranches are no good choice, of cause.

In fact certain snail species can carry parasites, but it depends on your home country whether those are harmful for your chameleon or not (and whether the snails can get those parasites at all). There are few parasite species who need an intermediate snail host, e.g. trematodes (flukes should be the trivial name?). Only certain species of trematodes can infect chameleons - and those need a total of two intermediate hosts, which means the risk to collect a snail with chameleon pathogenic trematodes is rather low. Coccidia, oxyures, ascarids etc. don't have snails as hosts, those could only be carried after the snails had contact with infectious parasite stages in feces of another reptile. For Germany I don't mind the parasite risk of wild snails at all.

You can even buy e.g. Achatina fulica from breeders without any parasite risk. They're easy to keep, beautiful animals, grow fast and lay hundreds of eggs. The small offspring (max. 1-2 cm in size) can be fed to your chameleons occasionally.

 

[Action Jackson]

My Panther, Jackson's and Parson's all love snails!

 

[pigglett79]

I have been interested in getting snails for a while, but they are expensive. They also breed very slow, but maybe one day I will be up tho the challenge.

 

[Miss Lily]

Some Chameleons in fact do have specialized feeding responses to deal with snails. Jackson's are one that I know of.

It would be nice if we could get a parasite free snail but I don't think you can in the US.

I definitely would NOT! feed any wild snails to my Chams. Wild snails are vectors for many parasites and I don't want to introduce anything like that to my animals.

Do you have any further information about this please? I have a Jackson and have often thought of getting some snails for him. Is it something do do with how their stomachs/digestion works? My Jackson would only eat crickets and newly moulted mini mealworms as a baby and I did wonder if their digestion is somehow different due to the colder climate they live in.

 

[laurie]

Just a bit of info for those who ask if chams can eat snails, chameleons coming in wild caught often have snails as a part of the food they have eaten. This info was collected by necropsy of chams that did not make it. however it does show that they are part of a natural diet in the wild.

Now the big question is: What chameleons CAN eat snails? I know there is the obvious jackson's, but what other species can eat them? Would be interesting to know if my chams can eat them, as we have a LOT of garden snails about, and I could start a small "breeding program" with them. I find eggs all the time, and I doubt taking some of those and putting them into a controlled environment would do any harm...

I would say your veiled would love snails but they would be too big for a elliotti

hmmmm.....we have snails all over our woods too- my sister comes and gets them for her land tort/s
and I do have a Jackson- (not that I would feed them to her, she is so picky as to what she eats, but I would wonder if she would show interest in them - she is a WC I am sure, even tho the place told me she was a cb- but he could not tell me the breeder - ) but I would wonder if you could get the sails to a point by breeding your own so they would be safe, but the shell would worry me very much ~ I will stick to more "mushy" food items but I have not found anything she will eat except crix - if it looks like any type of worm she will have nothing to do w/ it- that is why I am going to try mantis - see how that goes - lol

Try a snail or two, I am thinking Olive might like the variety, where they come from near you they should be safe

Do you have any further information about this please? I have a Jackson and have often thought of getting some snails for him. Is it something do do with how their stomachs/digestion works? My Jackson would only eat crickets and newly moulted mini mealworms as a baby and I did wonder if their digestion is somehow different due to the colder climate they live in.

jackson are known as snail eaters. Offer Monty one and see if he likes them.

 

[Lovereps]

Land Snails ONLY

mphelps, did you read the linked article?
Mr Wells stated that wild caught land snails were fed to his chams and he did not believe that they introduced any parasites into his chams.

Reading the article there are strong warnings--such as ensuring that a snail has not been exposed to any insecticides and is 100% a land snail.
This is why setting up your own colony is always the safest for your chams.

He warns not to use snails from the water or who spend any part of their life in the water, as those types are known to harbor parasites.

It's a bit of a relief to know that because I would like to get a breeding colony going as food for my Jackson's--so if they are not likely loaded with a bunch of parasites from the start, it makes me feel much better about it.
I would bet money that my present Jackson's will love eating them, having seen the way a past Jackson's relished them.

little leaf and Miss lily, as a few people have already mentioned, Jackson's will walk right up to a snail and grab it, crunching it to bits shell and all.
The shells are an excellent source of calcium--as Alexl mentioned.

Since they are a good calcium source and Jackson's relish them, I'll have to further research breeding them, as I would not want to poison any of my chams if a neighbor has had pesticides sprayed to kill all the bugs nearby.

If anyone knows Don Wells and can ask him if his opinion about the wild caught snails has changed, I would very much appreciate knowing his current thoughts on land snails.

 

[coldbloodedAL]

Its rather simple to start a colony of snails. Do a search on snails and there are multiple threads regarding how to do so. I had a colony going for roughly a year, all my chameleons ate them readily.

I believe Sandrachameleon has a blog in it as well.

 

[Lovereps]

Thanks for the heads up coldbloodedAl.
What made you decide to stop raising them?
I wish they were sold as feeders but, since they are a non-native pest species, they can't be shipped out of state at the very least.
I'll have to wait until the snails come out from hibernation in April or May in my area.

 

[coldbloodedAL]

Thanks for the heads up coldbloodedAl.
What made you decide to stop raising them?
I wish they were sold as feeders but, since they are a non-native pest species, they can't be shipped out of state at the very least.
I'll have to wait until the snails come out from hibernation in April or May in my area.

At the time I was raising many a different feeders, at some point I forgot to tend to them and the colony eventually died. Come spring time Ill be setting up another colony though.

Basically, I used a sm- med sized sterlite , with about an inch or two of organic soil. With a bunch of sticks, and clean bark or wood pieces for hiding. They ate basically all the greens that i feed my dubia and cricket colonies.

Eventually they will lay eggs in the soil, and the eggs will hatch a few months later. Once they lay the eggs i get rid of the WC adults, remove the eggs(they will be small, white and in groups) from the soil and place them in another clean bin set up the same way.

They are slow growers, but once they reach adulthood they will lay plenty off eggs.

Also, the snails i was raising were cepea nemoralis, not helix aspersa. But the same methods should apply to both.

 

[Lovereps]

Thanks for all the added info.
Hopefully, I won't forget to tend to them myself this year.
Right now I'm trying to get some captive bred Isopod colonies established.
The more feeder variety my chams get, the longer and healthier I hope their lives will be.

 

[Ferrah88]

I would say your veiled would love snails but they would be too big for a elliotti

I was thinking the same thing. I suppose IF Marimo ended up wanting one, I would end up giving him a very young snail, of course not too big. We get plens of different sized snails around here, and some would be just the right size for him. Adults - Nope. I'll see what happens! Alexl doesn't seem to worry about the things a German snail might come with, so I won't be either. I will, however, still try and get a controlled environment instead, just in case!

 

[little leaf]

wellll, maybe I will go snail hunting then I KNOW mine dont have pestaside on them, they live way to far in the woods - across the road is a horse field , and the woods is full of them - but right now,,,, they are all sleeping - lol I was looking on line, for a while now- trying to find what are her "native" foods - and snails are one listed- and now this thread - lol so maybe I will give her a few