The Giant African Land Snails (Achatina sp.) are molluscs and make ideal pets as they are easy to look after.

They can live for several years and grow up to 20cm in length. The snails are most active during the night (they are nocturnal).

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BASIC CARE FOR GIANT AFRICAN LAND SNAILS

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• A clean, fresh, warm and damp environment should be provided, usually within a tank of some kind.

• The tank should be heated to between 20-29°C. This can be done using a heat mat. 

• Substrate such as soil or moss should be provided so your snails can burrow. 

• Substrate should be changed when it starts to look dirty - usually around once a week, depending on the number of snails you have.

• The tank should be wiped down regularly, as needed, and thoroughly rinsed out about one a month.

• Fresh food should be provided every day. All food should be washed thoroughly and old food removed from the tank after one or two days. 

• A supply of calcium should also be available at all times.

• Bathe your snails regularly - roughly once a month.

• Regularly check for eggs and destroy them if you can’t keep or re-home them.

 

FACTS ABOUT GIANT AFRICAN LAND SNAILS

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Giant African Land Snails make great and rewarding pets for both adults and children, however, they can live for up to ten years in captivity (although usually around 5-7 years), so the decision to start keeping snails shouldn’t be made lightly.

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The most common species of Giant African Land Snail is Achatina fulica. They can be identified by their mottled brown, conical-shaped shells. This species of snail is originally from East Africa (Kenya and Tanzania). They are considered pests in many countries and are illegal in the USA. Because of their pest status, it is illegal to set them or their eggs free in the UK. All species of snail are hermaphrodites, which means that they have both male & female reproductive organs. They can self-fertilise, so you can still get fertilised eggs from keeping a single snail. If this happens we urge you to just come in to our shop. No judgements or awkward questions just drop them off and we can either put them with ours or rehome them for you. Jungle in the suburbs would much rather people felt comfortable in passing on the responsibility for pets that for whatever reason need a new home

 

Giant African Land Snails can grow up to 12cm in length and weight up to 600g. Most of their growth is achieved in the first year of their life, so after 12 months you can generally see the maximum size your snail will reach. Snails have thousands of teeth, which are arranged in rows on a chitinous ribbon and together form the Radula. The Radula is used to scrape and grind off pieces of their food - this is called rasping.Snails are generally nocturnal but seem to enjoy being handled at any time of the day.

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Surprisingly, snails can get bored if they are not entertained so it is important to provide them with places to hide like plastic flowerpots and large pieces of bark. Snails also love burrowing, so some kind of soil or peat to line the tank is essential. It is widely assumed that Giant African Land Snails prefer to live in the company of other snails, and that they are less active when kept on their own. There is not much scientific evidence to support this, although most people who keep snails seem to find that they group together when sleeping, suggesting that they are happier with other snails around.

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DIET

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In the wild, Giant African Land Snails are known to eat up to 500 different species of plant. It is a good idea to feed your snails a wide variety of food, as they can become fussy. Many snails love cucumber and lettuce, but it is less nutritious than other vegetables so it is important to persist with other foods. Snails also love fish flakes, which are readily available at most supermarkets. You can mash vegetables, fruits and fish flakes up with water to make a tasty paste for your snails too! Grapes, banana, tomato and lettuce are all good food for snails, For a full list of safe food to feed snails see below. Do not feed snails onions, processed starchy food such as pasta, or anything containing salt as this is likely to make them ill or even kill them.

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FOOD SUITABLE FOR GIANT AFRICAN LAND SNAILS

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Apple
Artichoke
Banana
Basil
Beans
Blueberries
Butternut squash
Cabbage
Carrot
Cauliflower
Celeriac
Cherry
Clover
Courgette
Cress
Cucumber
Dandelion leaves
Dog biscuits (check ingredients to ensure no salt content- soak thoroughly and mash)
Fish food flakes
Lettuce
Kale
Kiwi
Mango
Marrow
Mushrooms
Nettle
Passion Fruit
Peach
Peas
Pears

Pepper
Plantains (when very ripe - totally black and mushy)
Plum
Potato and potato peelings
Pumpkin seeds
Raisins
Spirulina
Strawberries
Sweetcorn
Sweet potato
Tangerine
Tomato
Turnip
Watermelon

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CALCIUM

 

Giant African Land Snails also need a constant supply of calcium in order for their shells to grow. Cuttlefish bone is perfect for this and is probably the easiest to find, as most pet shops will stock them and you can also buy it very cheaply online.

Other sources of calcium include ground oyster shells and eggs shells, although these are less effective. You can also buy liquid calcium to spray on food if your snail is particularly fussy and won’t eat cuttlefish.

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HANDLING

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Giant African Land Snails enjoy being handled, but they don’t like being dropped - so take care! Wet hands are better for snails to crawl on, but this makes them more slippery so you must always make sure that the weight of their shell is fully supported.

To pick up a snail that is stuck to the side of a tank, spray it with water first and ease your fingers underneath it. Don’t try and pull the snail by it’s shell or you could pull the shell off completely!

The front part of a snail’s shell is the newest and the most fragile part, so try not to touch it too much when handling snails.

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CLEANING TANKS

 

It is a good idea to regularly rinse your snail tank. The inside of the tank can also be wiped with a damp cloth every few days to remove any slime or dirt that has accumulated. You should thoroughly clean the tank at least once a month - or more regularly depending on the size and amount of snails you have. Transfer your snails to another tank or container to change the substrate and then give the tank a wash with boiling water and a detergent. Make sure the tank is rinsed very thoroughly so no traces of any chemicals are left.

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CLEANING SUBSTRATE

 

Depending on which substrate you are using, you may want to bake it to sterilise it for re-use. Coir (coconut fibre) and peat can be baked at around 200°c for around one or two hours. Substrate should be left to cool after baking and then dampened before being put back in the tank. Sphagnum moss can be cleaned by placing it in a colander or sieve and rinsing it thoroughly with water. Don’t use boiling water, as this might kill the moss.

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BATHING SNAILS

 

Snails should be bathed about once a week to keep them fresh and free from any pests. Place them in a shallow dish of room temperature water and run water over their body and shell to clean them. Make sure the water isn’t too deep for them as they can drown if water enters their breathing hole.

If your snails are large, you can give them a a 'shower' by setting a tap to a warm dribble and holding them underneath. Make sure they are not being drenched or drowned though! You may find that holding them slightly to the side and letting them reach for the water themselves helps.

If their shell is particularly dirty you can clean it with a soft toothbrush, or even your finger. Don’t be tempted to scrub the shell hard as it can easily get damaged. Never use any detergents to clean your snails.

You can also polish your snail’s shell if you want by gently rubbing on sesame seed oil using a soft cloth.

It should be noted that snails need a certain amount of bacteria in order to digest their food properly, so an overly-clean tank and substrate will do more harm than good

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BREEDING & EGGS

 

Giant African Land Snails are hermaphrodites, meaning that one snail is both both male and female. Although they don’t often self-fertilise, it is not unheard of, so keeping a single snail will not guarantee that you won’t end up with eggs or baby snails. Achatina fulica are the easiest snails to breed and don’t require much special attention in order for them to reproduce.

Snails can start breeding after around six months and the larger of the pair will normally carry the eggs.

Clutches of eggs are produced in batches of anywhere between 30 and 1,000. Usually, batches are produced several months apart to give them a better chance of survival, but we recommend you check for eggs every three days. Eggs are white or yellowish and are 4-5mm in diameter. Eggs can take anywhere from several days to six weeks to hatch. If conditions are good, around 90 percent of the babies should survive.

Giant African Land Snail eggs. Eggs and very small babies should be kept separate from adult snails to avoid damaging them. A tupperware tub (with airholes!) with some substrate and food is perfect for keeping baby snails.

However, it is important to remember that the supply of baby Giant African Land Snails is greater than the demand, making them incredibly hard to re-home or sell. If you don’t want to or can’t keep lots of baby snails, then it is best to destroy the eggs by freezing them as soon as possible. Under no circumstances should you let baby African Land Snails or their eggs loose outside, as this is illegal in many countries and will do a great deal of damage to the surrounding wildlife. Cleaning your snail tank out regularly will ensure that you find any eggs before they hatch.

RE-HOMING SNAILS

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HEALTH

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Snails can suffer from a number of health problems and, unfortunately, there are not many veterinarians (if any) that will treat snails. Prevention is always better than, so it important to be aware of any potential problems so you can prevent them before they occur.

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AESTIVATION

Aestivation is when a snail creates a membrane and seals itself into its shell because of the dryness of its surrounding. This can be combated by increasing the humidity in your tank - easily done with a daily spritz of water from a spray bottle. Humidity in the tank should be around 75-90% - find out more about humidity monitoring here.

If your snail is still sealed in after increasing the tank humidity, you can encourage it come out by bathing it in lukewarm water, or by spraying the snail directly (but gently) with the spray bottle. Snails can take a little while to adapt to the new humidity level, so don't worry if they hide again soon afterwards. 

HIBERNATION

Snails may also seal themselves into their shells if the temperature of its surroundings is too low. Most African snails require a temperature of around 20 - 29°c, although difference species can prefer lower temperatures.

A heat mat is useful for keeping the temperature of your snail habitat steady and warm. 

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DEEP RETRACTION

 

Snails can sometimes retract themselves into their shells and be reluctant to come out again. If there is no covering across the shell opening, then this is classed as retraction rather than hibernation or aestivation. There are many possible reasons for retraction.

 

CRACKED OR BROKEN SHELLS

Snails grow their shells by absorbing calcium through cuttlefish bones and food. Poor calcium intake can result in weak and flaky shells, as well as make them prone to cracking and breaking. Breaks on the wider part of the shell (next to the entrance where the snail emerges) are not too serious and the snail will usually repair these themselves in time. More serious breakages can occur on the point of the shell, where the older growth is. The snail cannot repair these, and if the snail's body is exposed, this can lead to other health problems, and drying out.

Shells can be repaired, but care must be taken to avoid the snail's body coming into contact with any materials or chemicals used. 

 

PARASITES

Snails and their environment can be prone to flies and mites. Be aware of any unwanted visitors and 

Housing

These snails can be housed in a variety of containers, depending upon the size and number of snails that you have. A good container is a glass or plastic aquarium tank. These type of containers allow easy cleaning and you will be able to watch your snails through the sides. The snails like to burrow, so when you have your tank, fill it with several centimeters of peat-free compost and a large piece of bark. (If you collect the bark yourself make sure that you soak it in water overnight to remove any nasty chemicals). Make sure that the substrate is kept moist at all times, but not soggy. Leaf litter and moss are also good at keeping the soil damp. The tank should be kept at 20-25°C, which means that a small heat mat or pad is necessary during the winter months. The tank should be kept moist and a plant spray is ideal, providing it hasn't been used with chemicals as these could harm your snails.

If snails are not kept in correct conditions they may seal the aperture (opening) to their shell and wait for conditions to improve. If this happens you should make sure you are keeping the snails correctly. Once you have resolved these housing issues you can encourage the snails to open up again by bathing them in luke-warm water.

Feeding

The African Land Snails are very easy to feed, as they will eat a wide variety of things. The best food is lettuce and cucumber but apple, banana and cabbage can also be given. However, if you give your snails food that goes off quickly (like banana and apple) be sure to remove it when it has gone brown so as not to make your snails ill. An essential part of the snails diet is calcium. This is used to keep their shells strong and healthy and calcium can be provided in the form of a cuttlefish bone.

Breeding

All snails are hermaphrodites, which means that they have both male and female sex organs, so although you need two snails in order for them to breed, it doesn't matter which two. If conditions are ideal, the snails will produce nests of small, white round eggs. These should be removed very carefully, so that the adults do not disturb them, and placed in a small container containing some damp peat-free substrate, where they should hatch after about 14 days at 20-25°C. Keep an eye on your eggs, and as soon as they hatch give them some food and cuttlefish.

Snails can produce more than one clutch of eggs following mating. As a result, snails that have not have been in contact with other snails for some time may still produce batches of viable eggs (assuming the snail was an adult when it was in contact with other snails).

Health and cleanliness

Giant Land Snails should be treated with the same care and attention to cleanliness as any other pet. Like many animals (caged birds, snakes, terrapins, tortoises, lizards etc.) and some food products (raw poultry and eggs), snails can carry the Salmonella bacteria.

Consequently, after handling snails (or cleaning them out), you should wash and disinfect hands thoroughly.

Parasites

The AES is occasionally asked about parasites carried by Giant African Land Snails. Like many slugs and snails, Giant African Land Snails are capable of carrying a parasite known as Rat lungworm (Angiostrongylus cantonensis). This is a parasite of rats but the larvae is passed to snails when snails eat infected rat droppings. Rats then eat the snails and the parasite is passed back to the rat to complete its life cycle.

This parasite can be passed to humans if they eat live/raw infected snails or a part of a snail. In most cases infection does not require medical treatment but, in very rarecases, can cause a rare form of meningitis.

Parasite transmission in the UK is very unlikely for several reasons:

1. It is thought that rats in the UK do not carry the parasite so snails originating in the UK do not come into contact with infected rat droppings.

2. Most Giant African Land Snails available in the UK are captive bred within the UK and not imported. Before purchasing any snail you should enquire about its origin (although this is standard advice when buying any animal).

3. Pet snails are not eaten.

The above does not constitute medical advice. If you are in any way concerned about health risks posed by snails then seek advice from a medical practitioner.

Other information

In some countries it is illegal to own Giant African Land Snails because of the invasive nature of this snail. There are currently no restrictions on owning these snails in the UK but it is illegal to release them (including eggs) into the wild. Excess eggs should be frozen before being disposed of.

Remember: it is important that you know the needs and requirements of your pet before you obtain the animal. You should never, ever obtain an animal before researching its needs and preparing the housing and conditions.