Diet:

There are hundreds of species of snails with varying diet types. A lot of the time you will see generic lists of fruit and vegetables but this really only applies to part of a snails diet. You must also note that some species (such as Megalobulimus oblongus) cannot be kept in the same way that we keep our more common giant African land snail species. Some snail species require an abundance of algae, biofilm, microflora and lichen.

It is important to research each specific species that you keep to ensure they have the varied diet they need, as well as the protein levels that they require as this will vary.


Snails should ideally have safe leaf litter and rotting hard wood inside of their terrariums to snack on. They should also have access to a nutritious substrate as they will eat it from time to time. See more information about good substrate mixes here.


For most snails that we keep in captivity, we should be offering fresh vegetables, herbs and fruits every 1-3 days. Below is a list of foods that you can offer your snails, it is important to note that these foods must be changed up and kept varied, as feeding a limited diet can cause picky eating in your snail, leading to deficiencies. If the item has a * beside it, you should feed this in extreme moderation, this could be due to prohibiting calcium absorption or containing high amounts of protein or sugar. If an item has ** beside it, you should offer this as a very rare treat, or avoid entirely due to low nutrition and higher chance of causing picky eating.

These lists are not complete but offer a nice variety for most commonly kept snails (giant African land snails, and other species such as Cornu aspersum and Helix pomatia).

Safe foods (in no particular order):


  • Sweet Potato
  • Spinach *
  • Aubergine
  • Courgette
  • Bell pepper
  • Butternut squash
  • Beetroot
  • Blueberries *
  • Green beans
  • Coriander
  • Cucumber **
  • Lettuce **
  • Banana *
  • Basil
  • Apple *
  • Tomato *
  • Kale *
  • Edible mushrooms
  • Pear *
  • Celery
  • Carrot
  • Squash
  • Broccoli
  • Asparagus


Protein sources:

  • Dried river shrimp* >50% protein
  • Dried mealworms* >50% protein
  • Dried nettle leaf >20%
  • Fresh culled mealworms >20% protein
  • Defrosted frozen bloodworms* >50% protein
  • Boiled or raw egg ~35% protein
  • ground pumpkin seeds ~25% protein
  • Fresh culled dubia roaches ~24% protein
  • Dried Gammarus* >46% protein

Ensure any dried options are soaked before serving to prevent digestive upset. Also ensure that the species you keep are receiving the appropriate protein levels. For example, a giant African land snail should ideally receive up to 25% protein once per week. Smaller species however (such as Cornu Aspersum), should receive no more than one protein meal per month (excluding any eggs that are fed back to adults). For anything containing >25% protein, be sure to keep to very small portions less frequently. (No more than every 8 days). Too much protein has been linked to organ prolapses/failure, while too little can cause retraction and shell defects.


Calcium:

  • Cuttlefish bones
  • Calcium carbonate powder
  • Milled oyster shell flour


Calcium should be available to your snail 24/7 and must never be put onto or mixed into their food. Snails are able to self regulate their calcium intake, taking only what they need. Adding calcium to other foods can cause the snails to consume excessive amounts, potentially leading to calcification of essential organs or organ failure. Cuttlebones are the most commonly offered calcium source, and it makes sense why - they are good for the snails, they are easy to replace, and overall quite convenient! Alongside this, I do suggest also offering calcium carbonate or milled oyster flour for baby snails, or snails who need a bit extra - though any snail can benefit (Especially helpful in treating shell injuries etc.). This can be offered dry in a dish separate from food.


Housing


Frequently, people make the mistake of giving their snails too much space - yes, too much! A general guide is to allow 1l of space per cm of shell, up until the snail/s grow to be 10cm or reach adulthood (For smaller species), from there I would advise 3l of space per cm of shell. So, a 12cm Lissachatina fulica should have no less than 36L of space, and for a second snail to join him, I advise allowing a minimum of 1l per cm of shell- so 12l of extra space to account for the new snail- bringing the total to 48L as a minimum, and no more than 72L as a maximum. Though this guide is useful, the space allowed for your snail will also depend on other factors, such as species, shell diameter and the volume of substrate. For this reason, I advise following your own intuition, if you believe your snails to need more space, increase your tank size to the maximum recommendations.

"How can a giant African land snail have too much space?"

I thought you might ask! In the wild snails thrive in much dirtier conditions, they consume nutrition near constantly, rasping away on every surface. While doing this, they're picking up decaying organic matter, micro flora, micro fauna, beneficial bacteria etc. These snails are always running on something, generating energy and maintaining good gut health. Now compare this to our captive kept friends, who live on a very simple substrate, with very little diversity in their tank - it's all a little more sterile. Our snails often just don't thrive quite as well as their wild counterparts, and would struggle to go a larger distance without any food or goodness to pick up on their way. Many baby snails especially will grow lethargic as they will often end up without food close by, often times these will end up stunted in growth and potentially even failing to thrive. This is why it is better to upgrade as they grow.

"I've made my snail's substrate more bio-diverse, and he's fully grown, can he have something bigger?"

By all means! The more natural your snail's set up, the better their gut health will be, the more energy they will have. I would never discourage you from giving your fulica a 100L tank! But do keep in mind that if they do not do as well, it may need to be downgraded. There are factors you may want to consider before upgrading, for instance a larger tank is also much more difficult to heat sufficiently. Ultimately maintaining the parameters is more important to your snail than bonus space. At the end of the day, you know your snail and set up best, just proceed with caution! If you decide to exceed maximum recommendations, it would be wise to add extra cuttlebones and scatter food throughout to make it easier for your snail to find.


Ventilation


Ventilation is incredibly important, you must not have too much, or else the humidity will escape/fluctuate, but you need enough to create some amount of air flow in the tank. This is why I am not a huge fan of glass terrariums/aquariums, they just don't usually allow for side ventilation, which is the ideal for most species. I prefer plastic storage tubs for this reason, it allows you to add vents or air holes to suit your snail's individual needs. They are also significantly cheaper so are often more accessible for keepers of larger snails.


Substrate


Substrate is one of the most important decisions you will make for your snail. Commonly, you'll see coco fibre or coir recommended, and this has been problematic for many years. Here are the negatives to coco substrate:

  • Lacks nutrients
  • Creates mould spots very easily
  • Is often a low PH making it very acidic (This can erode your snail's shell and irritate their skin)
  • individual packs of coco can vary in salt content and acidity
  • It is unnatural as a substrate and completely unlike a snail's natural habitat
  • Coco fibre can be very coarse and stringy, making it difficult for burrowing


Instead I recommend making your own substrate mixes using:

  • Organic peat free compost (no fertilisers)
  • Organic top soil
  • leaf litter (oak, catappa, maple, beach leaves)
  • moss
  • rotting hardwood (oak)
  • can be bulked out with <30% coco coir (softer than fibre), and a handful of organic worm castings to add nutrients

Soil should be pre baked to remove pests, and leaf litter should be pre boiled. If you don't want to go to the trouble of creating a substrate mix like this, you can simply opt for organic top soil or compost. I suggest bulking out your substrate using a small amount of coco coir just as it holds water well and works best when paired with more balanced substrates. The substrate should be deeper than the length of your largest snail's shell, so if your snail is 15cm in shell length, the substrate must be more than 15cm deep.

regardless of what substrate you use, you must neutralise the PH using calcium carbonate powder or fine crushed oyster grit.

If you notice your snail's shell eroding (turning white) you must add more calcium to the substrate. (Provided this is not a result of rasping from other younger snails).

I strongly advise having a PH test kit on hand so that you can monitor the substrate's acidity and achieve an ideal environment. Test strips can be unreliable, so I advise a liquid based kit.



Heating


All giant African land snails require heating for their tanks in the UK. You should only ever use a heat mat, as a lamp would risk drying out the substrate. The heat mat should be attached to the back or side of the tank, sitting above the substrate on the outside. Never place the heat mat underneath the substrate as snails burrow to cool down and trap moisture, having a heat mat underneath the tank will prevent them from self regulating and may burn them if they try to. Heat mats must only ever be used with a thermostat. The heat mat should be plugged into the reptile thermostat (I recommend a digital version, such as the Nicrew, available on amazon.)

The thermostat will prevent temperature fluctuations by controlling the amount of heat and keeping the temperature that you set. Heat mats are a fire hazard when used without a thermostat.

The thermostat probe should be positioned close to or against the heat mat, hanging and not touching anything, a second thermometer should be placed on the opposite side.

If the weather heats up, your thermostat will turn off the heat mat, only leaving it on when necessary to maintain the correct temperature.



Décor


Let's face it, we all love pretty terrariums! Here is a list of safe vs unsafe décor for your snails.

Unsafe:

  • Glass/ceramic/resin dishes
  • Glass, ceramic, resin ornaments
  • Rocks or stones
  • Sand or gravel
  • Deep water dishes
  • Dried moss containing artificial dyes

Safe:

  • Soft and shallow plastic or silicone dishes
  • Plastic plant pots
  • Leaf litter
  • Cork bark
  • Live or natural dried moss
  • Safe plants: spider plants, Boston fern etc.

Avoid anything hard, like glass or ornaments, as your snail may fall onto them and break their shells. Sand is inadequate at retaining moisture, and may irritate your snail's skin, very small amounts of sand may be suitable when part of a substrate mix, but this is unnecessary. Gravel will wear on your snail's shell, causing small scratches or breaks. Deep water dishes are a drowning hazard.


Co-housing snails

There are a lot of considerations to make when housing snails together. Very few giant African land snail species are compatible together, regardless of their ability to cross-breed. Commonly, people have housed Lissachatina fulica and Lissachatina reticulata together, this is unsafe for both snails as their care requirements do not align.

When co-housing, you must ask three things;


  • Are the species temperature/humidity needs the same?
  • Are they able to breed together? (Any hybridisation must be prevented either by culling eggs/hatchlings or housing separately)
  • Are they the same size, and indeed will they grow to the same size?


Snails with too great of a size difference are a danger to each other, as the larger snail may fall onto the smaller snail, breaking their shell (this also applies to the smaller snail falling onto the larger snail). The larger snail could also hang from the smaller snail's shell, potentially causing severe trauma to the mantle. Baby snails are especially in danger due to their fragile shells, these also have a tendency to rasp on larger snails.


Housing snails with other species:


Snails can safely co-house with several isopod and insect species.

Unsafe:

  • Any protein hungry isopod species (P. scaber and P. laevis are examples of this)
  • Millipedes (These are very vulnerable and could be unintentionally harmed by the snails. Some species excrete a venomous secretion that is toxic to snails)
  • Any animals which could prey upon the snails or have different care requirements
  • Earthworms, which can try to burrow into the pneumostome causing catastrophic internal damage and/or suffocation of the snail.
  • Cannibalistic gastropods (Rosy wolf snails and leopard slugs are examples of these)


Safe:

  • Non protein driven isopods (such as some species of Armidillidum, dwarf whites and some Cubaris)
  • Springtails
  • Soil mites
  • Predatory mites (Hypoaspis miles)
  • Members of the same species, or compatible other species