What eat snails living in the home. What snails eat is the right diet for a full life.

What snails eat in nature, what they eat at home, it has become interesting to mankind since recently. Since in parallel with the dogs, the cats began to wind up snails. Unusual creatures live in molluscs, aquariums, are unpretentious in food.

Eating snails in the wild

These land representatives of mollusks are considered herbivorous creatures, with the exception of several species of snails that eat carrion, small insects. The main feed is grass, bark, fruits, leaves. Young individuals prefer fresh "products", adults - rotten. For most street snails, a rotten tree is considered a rare delicacy. In moderation, the mollusks are of great benefit to nature and man in general. If their number increases significantly, the snails can destroy the vegetation, the fruits in a matter of days.

These creatures have a huge amount of sharp teeth in the mouth. They are located in the language of 200 or more rows. A kind of grater from the teeth that instantly cuts off the bark coating, leaves, grass. The younger generation has much sharper teeth. In several species of snails in the mouth, there are 15 thousand teeth. Record holders of the entire animal world. To maintain the teeth in excellent condition, the snails require calcium. With a deficiency of the mineral, the mollusk begins to sharpen its own shell, as a result of which the body remains uncoated, dries up, the snail dies. He does not bite a person, therefore a large number of teeth is not an awesome factor.

River snails at home

On the river bank you can collect mollusks without any special difficulties. Put in home aquariumwhere they will live as successfully as in nature with food. You can purchase interesting creatures in the pet store. The main task is to provide good nutrition. And, this often happens on its own.

Snails in an aquarium get along well with fish. Some swim quietly, others crawl along the walls
aquarium, eat plant bloom. They readily eat fish food, algal tablets, adore aquarium plants, chopped vegetables. The living algae snails in the aquarium do not touch, the wide leaves are eaten once or twice. It is desirable to regulate the number of mollusks, otherwise the aquarium will remain without vegetation. Mollusks with pleasure eat rot on algae, plants, which are beneficial - they facilitate the work of a person in cleaning the aquarium. Periodically, you should add ground on a coffee grinder egg shells - to replenish the calcium in the body of the mollusk.

Under such conditions of life, taking care of the nutrition of the snail is a guarantee of its long life. Human dishes, flour products are absolutely contraindicated for mollusks. You also need to ensure that the pet does not get to the newspapers. For some reason, the snail eats them up with great pleasure, but after that it lives a maximum week.

The main food is grass, leaves, fruits, legumes, vegetables, greens. Lovers of pumpkin, pepper, zucchini, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers. From the grass is not averse to eat plantain, dandelion, dill, parsley. Occasionally you can treat mushrooms.

Love snails berries, fruits:

• bananas;
• plums;
• melon;
• apples;
• watermelon;
• blueberries;
• apricots;
• pears;
• peaches;
• cherries;
• strawberry.

To replenish the body of snails with calcium, make feeding. The eggshell is dried, turned into powder, scattered on the bottom of the molluskariya. Put a piece of chalk, food supplement "sepia" with calcium content. Ensure presence clean water  in a bowl, and the walls of her house are moistened with a sprayer. In such conditions, the snail will feel comfortable, will delight its owners with a healthy look.

A representative of land mollusks that give birth as petAfrican snails are considered to be Achatina. At the beginning of the XIX century, by the efforts of man, they spread throughout the globe  with tropical and subtropical climate. And a little later, they began to hunt for them, as for a rare pet. The length of the Achatina body reaches 20 cm. The shell has well-defined strips and 5-6 coils. Young snails are 5 cm long. They feed, as well as river, grapes. Sexual maturity reaches 6 months, live up to 10 years. Feed need greens, vegetables, fruits, be sure to have water, a source of calcium.

Who has the most teeth? Of course, the maximum amount of snail boasts - 25 000!

An unusual delicacy, a rural pest, a pet — this mollusk is known to all.

It is difficult to get rid of the snails that settled on garden beds, it is very prolific. But what about reproduction in a home aquarium?

Structural features

Grape snail - land mollusk. It is believed that she does not see, but only distinguishes between light and shadow. Why is she hiding if you walk up? The mollusk catches the shape of a bulky object, the shadow falling on it.

Most often there are individuals with a yellow-brown, striped shell, stripes alternate, varying shades.  The color of the shell may depend on the habitat, feeding habits and even the age of the mollusk. The older the snail, the closer the shell color to a gray, whitish hue. In dry areas, there are mollusks with yellow shells, in wet areas with a brown shell.

The shell size, as well as the number of turns, changes with the growth of the cochlea. In a small individual, the diameter of the shell is from 0.5 cm, consists of two turns. An adult grape snail is placed in a shell with a diameter of 4 to 5 cm. The spiral of the shell twists 4-4.5 turns. The composition of the protective shell - porous limestone, it weighs a little, but strong enough. The drier the clam's living area, the stronger the sink.

In the shell is the soft body of the mollusk. The animal moves with the help of a muscular leg: the muscles contract, making wavy movements with the sole, the mollusk glides along the surface.

Grape snail is able to move both on the horizontal and on the vertical surface. In front of the body are glands that produce mucus. Slime helps the animal to slide on the ground, wall, trees, grass.

On the head of a snail are two pairs of "horns". Upper pair - eyes, lower - labial tentacles. The head, like the leg, usually has a slightly grayish, yellow color. The sole is much lighter.

All internal organs (intestines, kidney, lung, etc.) are hidden under the armor, if it is damaged, the animal dies.  Grape snail - hermaphrodite. This animal has a lot of teeth, but they are located on the tongue, helping, like brushing, to wash and grind vegetable food.

The habitat and food of snails

Recently, snails can be found not only in rural areas, but also on the alleys of city parks, on the sides of highways, on flowerbeds near high-rise buildings. Light forest edges, dense thickets of bushes like the animal.

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The main condition of the habitat is high humidity and a large amount of greenery.

For life, limestone and chalky soil is suitable for them. It is convenient for laying eggs, if necessary, the gastropod can immediately replenish limestone reserves, strengthen the shell. The grape snail is a night animal, at night it begins a period of active wakefulness, nutrition, reproduction.

Natural enemies of the mollusk:

1. Lizards
2. Shrews
3. Moles.

Some insect species that can penetrate the respiratory opening are also dangerous. The lifespan of sexually mature individuals at vivo  - from 8 to 10 years.

Longevity cases have been recorded - 20 years, but rare individuals have lived so long. At home, these pets live longer, up to 15 years. In captivity, the oldest mollusk died at the age of 35 years.

During drought, gastropod loses activity, falls into anabiosis, as well as at low temperatures.

If the wind is outside, the air temperature does not exceed 7 degrees, the snail closes the entrance to the sink with special mucus, which freezes and becomes as strong as the shell. In this state, the animal can winter, moving the frost to -10 degrees in open areas. To avoid the cold weather, for the winter the snails are buried in the ground to a depth of 10 cm to 30 cm. The colder the temperature, the deeper the gastropod will lie under the ground. It will be dug out only to April warming.

The grape snail is a herbivorous mollusk, it feeds on juicy leaves of grapes, cabbage and other green plants. In nature, this animal eats:

Gastropod preference gives young shoots.  Sometimes the clam eats the earth to compensate for the lack of calcium in the body. A snail may eat animal food, bread, but this rarely happens.

Features of reproduction and breeding snails

This mollusk is hermaphrodite, individuals perform both male and female functions. The breeding season usually falls on the spring-early summer. Two snails, embarking on copulation, first perform a love dance. Then the mollusks are applied to each other by the sole of the foot. Dance and contact (i.e. sexual intercourse) can last up to two hours. Snails exchange spermatophore and crawl away.

In the body of the mollusk spermatophore can be stored for a year. Having chosen a convenient place, the snail makes an egg laying - digs a hole in loose earth, carefully tampers the walls of the vault. Gastropods lay 30–40 eggs of white color at a time, their diameter is about 0.5 cm. Hatching babies after 25 days and remain in the nest. They leave it when they reach the age of one week, when the shell is strong enough.

Snail is easy to grow and contains at home. Gastropods are also bred on special farms for sale in the food industry.

The grape snail is great as a pet - it eats everything, does not require any special maintenance and care costs.

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On an industrial scale

These mollusks are harmful to rural crops, but their meat is a delicacy. In addition, the snail dish turns out to be unusual and very nutritious, the meat contains 70% protein, 30% amino acids.

There are several ways to grow a snail:

At home

If you wish, you can try breeding snails at home, not for sale, but for fun, using the clam as a pet.

For keeping gastropods, it is best to place them in an aquarium.  The bottom should be covered with earth mixed with granular activated carbon. If desired, green plants are planted on the ground. When you care, it is necessary to provide the animal with water - to install a shallow reservoir. Fluid is replaced every day.

Daily high humidity and air temperature of 20-21 degrees. Strong moisture of the soil should not be allowed - the snail breathes easy and can drown if the ground becomes liquid. Be sure to take care of the aquarium, clean the walls of mucus. When the tank is polluted, the animal hibernates - the pet will sleep until the conditions become acceptable for life.

In the summer of mollusk can be fed freshly harvested grass, vegetables, fruits. Snails feed on cooking waste - potato, carrot peel, cabbage sheets, and any other plant food.

Sometimes gastropods are given bread, but this product is harmful to them. The rotten remains of food are removed.

To adult individuals began to breed when home care, you need to lengthen their daylight hours. This can be done with the help of an ultraviolet lamp or an ordinary high-bulb incandescent bulb. It is desirable to give the animal the opportunity to fall into anabiosis - a period of rest. It is better to do this in the fall or winter so that the snail does not lose the rhythm of life.

Many people ask: what benefit or harm does the snail bring? Snail harms gardeners.  Shellfish are omnivorous, feed on young cabbage, eat ripe tomatoes and small cucumbers. Get rid of the animal is very difficult, how many do not throw away the clam. Even having chosen all gastropods on his plot, the gardener will still find snails later - they will crawl away from their neighbors or get out of the ground.

At the same time, the undoubted benefit of the snail — nourishing meat — cannot be denied. In addition, sometimes the snail mucus is used for medicinal purposes: to eliminate warts, heal burns.

People who decide to keep snails at home, speak well of them - these pets are completely unpretentious in nutrition and care.

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Snails are considered one of the most valuable animals in the world. Since ancient times, they were used by the Greeks in medicine for the treatment of diseases. For Phoenicians, snails were sources of color, and for Africans, a means of replacing the monetary unit. In the modern world, snails are considered components of the most exquisite dishes.

Snails anatomy surprises

But snails, like animals belonging to the gastropod mollusks group, themselves need feeding. There are many sources telling about what snails eat. Encyclopedias, books, and, above all, the Internet provide complete information about what snails eat in nature. Mollusks are a type of food for herbivores. In most cases, they prefer to eat vegetables, fruits and herbs. In order to know what snails eat in an aquarium, consider the principle of the structure of their digestive system. In the oral system of these varieties of mollusks, there are approximately 14 thousand teeth. Such a number of teeth for mollusks serves as a file that allows you to peel and eat vegetable substances. Scientists have proven that snails, unlike other species of mollusks, have a mouth located on the bottom of the head. Slugs, on the other hand, eat less than snails, since they have no mouth, so they eat with nipples.

People who consider the problem of “what they eat,” notice that they are not harmful to vegetable gardens, since the mollusks consume mostly dead plants and weeds. However, in most cases, they can damage precisely young cultivated plants.

Speaking about what the Achatina snails eat, we note that they like to eat in groups. Often they can "attack" on some kind of grass bush and eat it to the roots.

How to feed the snails?

In the daily diet of snails, such fruits as grapes, strawberries, strawberries, pineapple, apricots, pear, mango, papaya, plum, watermelon, melon and much more prevail. From vegetables snails prefer pumpkin, eggplant, cabbage, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, corn, beans, peas, onions, cucumbers, eggs, cottage cheese.

Especially need to be reminded what they eat. In most cases, they are used to eating algae and bacterial formations. This way they help rid the environment of the smallest bacteria and harmful substances. But the fact that they eat dead plants, fruits and vegetables is also not excluded.

We want to warn people who are interested in what snails eat, that these animals should not be given food that they eat daily. So, any spicy, salty, sweet, sour, fatty and smoked food can harm their favorite mollusks.

  Snail predators

Covering the topic of what water snails eat, it should be noted that among them are snail predators. The basis for the nutrition of these varieties of mollusks are insects, crustaceans and other small creatures. The snails have a well-developed muscular tongue, which allows them to eat small substances, as well as maintain biological balance. But all ducks, regardless of whether they are herbivores or predators, need calcium, which helps to strengthen their house. Experts dealing with the question of what land snails eat, advise giving snails water whose pH is not lower than 7. Different calcareous and marble mixtures should be added to soft water in order to increase water hardness.

Snails give joy to others, but at the same time they themselves need care. The first step is to increase the amount of calcium taken, and only then take care of what snails eat.

What do snails eat?

The total number of gastropod mollusks comes to 90 thousand. Born once in the sea, the snails very quickly mastered the land, having managed to adapt to the new conditions of life. Today, they do not have gills, but almost everyone has a shell, into which they can almost completely hide their entire body with the help of a special muscle. The shell consists of recycled lime lime deposits. In order to obtain material for its structure, the snail must eat properly.

What do snails eat in nature?

Mollusks are a type of food for herbivores. Most species consume plant foods: leaves of trees, succulent and withered grass, fruits fallen from trees, berries that grow within reach. Some species eat carrion, dead insects and worms. AT oral cavity  mollusks there are approximately 14 thousand teeth. They work as a file, the jaw does not chew food, but grinds nutrients, assimilating their turn to the mucous. To be able to increase its shell, the snail drinks a lot and draws calcium from the water. If its content in the liquid is small, the snail with its teeth is able to grind off a hard stone. In nature, the snail is able to eat the shell of another dead animal.

The diet of those who live in captivity

1. They can grind vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, pieces of meat, fish, chicken. There are cottage cheese, cereals, any leftovers or bits. Overfeed the snail can not be. Satisfied, she stops eating herself. How many times a day to give food? Food can be given once a day, as a rule, taste preferences are determined immediately. They love mollusks to chew cucumbers and juicy flesh of fruits, but you shouldn’t go on about them, you need to monitor the balance and give a variety of food.
2. who live with fish in an aquarium? Most of them find their own food. They eat dead plants and mucus, which is formed on the walls of the vessel. This maintains the required water quality. Feed aquarium snails can only be after they begin to devour fresh plants. This means they lack feed. You can give small pieces of soaked white bread, boiled spinach, canned pieces of vegetables and fruits.

Living in water, also need calcium, therefore it is useful to pour the limestone crushed in powder or marble.

Many people like to have at home aquariums with different fish. In addition to them, snails are often bought. They are water and land. Not everyone knows that snails can eat more than shredded food. AT habitat  habitat they love to use the bark of trees, leaves, various fruits. But they prefer to eat such food after it becomes stale. This means that these mollusks have teeth with which food is ground. In some species, the number of teeth reaches 10 thousand pieces. Teeth are placed on the tongue, which resembles a long grater. And what can snails living at home and in aquariums eat?

What snails eat in the aquarium

What eat snails living at home

In addition to the grass and greens that snails live at home, there are other foods that are exclusively for land species. This may be some types of vegetables and fruits.

To feed the snails that do not live in the aquarium, you can use the following vegetables: spinach, celery, lettuce and cabbage, peas, beans, carrots, tomatoes, zucchini, pumpkin, cucumbers, red pepper, rutabaga. Potatoes must be boiled. Oatmeal is allowed from cereals.

You can give these fruits: pineapples, apricots, mango, figs, papaya, pear, plum, apples. Bananas are allowed in small quantities. It is also allowed to feed strawberries, cherries, melons, grapes, avocados and watermelon.

Land species should be fed with water. For this, the walls of the terrarium irrigate clear water. It is best to feed the snails in the evening, because their activity increases at night.

You should know that food is enclosed only when these mollusks have completely eliminated the previous portion. If pounded on the surface of the food begins to dry, it should be removed. In winter, the snails are fed little, only when they are awake.

What is forbidden to give snails

Snails living outside the aquarium strictly prohibited  The following products:

• Marinated.
• Sour.
• Salty.
• Smoked.
• Sharp
• Fried.
• Sweet
• Flavoring additives and spices.

Also, you can not give them pasta and potato eyes.

Who are the Achatina snails

Many contain snails of Akhatins at home. Recently, they are becoming very popular. They are rather large, inquisitive, they are not afraid of a person, but are drawn to him and require communication.

They live not in an aquarium, but in a terrarium. They are able to distinguish who their owner is by their voice and smell. They love when they are taken in their arms, and begin to travel around the person, studying everything around. Their smooth and soft movements have a calming effect, and observing them helps to put in order nervous system. Achatina do not require special care, it is important only to feed them.

What eat Achatina snails

These mollusks eat vegetable food, but they can even taste meat. Main foods:

• Carrot.
• Cucumbers.
• Cabbage.

If you feed this mollusk every day with the same product, it will have an aversion to it, therefore food variety required.

Babies need to be fed chopped food. To do this, the vegetables are cut and frayed. You can not give them a soft meal, such as mashed banana or mashed apples. When they grow a little, apples and cucumbers should only be cut. Adult individuals can already eat large chunks and bits of food, moreover, they can already diversify their diet.

Very important feed Ahatins with calcium productsthat is needed to strengthen their shells. The lack of calcium makes the shell soft, it is bent and easily injured. In this part of the body of the cochlea all its internal organs fit, therefore damage to the shell violates the vital activity of Achatina and the mollusk may die. Also, calcium deficiency adversely affects puberty of the cochlea. This essential element is contained in natural chalk and meat and bone meal, as well as in egg shells, buckwheat and oats.

Unusual foods that can please these mollusks include plants and herbs. These can be flowers of fruit trees growing in the country, nettle, yarrow, alfalfa, plantain, elderberry, forget-me-nots, meadow flowers. They should be collected outside the city, where they are not saturated with exhaust gases. Houses should be thoroughly washed.

Ahatin can also be fed with mushrooms, baby food (vegetable and meat), germinated oats, food for aquarium fish, ground peanuts, softened bread, dairy products. All these products should be sugar free and salt free. You can also give minced meat in any form.

Prohibited products for Achatina snails are the same as for other land species.

Experts in this area recommend to take into account an important nuance - varied diet. Whatever the snail, who lives outside the aquarium, likes to eat, its menu should be regularly updated, excluding unwanted and spoiled food. Wash the products thoroughly before serving. Proper nutrition and care help your pet stay healthy and active.