The Land Snail

 By Hannah Marriott 

Snails are amazing, if not very weird, creatures. 

Breeding

Most are hermaphrodites, meaning they are of both sex’s. All you need is two snails and they will breed and multiply. The generic Garden Snail (Helix Aspersa, or Cornu Aspersa) can lay up to100 eggs. In some species it takes a newly hatched snail about a week to mature, in other species it takes up to two years.

Eating habits

Snails eat a variety of different foods. Some snails aren’t picky and will eat whatever they are given. Some (like the Wolf Snail) eat other snails. Some eat just plants, and are picky about what plants they eat.

Species

Garden Snail (Helix Aspersa, Cornu Aspersa)

Burgundy snail (Helix pomatia)

Escargot (Helix lucorum)

The African Land Snail (Achatina fulica)

Banded snail (Cepaea hortensis)

Midas Ear (Ellobium aurismidae)

Herald Thorn Snail (Carychium minimum)

Corsican Snail (Tyrrhenaria ceratina)

Lapidary Snail (Helicigona lapicida)

Door Snails (Clausiliidae)

Rosy Wolf Snail (Euglandina rosea)

Round-Mouthed Snail (Pomatias elegans)

and Needle Snails (Aciculidae)

My Pet Snails

I have two pet Garden Snails, Stripe and Charlotte. Stripe and Charlotte live in a large glass container and their shells are between the sizes of a nickel and a quarter. In their home I have put some loose dirt, some small rocks and pebbles, a walnut shell full of water, and a few large pieces of tree bark. I clean their home once a week and feed them every day. My snails’ preference of food is sliced cucumber. 

Snail Facts

1. Snails are deaf.
2. Garden snails can have up to 14,175 teeth all located on their tongue!
3. Some snails hibernate.
4. Garden snails have a top speed of 55 yards per hour, this is about 1.3 cm. per second. Most other Snails can only move about 22 inches per hour.
5. Snails range in size from a few centimetres to 12 inches in length.
6. Snails are very strong and can lift up to 10 times their own body weight in a vertical position.
7. It is believed that there are at least 200,000 species of mollusks out there including snails. Although only 50,000 have been classified.
8. Snails are one of the earliest known types of animal inhabitants in the world. 
9. Snails belong to a group of species called mollusks.
10. Snails are scientifically known as gastropods.
11. Both salt and sugar are poisonous to snails in large quantities.
12. Snail slime does not carry harmful bacteria.
13. They can slide over sharp objects without cutting themselves.
14. Their shell grows with them.
15. Slugs and Snails are no the same animal. Slugs are not shell-less Snails.
16. Snails are largely nocturnal. 
17. Snails are invertebrates.
18. There are more snails on Earth than insects.
19. There are more Sea Snails than Land Snails.
20. They have poor eyesight but a excellent sense of smell.
21. Can live up to 30 years depending on the species.