What do snails eat and how to feed them at home?

Today, snails are very popular among lovers of unusual pets. This unpretentious gastropod does not need a specially developed diet. There is an opinion that if this mollusk is an exotic animal, it means that you need to feed it with almost exclusive products. But this is not at all the case. In this article, we will talk in detail about what the snail eats, what can be given to it, and which foods are strictly prohibited for consumption.

Like any other living creature, be it cold-blooded or warm-blooded, the snail was originally born in wildlife. It was only after the lapse of time that the mollusks began to be raised and kept at home, as well as to accustom them to other foods. The snail is a herbivorous gastropod mollusk. After long-term observation and research, experts have concluded that in nature the diet of snails consists of grass, leaves, vegetables, fruits, and tree bark.

The bark of a decayed tree is a delicacy.

Let's take a look at each type of snail and find out what kind of nutrition in nature is typical for it.

• Ground (land). These include Achatina, grape snail and common street snail. In nature, they feed on living vegetation and various plant debris. The most popular foods include grape leaves, wild strawberries, cabbage, nettle, burdock, dandelion, plantain, and radish. Among these molluscs there are also predators who are not averse to feasting on insects.

• Marine. These snails can eat a variety of foods - algae, fresh roots and fruit plants.

• River. The river clam feeds on the same foods and plants as the earthen clam.

This question is very relevant for those who decided to have such a pet, but know nothing about what they eat.

The most popular ornamental snails kept at home are Achatina. Their diet includes plant food, namely:

• vegetable crops - cucumber, zucchini, boiled potatoes and onions, pumpkin;
• fruits - strawberries, pears, apples, melons;
• legumes - lentils;
• cereals - barley, rolled oats, corn and barley porridge, buckwheat and rice;
• greens;
• sunflower and flax seeds;
• foliage of trees such as eucalyptus, birch, oak, linden;
• various berries;
• mushrooms are exceptionally fresh.

This shellfish also needs food that contains calcium (mineral supplement).

• Feed chalk - This is the most affordable top dressing that is sold in a pet store or veterinary pharmacy at an affordable price.

• Sepia - Cuttlefish shell, 35% calcium, can be purchased at a specialized point of sale. It goes on sale by the piece. If the shell is rather salty, then before giving it to the snail, rinse it under warm water to rinse off excess salt;

• Shell rock Is a crushed river or seashell. This type of mineral supplement is not in demand, since it is not very convenient for the shellfish to eat it. When buying, you need to carefully read what the manufacturer writes on the package. The product must be 100% shell rock, without any other additives or impurities. It contains 40% calcium.

• Eggshell Is the most natural and natural source of calcium and other beneficial vitamins and minerals. A small snail can be fed with the shell of an egg from which it hatched, an adult - with the shell of a quail or chicken egg. The shell must be raw, since the boiled contains half the calcium.

Snails need Achatina and protein. It can be of animal origin and contained in fish food, meat and bone meal and crustaceans - gammarus, daphnia. The snail will receive vegetable protein by eating cereals (except for semolina), mushrooms, nuts (except for peanuts), dried fruit, seeds and bran.

There are some helpful tips to take into account.

• Remember, any plant foods you plan to feed your snail must be fresh and preferably natural, not supermarket. Of course, if you do not have your own land plot with beds, then buy products, but wash them well before using.
• Calcium is very important for the snail. The formation of the shell depends on it. The condition and health of the shell is extremely important, because it is not only a part of the mollusc's body, but also the external skeleton. If the shell is not strengthened and looked after, the worst thing can happen - the shell will start to ache and the animal will die. In the natural environment, the snail itself finds food that is rich in calcium, but when it lives in the aquarium, special mineral supplements are the source of calcium for it. A mineral supplement is a kind of supplement that is required for a gastropod mollusk.
• It is strictly forbidden to feed the gastropod with chemicals that allegedly contain calcium in their composition. It is also not recommended to use school or building chalk, mineral stones for birds and complex mixtures as top dressing. All of these additives will harm the shellfish. The ideal option is to buy specialty feed chalk from your veterinary pharmacy or specialized point of sale.
• Protein foods are also important.If the mollusk does not consume enough of them, then the activity of its growth decreases.
• The snail loves fruit like banana, but it is not very good for its health. You can pamper an animal with bananas, but no more than 2 times a week.
• The snail's diet should contain protein, which can be plant and animal.

As you can see, the list is very diverse, almost all food products are in the public domain and can be easily purchased.

The ration of such a gastropod is very diverse. It is full of vegetables, fruits and various plants. The diet of a land snail is hard to imagine without the following foods:

• fresh cucumbers;
• cabbage;
• salad;
• zucchini;
• apples;
• carrot;
• leaves of grapes, dandelion, plantain, burdock.

Calcium supplements are very important. In order for the grape snail to receive the required dose of protein, it needs special mineral supplements.

You can pamper a gastropod with such a delicacy, but not often and in small quantities.

In most cases, the aquarium snail belongs to the vegetarian family, but the predator, Helena, can also be caught. The vegetarian at home eats the plaque that covers the walls of the tank and the food for the fish. And the carnivorous Helena can eat its own kind. Other types of mollusks - fiza, melania, shells, are excellent as food for an aquarium animal. You can also feed the aquarium snail with boiled shrimp, squid or mussels.

First of all, I would like to say that if you decide to have just such a pet, you should purchase a separate tank for it. It is strongly not recommended that she live in the same aquarium with fish.

All of these gastropod food products can be collected from the river. They can also be fed with chopped vegetables.

Newborn snails eat differently from adults. In the first few days of life, they eat the shell from which they hatched. This is their basic food for the first time. Young animals need to be fed with foods that contain a lot of calcium and vitamin D3. This vitamin will strengthen your baby's health and make him strong. A mineral mixture is suitable as a feeding for a newborn gastropod.

The thing is that, due to her inexperience, the baby, when examining new food, can burrow into it and suffocate. Therefore, it is best to treat the snails with herbs, herbs and finely chopped vegetables and fruits for the first time.

A gastropod creature living in the wild chooses its own food. And here at home, the owner is already watching the diet and proper nutrition of the snail.

But here a problem may arise, because there is a whole list of products that are prohibited to him.

The snail must not feed on the following foods:

• food that contains a lot of salt;
• flour products - such food is very hard for her;
• food seasoned with spices and herbs;
• raw potatoes, as they contain a large amount of starch;
• pork and lamb meat;
• pastries with a lot of sugar;
• pickles, smoked meats;
• citrus fruits, as they destroy the shell of the clam;
• country berries;
• nightshade crops;
• fatty dairy products;
• specific plants (with a pungent smell and taste) - radish and ginger, sorrel and radish, onion, wormwood and hot pepper.

It is worth considering how often the snail should be fed. This question is just as important and relevant as others that are related to caring for an animal. There is an opinion that one meal a week is enough for the mollusk, but it is wrong.

The following simple rules for feeding a gastropod should be adhered to:

• give food, preferably once a day, in the evening; it's not a secret for anyone that ordinary mollusks living in a special reservoir lead an active lifestyle in the evening, and during the day they most often sleep;
• food should not be cold - ideal when slightly warmed up;
• you need to lay out food on a special plate, not on a substrate; if not everything has been eaten, it is imperative to remove the leftovers - the animal should not eat what has deteriorated;
• do not forget to put a shallow water container in the aquarium, the snail, like other living things, needs fresh water, preferably at room temperature; you need to pour it very little, about 1 centimeter, so that the inhabitants do not drown;
• if snails live in the same aquarium with fish, then you need to feed them when the fish are full or asleep, otherwise the food will not get to the mollusk - the fish will quickly eat everything.

Remember that small gastropods eat much less than large ones, so they often don't need to be fed. And of course, before making a decision about what to feed your unusual pets and in what quantities, consult with a specialist - a professional will tell you what is best for your pets, what diet will support their health and allow them to live the maximum period.

But if you buy groceries in the store, take your time, but make sure they are fresh and suitable for consumption. If possible, heat them before giving them to snails.

How to feed domestic snails, see below.