A piece of cucumber can be quickly placed in the terrarium. But if cucumber is the main course every evening, your snails will eventually lack nutrients. A good Achatinotusa feeding list therefore not only helps you avoid bad things. It brings variety to the bowl, supports healthy growth and makes daily feeding pleasantly uncomplicated.
Achatinotusa are not exclusive waste recyclers, even if they inspect almost everything with amazing appetite. What ends up on the menu should be unseasoned and as varied as possible. The quantity depends on the species, size, age, temperature and activity of your animals. On warm, humid evenings, they are often fed significantly more than during a quieter phase.
Achatinotusa feeding list: This can be served regularly
Vegetables and fruit are the basis of feeding Achatinotusa. It provides moisture, fiber and many important nutrients. It is better to offer several small varieties in rotation than to serve only one favorite variety for days. Some snails are little creatures of habit and initially ignore new things.
Particularly good for the regular menu are, for example:
- Zucchini, eggplant, sweet potato
- Bell pepper, basil
- Carrot, parsnip and beetroot
- Romaine lettuce and head lettuce
- Mushrooms as well as other unseasoned edible mushrooms
Leafy greens are a nice addition, but not an invitation to forage without knowledge. Unknown plants, roadsides, sprayed areas and meadows with dog contact are not safe food sources. If you can safely identify wild herbs and collect them cleanly, unsprayed and away from roads, then dandelion, ground elder, nettle or ribwort plantain are great varieties. In case of uncertainty, vegetables from a safe origin remain the better choice.
Fruit is also a main course
Apple, pear, banana, melon, berries, papaya, avocado, mango, orange, mandarin or peach are enthusiastically accepted by many Achatinotusa.
Citrus fruits like oranges were said to not belong on the regular menu in the past. - That is not true. We regularly feed our animals oranges and they love it (especially the adult ovum) and they grow quite splendidly.
You should not leave fruit and vegetables in the terrarium for too long. Otherwise, a deadly rotting cocktail forms on bell pepper and banana above all, which can be fatal for snails if they eat it. 3 days would be too long.
Calcium: Not an extra, but a must
A stable shell is not created by vegetables and fruit alone. Achatinotusa need a well-accessible calcium source at all times. Cuttlebone is particularly practical for this: It lies in the terrarium and the animals rasp at it when they need it. Finely ground eggshells can also work.
Limestones for aquariums with unclear additives, school chalk or any mineral mixtures from the household are not suitable. Just as little does calcareous substrate replace a freely available calcium source. Your snails must be able to decide for themselves when they take in calcium.
In young animals and growing snails, the requirement is particularly high. Especially with the species Lissachatina Reticulata, it is the fastest growing Achatinotusa and it would eat its own kind without sufficient calcium source.
Generally, besides sufficient calcium, snails need a balanced, varied diet and suitable keeping conditions. If the shell looks brittle, gets rough spots or grows unevenly, a honest check is worth it: Is there always cuttlebone? Is the food varied? Are temperature, humidity and stocking correct in the home?
Protein regularly and species-dependent
Many Achatinotusa need animal protein regularly, especially during growth, breeding or if the respective species has a higher requirement. Like the Ovum, Suturalis and Reticulata. Small amounts of unseasoned, high-quality protein sources like dried Gammarus, dried insects or specially suitable snail protein products are suitable.
How often depends heavily on the species and life phase. For many adult animals, a small portion about once a week is enough, young animals may need more depending on the species. If you are unsure about your species, it is better to ask specifically than to adopt any food from terrarium keeping.
What is better left rare or not in the box at all
Processed foods do not belong in the snail home in principle. Salt, sugar, spices, preservatives and fat have no place in the food. Even seemingly harmless leftovers from your own plate are almost always unsuitable.
You better leave these things out completely:
- Salt and everything seasoned, such as bread, cheese, sausage or cooked food leftovers
- Onions, garlic, leek and chives
- Dairy products, sweets and highly processed animal feed
- Plants or leaves that you cannot identify one hundred percent surely
This is how you prepare food safely
Wash fruit and vegetables thoroughly under running water. Especially with conventional goods, residues can sit on the shell. It does not have to be organic. Washing helps above all to prevent unwanted insect eggs from getting into the terrarium and unintentionally breeding them there.
It is best to place food on a flat bowl. This way, less soil sticks to it and you recognize faster what was eaten. Very soft food, especially fruit or protein, you should remove at the latest the next day. In heat, many snails or high humidity, it may be necessary even earlier.
Mold is not a sign that your snails will clean up particularly thoroughly. Take moldy leftovers out immediately and check the environment. Small soil organisms belong to a living soil base, but permanently rotting food attracts unwanted roommates and quickly tips the hygiene in the terrarium.
A simple rhythm instead of food stress
For most keeping, a daily offer of two to three vegetable varieties works very well. In addition, cuttlebone is permanently available. Fruit is available occasionally, protein according to species and need. You do not have to prepare a huge menu for this: A piece of zucchini, some carrot and a leaf of romaine lettuce are already a good start.
Observe what is left in the morning. If carrots are consistently ignored, try grating them finer or combining them with a softer variety. If everything is immediately cleaned up, the portion can be a bit larger. If a lot remains, you feed less. Exactly this observation makes a feeding list into a keeping that suits your own sweet slimmers.
If a snail suddenly does not eat at all, stays buried unusually long or its shell visibly changes, do not just look at the last meal. Temperature, humidity, soil base and general condition play in as well. For concrete questions, the personal advice from Slime Side will also help you. Your snails do not have to get a perfect menu plan - but every day a fresh, safe selection, from which they can take the right thing for themselves.