Giant African Land Snails

For a very long time I've wanted to get some Giant African Land Snails and a couple of weeks ago I got myself these two little beauties!

They've grown a lot in 2 weeks! I'll be moving them to a slightly larger habitat later today.

When they've grown on a little bit more they'll be coming to work with me and I'll teach my class all about them!

How big will they get?

Interesting snails. Do they easily reproduce? How, where did you get them...pretty interesting.

are those the ones that eat drywall and concrete?

ColleenT said:

How big will they get?

Click to expand...

I've attached a picture of one of the breeders snails which is 6 months old, so close to fully grown.

I got these guys from a reptile store near me and one of the store assistance breeds them. These ones are albino.

Maro2Bear said:

Interesting snails. Do they easily reproduce? How, where did you get them...pretty interesting.

Click to expand...

They can produce over 100 eggs in a batch and can breed frequently so one snail could produce many hundreds of offspring in their lifetime. They usually live approximately 5 years in captivity but have been known to reach 10 years on the odd occasion!

These came from a local reptile store in Nottingham, UK.

My mum mentioned this to me today. Someone has clearly released some in America (I've forgotten where exactly) but my mum saw it on the news and she said they had been causing serious damage as they breed so quickly and are chewing on the cement that makes up foundations of homes to get the calcium.

I will likely breed a few from mine but I will have to freeze the majority of eggs and then dispose of them appropriately. Much as it breaks my heart I wouldn't want to risk causing harm to the ecosystem and equally wouldn't want any to go to people who would be irresponsible.

GALS are illegal in the states, but they are so darn neat!

do they not also have parasites in them that makes them inedible?

dmmj said:

do they not also have parasites in them that makes them inedible?

Click to expand...

Some wild caught ones do have worms but you can worm them by feeding crushed and soaked hemp seeds.

Tiger snails are actually a delicacy in parts of Africa and there are far fewer in the wild due to this.

Thought I'd update this post to show how much my two reticulata have grown since October. This is them a couple of weeks ago!

These snails are awesome!

Yes agree, they really are pretty awesome. Thanks for the updated pix.

I'm fascinated by them!

My retics grow very quickly but my tiger snails are much slower growing. I took on an albino tiger and her shell condition was awful from poor diet and not having her humidity and temperature controlled. But I'm pleased to say with the correct care I've managed to get some amazing new shell growth going from her and you can certainly spot the difference!
This is Luna-

Nice, thanks!

Keep the updates coming!

Thought I'd share an image of Myrtle- she is my light skinned tiger (although she may darken up as she grows). She has grown fairly quickly for a tiger snail. I'll post pictures of her again in a few months to show the difference.

And the larger snail, is currently the biggest of my lot. This is Hagrid, he's a dark skinned tiger and is one of the most curious Snails, he likes to have a good look around!

Lu_x85 said:

I took on an albino tiger and her shell condition was awful from poor diet and not having her humidity and temperature controlled. But I'm pleased to say with the correct care I've managed to get some amazing new shell growth going

Click to expand...

Seems so much like an echo from tortoise husbandry and rescue.

do they ever nibble on you?

ColleenT said:

do they ever nibble on you?

Click to expand...

They gently rasp but it's not really noticeable