Nowadays people live at a crazy pace and sometimes can not afford to have a pet. If you do not have time to bring up a dog or a cat, but you want to relax sometimes and watch the lives of our smaller brothers, then the African snail of ahaatin is an ideal creature for this purpose.
Types of snails ahatin
The genus Achatina of the Achatinidae family includes about one hundred species of achatinas. Among the lovers of these gastropods, the following types of African snails are prevalent and popular:
- falic ahatin;
- achatinum of reticulum;
- ahatine immakulyata;
- ahatina tiger;
- ahatina andradely.
How to keep snails ahatin at home?
The content of snails in the home is not particularly difficult. African snails are ideal pets. Prefer a nocturnal lifestyle, resting in the dark in the afternoon. Settle the snail should be in a closed terrarium or aquarium, because to ensure that the African guests feel at home, they need air temperature 25-27 ° C and high humidity (75-90%). Violation of living conditions will lead to the fact that the snail will go into hibernation and may even die.
Terrarium for snails ahatin
Large snails of ahaatin need a spacious house. It is extremely important to prepare for the acquisition of the pet in advance to immediately place the animal in a suitable environment for its maintenance. The capacity for these giants should be selected at the rate of 10-15 liters of volume per one individual (in a small space it will be difficult to maintain a constant humidity). As a home for land snails can accommodate:
- terrarium for reptiles;
- Aquarium (better rectangular, you can buy from the hands of the old one, which gave a leak, which will be much cheaper);
- container with transparent walls of food plastic;
- a snail, made with its own hand made of glass, plexiglas, plexiglas, transparent plastic.
African ahatines are curious creatures. Traveling through the glass or plastic walls of their world, snails can escape from it. Therefore, on top of the container cover with a lid or mesh with holes of the same size that the pet could not get out of. Do not forget that the African snail of ahaatin is a breathing shellfish. Ahaatin needs fresh air, so never close their house tightly. But they also contravene drafts.
Choose a place in your home where the direct sunlight will not fall on the terrarium, better - away from the window. Snails do not like being in the sun, their tender body is severely afflicted and dehydrated. Bright light makes them uncomfortable, since the skin of snails is a solid light-sensitive organ. Light cochlea is not needed, it is perfectly oriented and in the dark. Backlighting is only necessary for the viewer, who will admire the mollusks. Equip the snail with a thermometer and hygrometer and constantly monitor their indications.
Soil for snails ahatin
The height of the litter from the ground should allow the African snail to hide, optimally - 5-15 cm, not less. As a primer, it is preferable to use:
- coconut substrate;
- Wet (but not waterlogged!) sand;
- peat with a pH level of 6-7.
Stones, metal objects, and any ornaments from hard materials are dangerous to the delicate body and the shell of the ahatina. The snail will not like the content in conditions where it, falling off the heights, can break up against the walls of a ceramic decorative castle or flower pot. Akhatin is able to injure the body about the edge of the shards of clay, porcelain, glass, so exclude these dangerous elements from the decor of the dwelling of the snail. You can decorate a snail with driftwood, dry branches, objects from food plastic, living plants.
Home snails Akhatiny - care
So, you decided, prepared a dwelling for a new pet and brought into the house an African snail Ahatina. Henceforth, taking care of the adoptive son and his meals will become your pleasant duties. It is possible to entrust the care of these unusual mollusks to a child of school age, this is quite possible for him. The main stages of care for Ahatina and her dwelling:
- Monitor the temperature. No sharp changes in temperature can be tolerated. If necessary, raise the temperature in the cemetery using heating pads, electric carts, incandescent lamps, placing them from the outside.
- Maintain a constant high humidity, without overdrying or wetting the soil. Dry air will cause the snail to hide in the sink. To increase the humidity, use a spray gun. The snail climbs up on the glass and sits there - it's too damp in the snail. To reduce the humidity, open the lid of the hull.
- Set a shallow (up to 1 cm) stable container with water for bathing the shellfish. Water regularly change and monitor its level, so that the snails, especially the young, do not choke.
- To bathe snails with slightly warm boiled water to remove stuck slices of soil and food. You can make a "shower" for a snail, punctures in the lid of a plastic bottle, small holes. From such a bottle it is convenient and safe to rinse your pet.
- With a periodicity of once every 2-3 months, the snail should be washed and replaced. In the washing process, use only water, no detergent or cleaning agents! If the snail laid eggs , then clean the walls without water at all, wiping with a damp rag.
What do snails eat at home?
African giant snails have a wonderful appetite, they are not picky in food. Feed them better late at night, before the period of activity. Food should be varied, it is better to spread the products on a special plate, and not on the litter. What to feed snails ahatin :
- leaves of lettuce, cabbage;
- dandelion, chamomile, plantain;
- cucumbers, zucchini;
- tomatoes;
- carrot;
- Champignon;
- apple and other fruits;
- grapes;
- fresh berries;
- watermelon, melon, pumpkin;
- flakes of oatmeal, buckwheat;
- meat puree, minced meat;
- boiled eggs.
Do not treat your snails with products that will lead to the death of pets:
- salty;
- sweet;
- sharp;
- smoked products;
- roast;
- raw potatoes;
- citrus;
- bread, pasta.
For the construction of the shell, the snails need a source of calcium, so in the diet should include mineral supplements:
- food chalk;
- crushed eggshell;
- sepia (as ground in the form of an additive to food, and entirely);
- cottage cheese without sugar, salt and other additives;
- calcium porridge (a mixture of ground cereals and minerals);
- bone flour.
Diseases of snails ahatin
The terrestrial snails of the ahatina are also sick, like all living things. Molluscum ailments occur for reasons:
- domestic trauma;
- loss of the shell;
- supercooling or overheating;
- poisoning with salt, household chemicals;
- microparasites (flies, bedbugs, springtails and the like) and fungal infections;
- infection with worms, worms;
- infection;
- tumor.
Ahatina Snails - Reproduction
Perhaps you have heard how the snails of Ahatina breed . These gastropods are hermaphrodites. The result of keeping two or more African Akhatin in one snail will result in fertilization. In most cases, snails lay eggs, but there are viviparous species of ahaatin. The female is the snail, which is older and larger. The younger individual will act as a male.
Eggs of snails ahatin
What should you do when you notice that the African snail Akhatin has started to multiply? Caring for eggs is extremely important, if non-observance of certain conditions, the masonry will not be viable and the eggs will die:
- Keep the temperature 27-28 ° C, without fluctuations and changes.
- If the soil is too wet, the eggs will rot, in the dry - the embryos will die.
- Do not touch the eggs with your hands, but move them to a separate terrarium with the substrate.
- Eggs sprinkled with soil.
Small snails Akhatiny
The African land snail is a caring parent. Little snails, hatching eggs, crawl out to the surface after a few days. Their shells are very delicate and fragile. It is better to put the kids on cabbage leaves. Feed them with grated vegetables and fruits with the addition of calcium compounds. Drink the kids simply: sprinkle the walls of the snail with boiled water. This is quite enough. Snails will drink, crawling along the walls and licking drops of water.
How many years have snails of ahatina?
Home snails Akhatin have a life expectancy higher than their wild counterparts. It's very simple: in their habitual habitat the ahatines are pests of crops and are actively destroyed by man. In poor sluggish creatures, in addition to humans, there are a lot of enemies in nature: hedgehogs, caresses, frogs and even insects. In a home environment with proper care and healthy nutrition, the giant snail Akhatin grows well and can live seven to ten years.
The African snail of ahaatin does not scratch the wallpaper, does not gnaw at the sneakers, does not howl at night and does not drag food from your plate. This cute, quiet creation, similar to an alien, will allow you to enjoy your rest in a comfortable chair near his terrarium. The snail will slowly move, with an appetite supper with a slice of fruit or a juicy leaf, plunging you into a contemplative "trance". And cares, hassle, sorrows will recede into the background, giving way to peace and endless admiration for the harmony that reigns in this tiny corner of nature.