Snail is a common name, informal used for special types of gastropods. The name most often applied to land snails, terrestrial gastropod mollusks.
The ancestors of snails – one of the earliest types of animals in the world. There is fossil evidence of primitive gastropods belonging to the late Cambrian period; this means that they lived nearly 500 million years ago.
There are many types, but they are fundamentally different because they are aquatic or terrestrial. The first used to live in the sea or in fresh water, but the latter live exclusively on land, though in wet areas.
All land snails are gastropods beings, which means belonging to the same group. They are members of the class of Gastropoda, which include all snails and slugs. A symptom of molluscum is the lack of internal skeleton and bones, but the snails are not exposed.
General information about snails
Gastropoda can adapt to different conditions of life, and they do not require large amounts of food. They were able to constantly evolve in order to survive in the surrounding conditions. Many researchers believe these creatures are very fascinating.
Gastropoda belong to the molluscs and are classified as invertebrate animals with soft unsegmented body, sometimes covered with a hard shell. This type of shellfish includes animals such as squid, octopus, clams, cuttlefish, etc.
Snails and slugs is Gastropoda. Therefore, they are closely related to each other, despite the fact that the latter have no protective shell.
Biological characteristics of Gastropoda exciting. For example, most of them are hermaphrodites. This means that one snail has male and female reproductive organs at the same time. However, they are usually combined in pairs “traditional” way: with a partner.
A few weeks after mating and eggs hatch into little cubs. They are defenseless against many predators that live around you, such as beetles, birds, turtles and even other snails. There are exceptions. Some species have sexual differentiation.
The types of land snails
- Giant African excavation. Giant African snail – this is a 20-centimetre creature, native to Africa, and she is one of the largest species. In some places it is considered invasive animals because of its high rate of reproduction and voracious appetite for crops and vegetation.
- Street (Garden) snail is a small species with a height of 5 centimeters and a special shell design that distinguishes it from other species. They are the native representative for the Mediterranean region of Western Europe, part of Asia and North of Egypt.
- Roman snail. She has a beautiful shell, which is almost one third of the total weight. Originally born in Europe, it is found in most countries of the world. It lives in temperate forests with high humidity, but scarce rainfall.
Snails in natural conditions
They are used in food a variety of foods found in nature and their habitat. What they eat depends on the environment and places of their feeding. Have a list of essential resources is vegetables, plants, algae, fruit. The flowers disappear, will often be a good food for them, and they can also try grains of sand or earth that are necessary for getting calcium into the body, to have even more thick and strong shell.
Many earthly representatives are herbivores, but are omnivores and some are even predatory. Each subspecies has different ways of eating depending on their weight, life, environment, food and special needs food. You can meet them on the street and in the garden, as there is plenty of fresh flowers and herbs to eat.
Herbivorous species eat a lot of living fauna organic: leaves, flowers, plants, bark. They eat mushrooms and other subspecies can sometimes get algae. Some species of snails can consume and consume living or dead organic matter. These creatures are detrital, as they feed on debris or solid residues which are in the soil.
The diet of Achatina in vivo
This herbivore does not distinguish between dead or missing plant material. He has such a huge appetite that it eats over 500 species of plants, including those grown people. Giant African Achatina feeds on leaves, flowers, fruits, stems, bark, wood, seeds, grains, nuts, seaweed and even lichens, mushrooms and other snails.
Economically valuable crops for humans, such as cauliflower, cocoa, papaya, peanut, cassava, banana and many other vegetables often become food for the giant African Achatina. They also need calcium for the storage and cultivation of hard shells, so they will consume some types of plants more to get the required calcium. When they can’t get enough calcium in your diet from plants they can feed on bones from carcasses, sand or small stones to get it.
The main diet of snails at home
They eat snails in the aquarium? Below are the detailed answer.
- Water plants. Some home representatives will have live water plants, but not all. Almost all species feed on living or rotting plants. Apple species may eat live plants, so if you decide to offer them as a food source, you will need to replenish them often. For example, street snails, which are a kind of Apple snail, are less likely to dine on healthy plants.
- Seaweed. Algae are the primary food source for snails. Algae will grow by themselves in the aquarium, even without the presence of fish. The more Shine your aquarium and warmer water temperature, the more algae will grow in the gravel, on the walls of the aquarium decorations and plants. Street representatives often eat algae in healthy plants but not the plants themselves.
- Fruit. You can give a lot of different fruits and snails. Grapes, melon, pumpkin, cucumber, apples and pears are well kept in the aquarium, and snails are easy to eat them. You need to avoid feeding your street individuals a sour fruit, such as oranges and tomatoes. You should always thoroughly wash and dry foods, as the chemicals from the pesticides and water are harmful to these creatures. Sink food snails in deklarirovanie water is the safest option. Cleansing fruits will ease the work of your Pets and remove any chemicals from the outside.
- Vegetables. Snails love to nibble on various vegetables. They can eat peas, carrots, lettuce and other leafy greens. Blancheroche and cool overly hard vegetables like carrots before you feed them to your Pets. Brush and clean the vegetables. Attaching products to the side of the tank with clip-ons makes it easier food for these slow-moving creatures. Stores animal sell special clips designed for use in the aquarium.
What to eat snails Achatina at home
Excavation of the African representatives of Achatina will eat almost any kind of fruits and vegetables, and in the wild they eat up to 500 different types of plants. Most especially love cucumber, lettuce, peppers and corn.
It’s a good idea to feed Pets Achatina a variety of food, as they can be finicky. In addition, many snails love cucumber, but it is less nutritious than other vegetables, so it is important to continue to use other products.
That eat African ground representatives? No need to feed the snails onions. As well as you need to process starchy foods such as pasta, or anything containing salt, as this will probably make them sick or even kill them.
African Achatina also need a constant supply of calcium to their shells can grow. Cuttlebone is ideal for this and probably the easiest to find, since most pet stores stock it. You can also buy very cheaply online the snail with the cuttlefish. Other sources of calcium include oyster shell and egg shells, although they are less effective. You can also buy liquid calcium to spray food if your snail is particularly finicky and won’t eat cuttlefish.
