Achatina fulika: description of snails, maintenance and care

Surprisingly, who only people do not keep in their homes instead of pets! Many of us do not have various exotic pets, not because they can bite, but because they are unpleasant to us. Achatina fulika is a pretty attractive creature. Even those who do not like snails may be interested in seeing these specimens. They look bright, unusual and are large in size. By the way, this is what attracts attention.

The snails in question are quite unusual. They have an exotic look, and there are a lot of rumors around them. For example, it is generally accepted that in some countries severe punishment is provided for keeping these individuals due to the fact that they are omnivores and can destroy almost all crops. It's fair to say that the rumors are not unfounded. Really, in some states, snails are prohibited because they are considered pests.

The usual habitat of mysterious creatures is the coast of North Africa. It has a humid and warm climate. They are found mainly in sown fields, in forests or swampy areas. Their life requires a temperature of 20 to 25 degrees. If it drops to 3 degrees, the snails develop suspended animation.

These individuals are distinguished by very beautiful and varied colors. They have a well-developed sense of smell. Their carapace can be reddish, brown, yellow, or light yellow.The body, which is in the shell, can be yellowish, dark or light (the shell has mimicry, changes color depending on the color of the environment), and four tentacles necessarily rise on the head. The short ones are the sensory organ, and the long ones are the eyes. The mollusk has no hearing, but this defect is well compensated for by excellent sight and touch.

By the way, with the help of its sense of smell, the snail finds food, a mating partner, and also senses an approaching danger. The height of the conical shell is usually about twice its width, and consists of 9-11 whorls. Inside the body of the mollusk are the lungs, heart, kidneys, and even the rudiment of brain tissue. Radula are Achatina's teeth. They look like a scalloped ribbon. The snail breathes through the skin. Eyesight is very good and allows you to view space at a distance of one centimeter. With the help of vision, illumination is also recognized.

The individuals described by us grow rather quickly. Let's give a table of growth, according to which everything will be clearly visible.

Every student knows that all snails live where it is warm and damp. But if we talk about the representatives of the Achatins, then it can be argued that this species was first discovered in 1930 in China, in a city of sub-provincial significance Xiamen. Then somehow this species got to Pratas (Taiwan Island). And with someone's light hand it spread to India and the Pacific region.

The spread of this species did not stop there. The snail continued to conquer islands in the Indian Ocean, even ended up in the United States. By the way, now Achatina is being destroyed there without any regret. Maybe they would have started doing the same with the "aliens" in Europe, but the local climate did not suit them. The distribution failed, and now in European countries, snails are bred only for pleasure.

Considering that Achatins are perceived by people as pets, then we can safely say that they are widespread throughout the world. Russia is no exception.

Big snails are in demand for a reason. They are unpretentious in content and food. They do not make noise and do not require constant attention from the owners. And all because they are nocturnal. During the day, molluscs love to spend time burrowing in the farthest corner of the aquarium or terrarium. They hide mainly in the ground. This type of snail has a long-term memory: they remember all the events that happened within an hour. They can also identify feeding sites and where water is located. This was proved by American scientists.

In the wild, molluscs are able to travel long distances, and they do it very quickly. Young individuals are especially mobile. But old snails try to stick to one permanent place, from which they crawl out to eat. "Old men" practically do not leave their secluded corner and do not move away from it by more than 6 meters. But if you carry the mollusk about 25 meters from its habitat, it is able to find its way back.

If unfavorable conditions occur (drought in nature or poor conditions in the aquarium), then Achatina fulica goes into hibernation. It can last six months. Some breeders note that the mollusk may never come out of hibernation.

The variety of snail species is amazing. Let's try to consider them in more detail.

• The shell of Achatina rhodation can grow more than 20 cm, it has a conical shape. The curls are twisted clockwise and counterclockwise. It is an albino snail (it has a completely white body), but the shell is yellow in color.
• In Bhutan, local stray dogs have died from food poisoning from Achatina fulica hamillei. In addition, the Khemels began to attack farmland. The attitude towards them is negative there.
• Achatina fulica umbilicata can be found where the temperature is between 25-28 degrees all year round. In these parts, she lives in forests, in fields with crops, in wetlands.
• East Africa, Tanzania, Kenya - all these countries are home to Achatina fulica sinistrosa. This mollusk has a brown shell. Lives in temperature regimes that range from 23 to 28 degrees. But it can withstand a drop in temperature to 2. Such mollusks are famous for large colonies that only one snail can reproduce. They love a climate characterized by humid tropics.
• The mollusk, which has a variety of colors (from dark brown to uniform and light brown), is called Achatina fulica (standard Achatina fulica). Has a standard set of qualities that are inherent in all other species. By the way, it is these individuals that are in demand among those who keep snails at home as pets.
• A snail with a massive white body and the same shell - this is Achatina fulica var - white jade. Loves wet soil very much.

They are not as difficult as they seem. Shellfish can be kept and grown in an ordinary apartment. A plastic container, aquarium, or terrarium works best. The containment area must be well ventilated. Equip the bottom with high-quality soil or shavings (coconut, wood). The soil should cover one third of the aquarium. Subsequently, your pet will be able to burrow in it.

Watch out for temperature conditions (22-26 degrees) and humidity (65-75%). Place a thermometer and a cup of water in the container, and if suddenly something goes wrong, and your pet goes into hibernation, then raise the temperature of the content to the optimum, and spray the snail with warm water every day. Then everything will be fine, and the shellfish will start to delight you again.

Domestic snails should eat a variety of foods. Achatina are herbivores, so in winter they need to rub and give carrots in small quantities, and you can also please your pet with seasonal fruits. Achatina will not refuse grain mixtures, food for fish, they can also be treated with chicken food. The daily diet should contain protein (18.28%).

In addition to plant food, the giant mollusk eats sand, chalk, small stones and bones. This is not surprising, because Achatina need a source of calcium in order for their shell to be strong. And if he is not enough, they will begin to gnaw on each other's shells.

A small snail can easily grow a large one if it is well cared for. To do this, give your baby porridge high in calcium, a mixture of ground seeds and cereals. You can pamper Achatina with boiled porridge, which should contain three cereals. Feed newborn babies soft food. You need to start doing this on the second or third day. They love lettuce, chalk, eggshells, sepia.

You need to clean up the snail's place of residence on a weekly basis, with a complete replacement of the substrate. The reservoir is washed with plain water; soap and cleaning agents cannot be used. In addition, when eggs appear, they must be removed, otherwise a huge number of young animals cannot be avoided. You need to take a snail only with clean hands, washed with running water.... You should not grab the sink, it is best to slightly pry the pet's sole.

It is peculiar for snails of this species. This mollusk is a hermaphrodite (it has testicles and ovaries), and its body produces sperm and eggs at the same time. Therefore, the pet is quite capable of reproducing, despite the small population. One snail transmits gametes to another.

Reproduction occurs after reaching a certain age, while individuals of the same size mate. It also happens that small Achatina mate with a larger relative. Usually a large specimen plays the role of a female.

Courtship continues for half an hour, and gamete transfer occurs within two hours. Both snails behave intriguingly: they caress each other's heads. The sperm that the snail partner passes on to its fellow species has been stored in the body of the last for almost two years.

After mating, the female lays up to 300 eggs (their viability is 99%). She can do this up to six times a year. After hatching, the mollusk actively grows for six months, and then its growth slows down. In nature, Achatins live for about six years, but in captivity they can live ten.

For the content of Akhatina Fulik, see below.