Everything about snails: features and types, maintenance and care

The hobby for snails, and even more so for keeping them at home, is an exotic hobby that has a lot of advantages. These unique molluscs bring nature, beauty and tranquility to your home. Of course, they will not greet you with a lively and joyful bark or a critical and mocking voice of a colorful parrot. However, they can and know how to be silent, unhurried, grateful and worthy friends. Molluscs are able to recognize their caring owners and be grateful to them.

Wherein snails are extremely unpretentious in care, which does not take much time and does not require much effort... For people who value their time, working in a tough regime, meeting snails at home is minutes of rest, relaxation, enjoying the beauty, grace and uniqueness of these animals. Time in communication with them stops!

The snail (Gastropoda) is a representative of a large and diverse group of gastropods. Their huge variety is reflected both in the form of snails and their preferences, and in their habitats. To date, about 60,000 species of these animals have been officially described, which represent approximately 80% of molluscs. The expert figures for existing organisms are in the range of 40-100 thousand species. Up to 13 thousand names of the genera of snails, both living and fossil ones, are known.

Gastropods occupy a significant place in biological research, being the object of complex scientific experiments in the fields of biomechanics, ecology, physiology. Their behavioral patterns are being actively studied, including from the standpoint of the evolution of natural organisms.

The body of an animal includes the head and leg. Its body is covered with a special mantle fold. The head is well developed, with tentacles and eyes located at the base of the tentacles. In some species, the organs of vision are located on special eye stems. The leg is large compared to the snail's body and is adapted for crawling, but can be modified for jumping, swimming or clamping.

Exceptionally, all organs of the gastropodia are unique both in structure and function. It is safe to say that there are no analogues among animals, at least among representatives of domestic fauna.

The shell is the oldest shelter for an animal that is millions of years old. For thousands of years, wise nature has perfected and improved the spiral shape of the snail's dwelling. Structurally and in shape, the shells are rational and comfortable for animals, they are lightweight, durable and do not interfere with the movement of snails. Moreover, their shells differ significantly within the species, the structure of which is highly dependent on the habitat.

So, popular Achatina have a refined and translucent shell. Gastropods living in less humid environments have a harder and more durable shell. In organisms living in hot climates, the shell color is light (reflectivity), while their northern counterparts use darker colors.

Regardless of the types of molluscs, shells perform a number of vital functions for them:

1. protect the body from dehydration (drying out);
2. protect from enemies;
3. protect the body from injury.

Various patterns on shells and their coloring are one of the mysterious aspects of the life of gastropodia. There are only hypotheses about this issue. It is still unclear why snails, living in practically identical conditions, with the same diet, under the same lighting and humidity regime, have such a variety of shells. Some are striking in their brightness and complexity of the drawing, while others are completely monotonous and inexpressive.

The mouth of a snail (radula) is not quite ordinary and is a fine grater (there are up to 25,000 small "teeth") adapted for grinding food. In fact, it is a single but large tooth with an unusual sharpness. This improved chitin grater successfully allows you to remove and grind small particles from various surfaces and use them as food. In other words, the radula has two functions - scraping and chewing.

Despite the small size and seeming primitiveness of the organism, the structure of gastropods is complex, including organs responsible for balance, touch, smell and vision.

The eyes are located at the ends of the "horns" and represent an "eye bladder" - a special protrusion of the body. The eye has a lens (spherical lens), to the surface of which the optic nerve is attached. The anterior wall of the eye sphere is transparent, while its other sides are pigmented.

Thanks to such unusual eyes, mollusks not only evaluate the brightness of light, but also see at a distance of 1 cm.

It is surprising that gastropods perceive light rays not only visually, but also with the body, where special light-receiving cells are located - snails are extremely susceptible to bright light.

That is why, given that although mollusks need heating lamps that maintain the required temperature regime in molluscs (otherwise they hibernate), a special barrier behind which snails could hide is extremely relevant. Otherwise, they burrow into the ground for a long time.

A second pair of smaller gastropod horns are designed for touch and smell. In addition, it is responsible for the so-called "chemical sense" - distinguishing the odors of artificial substances (alcohol, acetone, gasoline, etc.). Snails can feel these "scents" at a distance of 4 cm. That is, they have developed this quality better than their eyesight.

As for the sense of smell of snails, it is truly phenomenal. So, a cabbage leaf or a fragment of a melon of gastropods can be felt at a distance of 50 cm, and the smells of wood remains or rotten leaves can be caught at a distance of two or more meters.

If you open the lid of the snail's dwelling and make some noise over it, then the mollusks will not react in any way - they have no hearing.

According to their habitat, all gastropods are subdivided into land, freshwater and marine, and according to the types of respiration - into breathing lungs and gills. Below are examples of some of the popular varieties of aquarium molluscs that addicting natures keep in home molluscs. The types of domestic molluscs are extremely diverse. Among them there are both large and small, and there are, by snail standards, huge. The originality and uniqueness of the names of these animals is due to the variety of their species, color and structure.

• Pokemon. There are also other names for them - radix or tropical pond snail. Pokemon is a brother of the common pond snail. Native habitats are located in Malaysia and Indonesia (Borneo). They live in water bodies and swamps. Life expectancy in aquariums is up to a year.

  Pokémon eat algae and are able to eliminate their blue-green varieties. They love to eat rotten leaves, as well as to scrape the walls. They actively destroy bacterial growths and formations. They are indifferent to aquarium plants. The characteristics of water for their content are similar to the tropical regime: To = 22-28о, pH 6-8, kH 3-8, dH 8-10.

• Horned snails (beeline). Their habitat is located in South Africa. They reach a size of 1.5 cm. They live from 3 to 5 years. On the shell, they have chaotically located growths, which occasionally break off without causing harm to the health of the animal. In keeping, these gastropods are simple, perfectly adapt to life in containers of various sizes. To maintain the tone of these mollusks, water with an acidity of at least 7 units and a hardness of at least 10-13 is recommended. If these parameters are violated, the shells of mollusks begin to crumble, which is fraught with their death. These animals are able to tolerate cool water, while the level of their activity drops noticeably. For good activity of animals, the temperature regime of the water should be observed at least 24 ° C.

• Spixie (elf) lives in reservoirs located in the south of America. The shell is of light shades with stripes, has an oval and slightly narrowed shape, 2-3 cm in diameter. The body of the mollusk is spotty, slightly darker than the shell, it can be yellow or brownish. Lives for about 5 years. It is part of the ampullary family. It differs from ordinary ampullia:

• Ampularia Is a yellow snail known among many aquarists. These molluscs can be kept in an aquarium with fish, as they get along well with many of their species. At the same time, it is important to know that some fish are not averse to patting the mollusks by the antennae, and some can enjoy this delicacy with pleasure. Therefore, we advise you to keep an ampullarium with peaceful species of fish, and if in doubt, consult a specialist. These mollusks do not get along with gouras, tetradons, aggressive American and African cichlids, as well as with other labyrinth fish.

• Cowrie (cipreids) or porcelain snails, live in tropical waters, and some species have chosen the Mediterranean Sea. They are distinguished by a variety of colors and special shapes of drawings. They feed on algae. They live in crevices of dead coral fragments, burrow into the ground, but on the new moon or full moon they get out and move along the rocks. Interestingly, certain species of the family were used in antiquity as money and fragments to decorate burial masks.

• Zebra snail (Neretina) - the most popular shellfish found in many lovers. The shell of a mature snail is 2-2.3 mm high and 1.9-2.3 mm in diameter. Zebra snail are animals of different sexes, but it is rather difficult to identify a female or a male by external signs. The male reproductive organ can be seen only during copulation, it is located near the right eye. The outer contour of the mollusk shell is S-shaped, and its body is usually light gray or yellow in color. The color of the carapace ranges from greenish-yellow to yellow with brown tints. Patterns with ornate, medium-wide black stripes starting from the beginning of the curl and gradually widening downward. The patterns on the shells are extremely diverse - there are no snails with identical patterns.

• Tylomelania or orange rabbit. Faced with this unusual mollusk, many lovers admire the diversity of its species, which, by the way, are poorly studied and far from all described. The appearance of tylomelanias depends to a large extent on their habitat. There are two types of tylomelanias: those living in the aquatic system (Malili) with ribbed shells and those living in lake-river systems (Poso) with a rich color scheme. In all these animals, the shells are 2-12 cm in size and have a conical shape. Body coloration ranges from bright orange to dark with white specks. Nature has thoroughly taken care of the safety of tylomellanias - due to their unusual color, they are almost invisible among the rock formations, and a particularly flashy color can frighten off a predator.

• Achatina Are the largest and most popular of domestic snails. They are also called giant African molluscs. There are individuals with a shell longer than 20 cm, but the body of an animal can be more than 30 cm. Of course, for such large animals you need to purchase a spacious home, the smallest volume for them is a 10-liter aquarium. Achatina like to swim, so an appropriate container is essential for this. The thickness of the filler layer should be 4-6 cm - mollusks like to burrow there. As a rule, their body is colored gray-brownish, and the carapace has a spiral shape with red-brownish stripes. Albino achatina are not uncommon, their patterns look more contrasting, while the body has milky white shades.

These wonderful animals are used in useful cosmetic procedures. So, exotic massage is magnificent when Achatins move across the client's face. The secret of these snails is useful, it moisturizes, nourishes and has an anti-inflammatory effect on the skin of the face.

Achatina become sexually mature in the period from 6 to 18 months. Despite their sexual universalism (hermaphroditism), self-fertilization is a rare episode in the life of these animals, and usually one cannot do without a mating partner. The sperm of the Achatina's partner can be stored for up to 2 years and are capable of laying clutches 5-6 times a year.

• Often, snail-watching hunters acquire caracolusoc - woody mollusks from Cuba, with brightly colored shells of an amazing shape, similar to a saucer. These saucer snails live in small flocks of up to 5-7 individuals. Their dwellings are necessarily supplied with twigs and snags.

• Groups of small land molluscs are extremely fascinating objects of observation - subbulins octon... These animals are extremely unpretentious, and their colonies take up little space. Subbulins multiply rapidly and are small in size - 3-5 cm.

Caring for exotic pets does not require much time and financial effort, and wildlife will be nearby, delighting with its beauty and naturalness. This advantage is perhaps the leading one when choosing a hobby. The snail care scheme is simple:

1. feeding three times a week;
2. washing the home every 2 weeks;
3. litter change - once every 4 weeks.

In terms of nutrition, snails are very unpretentious. Their usual menu includes slices of fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Leftover food from the refrigerator is also fine. Lettuce leaves are a real delicacy for them.

Ulitarium is supplied with a special lid with small holes or a narrow slit, otherwise the animals may suffocate or crawl out of the dwelling. The role of bedding is usually performed by various substrates or special "Begonia" soil. Ulitaria is also spread with moss, adding lichen twigs there or planting cat grass. Necessary in an aquarium and a kind of reservoir - a small container with water. Sphagnum moss for paving, collected in the forest, must be prepared - cleaned and subjected to special processing.

It is recommended to regularly (2 times a day) care for the soil, moisturizing it and the surface of the ulitaria with a spray bottle. If snails have permanently settled on the walls, then this indicates an excess of water in the ground, the animals experience discomfort. With a moisture deficit, snails, on the contrary, lock themselves in their house.

Sometimes molluscs go into hibernation, and not necessarily in winter. The reasons for falling asleep can be low humidity in the monastery, a deficiency of useful components of the diet, stress reactions and injury. In these cases, the pets hide, plugging the inlet into the house with a special sticky compound that forms a special film (epiphagma).

You can revive the gastropodia by watering it with warm boiled water, or it is better to simply place it in an ulitarium with optimal microclimatic conditions, lightly sprinkling it on it. After a while, when the environment becomes more favorable for her, the mollusk will emerge from its hiding place.

Cubs' diet includes solid foods. It is important that they do not burrow and suffocate. A bedding of lettuce leaves would be a good option for them, and grated greens and carrots are quite suitable for food. It is not worth teaching the cubs to the cucumber menu - they are far from indifferent to this vegetable, very soon they get used to it, refusing other food.

Thus, keeping mollusks at home is absolutely not burdensome, but the main problem will be the task of giving newborns into caring and master's hands.

It is not uncommon for gastropodia to end up in aquariums with litter or plants. It is important to preserve their number and strive to ensure that such young animals turn from random guests into helpers of the aquarist.

No special care is required for snails kept with fishas they pick up food after the fish, both waste and algae are used. It is advisable to constantly monitor their number - for 5-6 liters of water, contain one large or 2 small snails.

The order of keeping Achatina is also suitable for caring for other gastropodia. In food for them, you should choose a grape leaf, dandelion and burdock leaves, as well as vegetable leftovers. Ordinary, not entirely exotic, gastropodia are no less interesting objects to observe than their imported counterparts.

It is not recommended to level out the chips you have found on snail shells with your own hands. In this case, the animal should be placed on a damp cloth, and it will independently repair its house. Often, such defects still remain in the form of barely noticeable irregularities in the shell.

We will consider the rules of feeding on the example of all well-known Achatina. Feeding shellfish means providing variety in their food, which is often served solid. It is important to control the animal's diet for the sufficient presence of calcium components in it, which are essential for the construction of the shell and the preservation of the most important organ - the chitinous tooth.

An example snail menu consists of pieces:

• tomatoes, cabbage, lettuce, boiled potatoes, pumpkin;
• apples, pears, bananas, plums, grapes, melons, watermelons;
• legumes;
• oat flakes;
• mushrooms;
• herbs and leaves, dandelion flowers, clover;
• ground peanuts;
• dairy and fermented milk products;
• soft bread;
• minced meat (boiled);
• boiled eggs;
• bone meal;
• combined feed.

Prohibited products:

1. citrus;
2. everything spicy, salty, sweet, sour, fried and smoked;
3. pasta;
4. potato eyes.

After selecting a suitable ulitarium, it is not recommended to immediately place animals in a new dwelling. To begin with, you need to properly equip its internal space so that newcomers do not get stress from such a renovation. This arrangement includes a number of activities.

1. Organization of proper ventilation. Without an established supply of fresh air, new settlers may not survive, and harmful bacteria will appear in ulitaria. For proper ventilation, it is important that the holes in the lid and other elements of the dwelling are located in a certain order. They are made in the lid and in the upper part of the container, on one of the walls, as well as in its lower surface. This procedure provides a more complete coverage of air circulation and litter and the general space of the snail dwelling.
2. Litter selection. The bedding layer provides comfort and warmth to the new home. It can serve as substrates, forest mosses, leaf litter, peat, driftwood and other items.
3. Ensuring optimal temperature and humidity conditions. It is important to install the dwelling away from open windows, heating radiators and outside hot rooms. The suitable temperature is 24-27 degrees, and the humidity is 70%. In order to control the parameters, heating mats, thermometers, and special sensors are used. They are very convenient to use.
4. Saucer of water for snails must always be close to the molluscs - this is an integral element of the arrangement of ulitaria. At the same time, the liquid level in the container should not exceed 1 cm, so that the cubs and mature individuals do not choke and drown. The drinker is chosen according to the taste of the owner.
5. Settlement of snails in a new house. On the first day, it is important to constantly and carefully observe sensitive pets in order to come to their aid in a timely manner. If the Akhatins do not like the house prepared by you, then they will go into hibernation for a long time.

Most gastropodia are hermaphrodites. But this does not mean that you can have a single individual for their reproduction. Self-fertilization is a rare process among molluscs. In most cases, it is practiced by melanias, which reproduce parthenogenetically.

When a pair of snails is formed, then each in this pair plays a role - larger and more mature specimens become females, and young ones become males. Actually, this fact is a hint for the selection of suitable pairs.

There is a species of snails of different sexes - these are ampullia. Although experts say that they can sometimes change sex to participate in mating. In this context, the gastropodia of the Pyla genus are amazing, which go to sleep before mating, but ampularia belonging to the Pomasea genus do not feel the need for such preparation.

Despite the difficulties in determining the sex of snails and the ability to change it, it is important for many owners to know who lives in their ulitaria. There is no absolutely reliable method for identifying sexual characteristics. However, with a certain degree of probability, you can try to determine the gender. For this, experts recommend using several methods at once, which greatly increases the chance of solving this difficult task.

1. Look closely at the mouth of the clam. Usually, males have a rounder mouth, while females have a more elongated shape.
2. With the snail open on top and slightly to the right of the mantle cover, males visually distinguish the desired organ, which females do not possess. It is important to compare a number of pairs, then this sign will become quite obvious to you.
3. Take a close look at the structure of the animal's shell. If the curls on it are located clockwise, then this is a male, but if the curls go against the direction of the arrow, you are in front of a female.

Usually gastropodia place the gametes in the water, where they subsequently develop. In this case, the average number of eggs reaches hundreds, and their maturation occurs within 21-28 days. Clam eggs can be translucent, white, pink, or green.

A number of marine species of molluscs follow larval development, but there are also numerous marine species that have a direct mode of development. Moreover, such a regime is normal for both freshwater and terrestrial groups. Embryonic development has been extensively developed in many snails.

Gastropodia reproduce upon reaching maturity, laying eggs on stones or plant leaves, certain species - on the planes of ulitarians slightly above the water level. Initially, the eggs are translucent, but then they get a brownish tint, and later young growth appears from them.

In favorable conditions, they reproduce quickly and often, and therefore the reproduction process needs to be controlled. It is advisable to be ready for such an event and acquire a capacity of up to 30 liters with settled water. To obtain offspring, more than 3-4 individuals will not be needed, and algae will not be superfluous in the aquarium. For feeding, you should pick up boiled vegetables, bread or fish food.

Reviews of people keeping snails at home, basically boil down to the following aspects:

• snails do not cause any allergic reactions;
• they are completely safe;
• molluscs are "sweet and gentle";
• they are extremely picky creatures;
• snails contribute to the development, especially in children, of a sense of beauty, love and respect for nature;
• communicating with snails, you understand how fragile the natural world is;
• contact with snails is beneficial for both children and adults, due to the ability to stimulate relaxing properties in the observer and the possibility of massage them.

There are also very dangerous organisms among the gastropodia. So, the cone snail (Conus geographus) is poisonous - an inhabitant of the tropics and subtropics. It was found off the Australian northern shores. Lives in fragmented living coral formations, in sandy areas of intertidal zones. Less commonly found at depth.

The poison released by the bite of this animal can kill up to 15 people. Symptoms of poisoning: pain at the site of the bite, it feels much stronger than from a bee sting. After the gradual disappearance of pain, the process of numbness sets in, dizziness is observed, the bitten's speech becomes illegible, after which paralysis of the respiratory tract sets in.

Death occurs approximately 30 minutes after the bite, but such cases are rare. There is no known protection against snail venom. When a bite is used, pressure on the bite site, the process of immobilization and resuscitation are used. Perhaps this is the only option for the recommended treatment of a person bitten by this mollusk.

A miniature gastropodia (Angustopila dominikae) found in China. Scientists have found several small shells. There were no snails inside them, but the size of the shells indicates that the body of the animal did not reach 1 mm, and the largest specimen found has a length of only 0.86 mm.

Northern Australia is also home to the world's largest gastropodia - the Australian trumpeter (Syrinx aruanus)... The record for the length of the carapace of the species is 91 cm, and its weight is 18 kg. The average size of a mature specimen of the Australian trumpeter reaches 70 cm. This species of animals is predatory, feeding on large polychaete worms. The popularity of the species has led to a decrease in its number, but young individuals of small size are often splashed ashore by the sea wave during powerful storms.

The pros and cons of keeping snails in the video below.