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East African Land Snails
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Extremely easy to care for and not expensive to maintain. Young children love these huge snails, which are great as a first exotic pet. They don't mind being handled, don't bite or harm you in anyway. But you do get a...
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Searched East African Land Snails in Reviews
Perfect Pet for Kids 
| Comments |
without a doubt the easiest invert to own and they are the perfect pet for kids as they are simple to keep and require very little maintenance. ideal substrates are compost, peat and bark chips. usually nocturnal but they not fussy! they dont mind being handle as long as you dont mind having slime on your hands. to keep their shell strong always provide them with a cuttlefish bone. twice a week a put limestone flour on their food to further strengten the shell. to keep their vitamins topped up i give them nutrobal every month (but you dont really have to). they are able to eat upto 500 different species of plants but avoid acidic foods such as onions, oranges, lemons and limes etc. they can grow at a rate of 10mm a month and they have been known to grow upto 12 inches but this is rare, they normally average 6-8 inches. these are regarded as THE giant african land snail as they are the species that is most commonly kept in pet shops and exotics centres. they can live upto 9 years. they do require a good spray every couple of days, as Achatina Fulicas go they are quite a hardy species of GAL and they can tolerate relatively dry environments (i wouldnt advise to happen though)! they can breed at an amazing rate. if you find a clutch of eggs that you dont want, id advise to either freeze the eggs for 24 hours or feed them to your goldfish (if you have them). baby snails are so cute s itd be harder to kill them then. NEVER release them into your garden as they are a pest species and its a criminal offence to do so.
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| Liked about it |
1. highly easy to keep
2. dont mind being handled
3. surprisingly fascinating to observe
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| Didn't like |
Achatina Fulica is the most prolific breeder of any GAL. they can have upto 1500 young in a single year! so it is best to always check the substrate for eggs incase you dont want any surprise babies!
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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5.0 |
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The best first invert...
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These delightfully huge and ponderous inverts are ridiculously easy to keep. Many of my young relatives are now proud owners of my GALS offspring. I house mine in a large seed propagator that cost me less than a tenner. I have always used Coir substrate which is cheap and readily available and I replace this weekly. Any substrate must be kept reasonably moist at all times. I spray mine daily at which time I also top up their shallow waterbowl. Offer good quality fruit and veg and make sure any uneaten food is not left to rot. In order to grow and maintain their shells these must also be offered an extra source of calcium. I use cuttlefish which again is cheap and easy to get hold of. If you keep more than one then expect babies and lots of them. You wont make a profit breeding these so will probably need to freeze and dispose of any unwanted young.
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| Liked about it |
Impressive size and looks.
Cheap to buy and house.
Safe invert for kids.
Impressive growth rate.
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| Didn't like |
Right little breeders.
Keepers used to other inverts may not like the regular substrate changes.
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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4.0 |
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not your average garden snail..
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Giant african land snails (GALS) are fantastic pets, they're easy to keep and are very cheap. Every child should have GALS, infact everyone should at some point. They'd also be fantastic as class room pets, they teach young children how to care for exotic pets without taking forever to care for. they dont mind being handled, infact i thing mine enjoy coming out for a bath and a wander every now and again.
also they dont need heating, unless you live in a cold house. they are fine with just central heating and a moist substrate, cuttlefish and plenty of fresh fruit and veg. the also grow to a large size of 6-8 inches, so are rather difficult to lose, which is good with young children
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| Liked about it |
they're fascinating pets
easy to care for
and aren't the slightest bit aggresive
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| Didn't like |
they do like to live in pairs or groups which obviously leads to breeding, so be ready for eggs, which means you'll have to freeze them or be prepared for a lot of babies.
apart from that, you just cant like these guys
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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5.0 |
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great first pet
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Giant african land snails are the most easiest thing to look after, all you need is a tank/container/viv, some soil few plastic plant pots (plastic because of they fall wont break shell) and a few snails and your away feed daily on fruit and vegtables supply calicium through cuttle fish, bowl of shallow water, and you have it easy and cheap to keep, great to watch, can breed easy...in high volumes.
you can now get them in diffrent colours and things like rodazati and albino
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| Liked about it |
Cheap to care for,
easy to breed,
great to watch,
good for all ages and even children and adults with disablilties
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| Didn't like |
if veg and fruit left for a day you get horrible flies not so great....
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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4.5 |
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The starter pet we all had as kids
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Giant lands snail, or GALs for short are a great pet, and i know i kept them as a kid and i am sure many others did to. They are a very easy to keep species, that are cheap to buy, breed quickly and get huge. They are also cheap and easy to feed living fine of fruit, veg and leaf litter. They are great fun for kids to watch and learn. However, they also have a useful side, since they breed so quickly the offspring can also be used as feeders with most lizards and geckos taking them.
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| Liked about it |
Easy to keep and very entertaining to watch. They also make a great feeder, which means they pay their way as a pet. They are also bomb proof so even if mistakes are made they will nearly always survive, meaning they are a great species to learn with.
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| Didn't like |
They can breed extremely quickly, laying eggs in large groups averaging around 30-40 every few weeks. If these eggs aren't destroyed you can end up with a huge population very quickly.
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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5.0 |
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Good Feeder
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Easy to care for but always clean out food before it starts rotting or it will attract flys which can be a health hazard to the snail. Best to keep them on eco earth rather than soil as an acidic soil can damage the shell and make it look unattractive. Keep topped up with plenty of veg and some cuttlefish bone.
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| Liked about it |
1. Breed extremely quickly as adults
2. Perfect for using as live food if you allow a big population
3. Hardy pet for Children and snail fans
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| Didn't like |
1. If you dont keep an eye out the population can grow extremely large with far to many babies.
2. When each adult mates they get each other pregnant and lay about 200 babies each
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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4.0 |
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Fun not so little slimers
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Easy to keep, not aggressive at all, and oddly fascinating. This species (A. fulica) don't require extra heating so long as the house is fairly warm, just some damp substrate and plenty of food. they grow very fast, noticeably fast, and can get pretty big, to around 6-8 inches on average. they are very active for a snail, often slimming about the tank, and seem to do slightly better in pairs or more, the interaction seems to keep them alert, but beware of breeding as they can lay massive clutches of eggs, and are capable of laying 300 eggs a go... more than once a year. They'll eat anything you put in front of them, and a cuttlefish for extra calcium is a must to keep them healthy. pop over to the snail thread for anything you could need to know!
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| Liked about it |
1) easy to keep
2) very interesting
3) very entertaining
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| Didn't like |
1) well... it'd be amazing if they could talk!
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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4.0 |
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Didn't expect the babies!
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I have over 40 adults, some are albino. They have both male and female sexual organs which means they can't breed with them selves but if you have a pair of them you could expect a nice supprise of hundrens of eggs. I have 1 pair of wild caught ones and I am trying to breed them into my collection to add new blood and to increase the size of the offspring. They can live at room temp and eat all your kitchen left overs, they live between 10 and 15 years but have been know to live over 20 years.
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| Liked about it |
-Lives at room temp
-Eats left overs
-Breed like rabbits on caffine
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| Didn't like |
-The food and substrate attract flies
-Sometimes you buy some with their shells in bad condition
-A lot of people in breed them which sjrinks their offspring
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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4.5 |
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