{"id":4402,"date":"2021-07-23T11:54:27","date_gmt":"2021-07-23T11:54:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/keepingbugs.com\/?p=4402"},"modified":"2021-08-03T20:30:46","modified_gmt":"2021-08-03T20:30:46","slug":"giant-african-land-snails-a-practical-care-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/keepingbugs.com\/giant-african-land-snails-a-practical-care-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Giant African Land Snails: A Practical Care Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Did you collect snails when you were a kid and kept them in a jar? Snails can be found everywhere and can easily be kept as pets. But the giant African land snail (Achatina achatina<\/em>) is quite something else. These are real giants, some growing to more than 20cm (8″). But even due to their large size they can make wonderful pets and are very interesting to watch in their enclosure. In this guide, we will discuss how you can care for these magnificent (slimy) creatures. We will look at everything you should know to keep them: the housing, environmental conditions, feeding, cleaning and breeding of them. Become a real snail keeper!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Giant African land snails are easy to keep if you provide them with a fish tank with a good layer of substrate, fresh daily vegetables and proper environmental conditions. These snails like a warm and humid environment. Heating and regularly misting the enclosure keeps your snails healthy and happy. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is much to learn about keeping these wonderful pets. But before diving into the best care for them, let’s talk more about these interesting species. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the giant African land snail<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Giant African Land Snail, Tiger Snail <\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Achatinidae spp. <\/em><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Up to 10 years<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Up to 20cm (8″), some even more<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Up to 32 grams<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Africa<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Appearance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Giant African land snails all have shells that are conical in shape. They are normally twice the height as it is broad. The shell can be both clockwise as counter-clockwise in coiling. However, most snails will have clockwise coiling. Except for their shell, they don’t have any tough structures. The body lacks any bones and is soft and flexible. They get their protection from their shell and they can retract their whole body inside its shell. The colour of the shell depends on the subspecies and diet, but all range from light orange to dark brown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The body exists of three segments: The foot, the head and the visceral sax. The foot is the largest visible part of the body and with wave-like motion propels itself forward. The head contains two parts of stalks. The larger ones contain the eyes, the other two contain smell and touch. The visceral sac is the part that holds the shell. The foot secretes a slimy substance to make movement easier and make it stick to the surface. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The body colour can vary. Most common is the grey body colour, but some have a more creme brown or yellowish body colour. Within the pet industry are also snails that are sold that have a white body colour. This is a special breed of this species but it is not a natural occurrence of body colour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Species of giant African land snails<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The giant African land snail is the common name of several species of unusually large terrestrial snails within the family Achatinidae<\/em>. The most commonly known of them is the giant African snail (Achatina achatina<\/em>), which are also known by the names agate snail or Ghana tiger snail. The other two are the giant east African snail (Lissachatine fulica<\/em>) and the giant west African snail (Archachatina marginata<\/em>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of them are quite commonly kept and very popular as pets, however, Achatina achatina <\/em>is most kept because of their enormous size. They can grow the biggest of them all with recorded shells of over 30cm (12″). In the pet industry, these different species are often sold by the same commonly used name ‘giant African land snail’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Behaviour, temperamant and handling<\/h3>\n\n\n\n