Snail Housing Guide

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The Ultimate Guide to Land Snail Housing

Part of a collaborative effort to improve care within the hobby

Note: This information in this guide is intended for use with land snails only. Please
seek advice from experienced fish keepers regarding the housing of
aquatic/semi-aquatic snails.

Updated: 30 September 2021.


______________________________________________________________________

Part 1: What style of housing should I get?

KEY:
Poor
Good
Great

Faunarium Reptile terrarium Fishtank Storage box

Looks

Visibility Good - Great - Terrariums Great - Fishtanks Poor - Storage


Faunariums are are made of glass are made of boxes are not
designed for and have high glass and have designed
animals, but are visibility. high visibility. specifically for
commonly snails, and the
made of plastic plastic is often
which can mist cloudy, though
up. clearer variants
can be found.

Ventilation/ Poor - Good - Most reptile Good - Fishtanks Great - Storage


Humidity Faunariums terrariums have a have solid lids, boxes don't come
Retention have a lot of mesh roof, which which are mostly with ventilation, so
ventilation as needs to be suitable for you can engineer it
they're more covered up for snail keeping snails to perfection for
designed for keeping since it while still the species of
animals which dries out a lot ventilating. snail you are
require lower faster. This can be keeping. You can
humidity, so you done by cutting use a heated
would need to plexiglass to make screwdriver to
find a way to your own lid or make the correct
cover up 80% of covering the mesh. amount of holes.
the ventilation.

Price Low - High - Buying a High - Buying a Low - Storage


Faunariums can reptile terrarium fish tank new boxes can be
be found new can be can be found in most art
cheaply at pet expensive, expensive, or hardware
shops and can especially for the especially for the shops, and can be
be as cheap as larger sizes. larger sizes. as cheap as
5GBP. However, buying However, buying 2GBP.
second hand can second hand can
be cheaper. be cheaper.

Escapability Low - Low - Terrariums High - Fish tanks Low - Storage


Faunariums are are designed for commonly have boxes have no
designed for animals, and large holes in the holes (Apart from
animals, and escaping would be lid to run filter your self-made
escaping would extremely difficult. wires out of for ventilation holes,
be extremely fish, so these but those are tiny)
difficult. holes would so are almost
have to be impossible to
plugged. escape from.

Please note that wooden reptile vivariums are not suitable for terrestrial snails, as the
high humidity will warp the wood, substrate cannot be made deep enough for a snail,
and it cannot be heated safely.
Part 2: What size housing should I buy?

It's commonly thought that the bigger the housing your snail is in, the better. This is not
true. Snails only have so much energy, and if they live in an enclosure that's far too
large, they will expend all their energy searching for their food. This is especially
important for growing snails. Snails use energy to make their shells grow, and if they're
in an enclosure that's too big for them, then they redirect that energy to moving. This
causes slower growth and as a result, the snails will end up a lot smaller (Read: Only a
few centimetres in shell length) then they would've if they had been in a suitably-sized
enclosure. For information on housing for juvenile snails, see parts 2 and 3 of 'The
Ultimate Guide to Breeding Land Snails', by Syd#7124.

For mature snails, you can use the following link to help determine the ideal size for
your snails:

https://www.petsnails.co.uk/snail-calc.php

While this is a helpful resource, this lists the bare minimum size, so buying ones a little
bit bigger than the given measurements can be a good idea. At the end of the day,
using your common sense is a helpful thing to do.

This calculator also says that you cannot keep one snail alone, however this is untrue.
Snails don't have the brain capacity to have 'friends'. You may notice keeping more than
one snail means individuals are more active, however this is due to perceived
competition for food more than anything.
Part 3: What substrate should I use?

Many new snail keepers will change their substrate completely as part of their cleaning
routine. This should NOT be done, as snails rely on a buildup of healthy bacteria in their
substrate, and changing it will do so much more harm than good. If you find you have
to, as an absolute last resort, try not to do more than a half-change of the substrate.
People will often say that mixing coir and topsoil is 'more beneficial', however research
has been done on this and shown to not be the case.

Here's a link to the research:


https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1sEIa_BqYlmtK2MMD1wzGUtvR8xcTaXEN

The substrate depth should be as deep as the length of your largest snail's shell, plus
two or three inches so they can bury themselves.

Oyster shell flakes are great to be mixed in with your choice of substrate, as they're a
source of calcium, and your snails will explore to pick them out and eat them.

GOOD:
Coir/Coco bedding: Coir is perhaps the most popular choice for terrestrial snails. It's
lightweight, affordable, and doesn't smell. It is sold in dehydrated blocks, and you can
find it at pet shops and reptile shops. Once hydrated and put in your tank, your coir
should be damp, and if you pick up a handful and squeeze it, should only expel a drop
or two of water, and should retain the squeezed shape when you open your hand.

Spider Life Substrate: Spiderlife substrate is also suitable for snails, although it is just a
mix of coir, vermiculite, and woodchips, so for the price it costs, you'd be better off
mixing it yourself.

Topsoil: Topsoil is heavier and denser than coir, and is more prone to becoming
saturated than coir if you don't have enough ventilation. It is sold at garden centres,
though when you buy it you MUST make sure you buy plain, untreated topsoil, so you
don't accidentally buy one with chemicals in it which can be harmful to your snails.
When you choose what brand, make sure it has no fertiliser, hydro balls, additives or
plant food in it.
BAD:
Peat: Peat is not suitable for snails as it is normally far too acidic in its pH value for
snails. Most peat is also harvested in a highly unsustainable manner.

Compost: Compost is not suitable for snails as it usually has harmful additives for
gardening that would harm snails if used as a substrate.

Part 4: What can I use to heat my housing?

Here's a link to a handy heating guide:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PfVn7a-XwnSaVjVscFsJT9ksTunq-YnbBo3jelkb_
Zk/edit?usp=sharing

Part 5: What can I use to decorate my housing?

Snails are inquisitive and love to explore their environment. Decorating your tank and
adding enrichment for them can provide stimulation for them.

Some ideas of things to add to your enclosure:


- Sphagnum moss.
- Cork bark.
- Fake plants. (Snails can sometimes eat silk plants, so be careful)
- Live plants.
- Leaf litter.
- Sticks.
- Branches.
- Water dish.

If you choose to collect items such as sticks, branches, leaf litter or moss from your
local forest, make sure you collect away from paths or anywhere that animals may have
urinated on them, and that they haven't been sprayed with fertiliser or pesticide.
Live plants should be non-toxic. You can also get some edible plants for your snails to
chew and eat safely. The list below comprises a comprehensive list of plants for snails:

https://petsnails.proboards.com/thread/7851/safe-plants-tanks?fbclid=IwAR2nBK_8aG8
HYRZMHPKgi-IT51oamC378QegP2OWXtTcGLoxCZs2zwidKoY

This list is an encyclopedia of care needs for plants, so you can cross-reference care
needs to the conditions of your enclosure to make the plants last longer:

https://www.guide-to-houseplants.com/house-plants-encyclopedia-a-z.html

Water dishes are optional for your snail. They get their moisture from the humidity in the
air, so they aren't a requirement. If you choose to have one, you should have a shallow,
PLASTIC dish. If they fall on anything harder than plastic they can crack their shells,
sometimes fatally. The depth of the water should be shallow enough not to cover the
breathing hole of your smallest snail.

All enclosures need some form of hide. You can use reptile hides such as the ones
made of coconut shell, or you can use a plastic flower pot on its side, half-buried in the
soil. This is important for their health since it can reduce stress by having a place to
hide.

Part 6: I want a cleanup crew. What should I get?

Springtails: Springtails are probably the most common animal to co-house with snails.
They're tiny, white bugs. They live in the soil and are completely harmless for your snail.
They eat faecal matter and old food. Usually, you just find them in your substrate after a
while of snail keeping. Alternatively, you can buy boxes of them from reptile shops to
release into your setup.

Woodlice: Woodlice, a kind of isopod, are also good for keeping in your snail enclosure.
They eat decaying and faecal matter and pose no threat to your snails. You can pick
them up from your garden, and put them straight into your enclosure without
quarantining them. Some of the most popular types of isopods to keep with your snails
are:
- Porcellio scaber
- Armadillidium vulgare
- Porcellio pruinosus
Hypoaspis Mites: Hypoaspis mites are predatory mites that are smaller than springtails,
and eat harmful parasites in your enclosure, such as nematodes (small white worms).
You can buy them from reptile shops or online, however, you should only get these if
you have an infestation of nematodes or other parasites as they will eat the harmful
things, and then die off.

Although earthworms can be kept in with snails, they're not really effective as a cleanup
crew, and there have been cases of them crawling into snails breathing holes, so they're
not ideal.

This information was compiled with the help of the staff teams on the Discord servers
'Gastropod Enthusiasts' and 'r/Snails'. More care advice and the rest of the care guides
from this series can be found following this link to join:
https://discord.gg/JEWuQCk6JP
https://discord.gg/Y8Q2Vk4w2H

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