Pet snails make great pets. No, seriously.
It’s easy to care for a snail!
Below you’ll find all the information you need to know, including general snail care, how to care for a snail, what to feed them, and how to make a healthy snail home. Let’s get started.
Why keep pet snails?
- They’re quiet
- They don’t take much work
- A simple set up is quite inexpensive
- Children can handle snails (see important information below)
- They may be slow but they can be interesting to watch
- They are a unique pet
- Their food can be left-overs from your fridge
Where can you find snails?
You can find snails in the garden most of the time. In our previous house, we didn’t find a snail once (and we actively look for creepy crawlies) but as soon as we added a vegetable garden it was almost like it was an open invitation for snails to visit us. We usually find ours tucked up under a lettuce leaf.
Pet snail care
Pet snail home
The enclosure can be as simple or as extravagant as you’d like. It is can be a plastic takeaway container if you’re only intending to keep and observe them for a couple of days. But if you’re going to keep them for longer, a larger enclosure would be better for the snails.
It’s important the enclosure provides a good amount of ventilation. Snails don’t mind a bit of humidity but they do need fresh air. This is the enclosure I use for most of my children’s pet critters.
Soil/Substrate
We used regular soil from the garden and, because we had it on hand from making a wildlife-themed terrarium a while ago, I also added some sphagnum moss. Both are great substrates for snails and should be added 7 -10cm deep in the enclosure. Keep the substrate clean and moist at all times. A spray bottle is perfect to moisten substrates and furnishings in the enclosure without making it too wet.
Snail Home and other furnishings
Snails like to hide in dark places, although some like to sit near the lid and others even under the dirt. Providing plenty of places that allow the snail to be where it makes them happy is good for your snails. We added a terracotta pot and a stick for climbing but you can add real plants, rocks and twigs too.
What do you feed a snail?
Snails eat fruit and veggies (avoid citrus foods) but these foods soil quickly. I’d suggest adding a food bowl. It makes the cleanup and addition of fresh food much easier than if you added it straight to the bottom of the tank. Remember to wash the food before you give it to them. Many fruits and veggies come home with pesticides on their skins and if you feed it to them, it will kill your snails.
Also, snails need calcium to keep their shells healthy, so adding a bit of cuttlefish or dried crushed eggshells to the side of the dish is important too. For a good list of food that snails love and for more information on why snails need calcium in their diet, visit this great website all about pet snails.
Is handling snails safe?
Is it okay to hold snails? It is fine to hold a snail but ensure you use proper health practices and wash you and your child’s hands straight after holding a snail. Also, I’d suggest that children be fully supervised as people can get sick if they eat snails.
Maintenance and snail care
There are plenty of positives for keeping snails but I love that they don’t take a lot of work. The side of the snail enclosure should be wiped down once a week and the substrate changed once a month. Also, ensure you take out any rotten food and replace it with fresh food every couple of days. Easy!
I find watching snails quite relaxing. They just slither around at their own pace and enjoy their surroundings. The girls really seem to enjoy watching them too.
We had these snails in a takeaway container for two weeks while moving house and I could tell they were happy when put into their new enclosure. They became active right away.
We won’t keep them forever. We’ll have to decide if we are going to let them go in our veggie garden, I dare say we will.
Check out our snail ebook and printables!
Caring for a pet is a great learning tool for children, but it can also create more work for busy parents and educators!
Keeping garden snails as pets is one of the most low maintenance and cost-effective pet options available. This eBook includes everything you need to know about caring for, feeding, handling, cleaning and of course, snail safety.
In our modern tech-driven society, keeping pet snails can provide ways to enhance your child’s development, imagination, self-esteem, and sense of responsibility. Inside you’ll find tips and activities to involve your children in the slimy snail fun and reconnect them with nature and the environment during the process.
What are people saying about the snail pack?
Plus there’s a heap of great snail printables to enhance your child’s learning opportunities.
The pack also includes a:
- Snail observation journal
- All about my snail sheet
- Poster: What can a snail teach me?
- Parts of a snail poster
- Snail vocabulary cards
- Snail nature craft
Follow on activities
- Learn about snails, their breeding, predators and where they fit into the food chain
- Find out more about animals that carry homes on their backs
- Make a shell using recycled materials and put it on your back, now you can pretend to be a snail!
- Race your snails. Mark their shell with a little bit of nail polish (if you can’t tell them apart) and race them!
- Conduct snail investigations
- Make this fun snail craft
If you like snails you might like keeping mealworms as pets too!
Isn’t there a dangerous germ snails carry that paralysed & killed some kids last year ?
My mum told me this and absolutely freaked when she seen dimples giving his blue tongue snails with his bare skin!
Hi Renee, I think it’s important to be aware that snails (and all animals) have diseases. In Australia there’s been a case of a child contracting Rat Lungworm by (they think) eating a snail. She sadly passed away because of it. It is apparently quite rare and most people recover if they contract it. This website has some great information on it http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/factsheets/infectious/rat_lung_worm.html
In my post I did stress that children holding snails should be fully supervised and that washing hands is important after holding snails. Many animals have Zoonotic diseases (diseases that can be passed from animal to humans) so I think it’s important to be health conscious when ever you’re touching animals but I wouldn’t take the experience of touching a snail away from them because of it. Just make sure you’re fully supervising the activity. 🙂
Thanks so much for providing that information. That is a big help & eases my mind.
I do let my son still handle snails and go snail hunting in our garden with supervision of course and hand washing after. 🙂 thanks for replying
No, thank you Renee! I think many parents would have asked the same valid question as you.
Hi, my name is Samantha and Yesturday I let my daughter have a pet snail that I saw crawling on the house… I told her that after EVERY TIME she holds it to wash her hands.. Well, she had just played with her snail, I told her to wash her hands and I got her something to eat.. Gave her, her food and she started eating.. I looked at her after she started eating and said, “You washed your hands right?” and she said, “Opp’s I forgot!” Should I be worried… Please reply soon. I’m very worried.
Hi Sammy, I’m sorry this has happened and that you’re feeling really concerned for your daughter. I’m not an expert on snails but I would read this website to either set your mind at ease or determine whether you should take your daughter for a check up http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/factsheets/Pages/Rat-Lung-Worm.aspx . It mainly says, if you EAT a snail so I’d be surprised if someone got rat lung worm just from a bit of its slime from their hands. I hope that helps.
Thanks a lot to both of you Penny and Renee for this info, it’s exactly what I need. Mu mom too was very concerned about parasites and germs. Our family has adopted 2 snails we found in our garden. At first we thought they would only live of a couple of weeks, but after some research we understood that our little friends might be with us for a long time! So we got them a proper enclosure in our house and they a thriving… I could even swear they recognize us when we pick them up to play on our fingers.
I am so glad you have made friends with some snails. Enjoy them xx
Penny
Hello! Try using throw away gloves.
Thanks Patricia but I’d prefer not to use throw away gloves as it’s just adding more plastic to the world. The world doesn’t need any more plastic than it already has 🙂
You probably could buy yourself some reusable rubber gloves and wash them a lot
Great idea Brynn!
However snails in the UK and other countries are safe to eat. Also if you wash your hands there’s no real issues
That’s good to know. I would suggest everyone check before eating snails though. xx
Thats austrailia almost everything is trying to kill you and is dangerous so if you live in canada or america most snails are harmless
It’s a shame that’s what you hear about Australia. It’s not bad at all. Our wildlife are just incredible, even the venomous ones. 🙂
Unfortunately, that’s not true, Rat Lungworm has neen found in the U.S. as well. So it is just as important here to follow the “wash your hands sfter handling” guidelines.
I was just thinking that its about time we got a low maintenance pet for our preschooler. A snail might be just the thing.
A snail or two Kylie 🙂
Must keep this in mind next time we find a snail in our garden. (Must confess, I automatically think of them as pests, but you do bring out very good points here Penny). xo P
Most of us do see them as pests, and they kind of are when we are trying to grow food to eat but sometimes pests can come in handy 😉
I am a siencetist and I will love to keep snails as pets. At school people shouted and screamed at me and my brother from looking at snails. I still hate that memory so I frogot about it then went back a year later to looking after them. Most of the snails liked me!
I think that snails are cute ?
You can also bring them outside every once in a while ☺️.
Aiyiyi, I’d never heard of them being possibly dangerous. Apparently I was caught eating snails in the backyard as a kid. haha. Oh well, we will just be more diligent washing hands in future! Thanks for all the info. It’d be fun to keep for a while 🙂
I could just imagine you as a toddler putting a snail in your mouth! What a giggle.
Luckily that snail didn’t have the disease. I wonder if eating them raw provides a different type of nutrition for growth? he he he, maybe it makes you great at math play ideas :p
Geez…you will have me interested in keeping snakes soon hehe You always have such good tips and advice and reasons WHY!! i bet kids would love watching them, never thought about keeping them as pets. I’m not loving them in my vegie patch at the moment i have to say! Such an informative post Penny…as usual i learnt a lot!
Will I Jode? Will I? I’d just love for you to hold one. :p
I’m about to start a veggie patch in our new home and I’m hoping we won’t get too many but I am looking forward to doing a post on it (and perhaps on organic ways to deter them from entering your garden patch).
Penny…
I’ve heard that of you line the square foot of your garden area with pennies they won’t cross that barrier. Something to do with the alkaline in the copper?!?!?!
I’m not sure Michelle. I’ve never heard of that one. My suggestion would be to get a blue tongued lizard!
I am just 10 years old and even though I am Young I got my snail Darla ,so me and my mom were potting plants I then we saw Darla I knew that she was not in good condition her shell was very very weak so I took care of Darla and now I just loved her so much that I have now decided to keep her my mom allowed me too now I am gonna mover her from her old box into a proper critter box from the store I will buy it with my savings 😉😉😉
Kids love snails and they seem low maintenance. Could be good in a classroom.
I think snails would be great in a classroom Kate!
Yeah… they are ,but I have them for the night and they have had 18 eggs. There are 8 or 9 snails
When I was in graduate school for education, my science for kids teacher had us use snails as a project to teach us how to teach science. We had to observe many things about them and then record our findings. So whenever I see snails (now slugs are another thing)I feel a bit of a fondness for them
What a lovely idea and it’s wonderful that that experience has stuck with you. I love to hear stories like this, that’s the very reason I want my children to feel connected to nature. Thanks for sharing your story Faigie!
Never thought about a snail pet before…and I like it!
Glad you like it Kelly! There will be more pet options coming along. I have a few more animals to play with yet!
I feel like this post was written for me! We get some pretty awesome Giant African Snails here and I’ve been meaning to keep some for the girls to watch more regularly but I didn’t know to care for them. Thank you! I’m pinning this!
*sigh*I’ve missed visiting you. Tonight I’m going to visit and scroll for a while. I’m so sorry I haven’t popped over for a bit. I never feel like I have enough time. On another note, Happy Mother’s Day beautiful!
Oh and I look forwards to seeing some Giant African Snails, hey sounds spectacular!
Totally love easy pets, this is great, my son was reading this with me, guess what he wants now 😉
Good luck with that Nathalie. he he he. You can have one of ours if you like. :p
We have been talking about this very thing. I thought it would be fun to have a snail “garden” for a while, but my eldest is adement that we do not do it because “snails need to be free.” So, we won’t be having a snail garden…yet! 🙂
You can have them for a couple of weeks and then free them. That should meet the requirements. 🙂
My son loves snails and will pick them up and put them all into one container… then we watch them all escape! Then we all wash our hands 🙂
That is such a cute idea. I’d love to see photos of that. I’ll do that one day when I can find enough snails to do it. :p
What an incredible and unusual idea yet so simple. I love the fact they are quiet -mthey sound like the perfect housemate. I am going to ask my daughter if she’d like some as pets, I know,she wants a dog, but this might be a good fill in till we get one 🙂
They are an entertaining housemate, that’s for sure. They are so much more active than they were in the little container. It’s quite interesting. Also, if they don’t want you to see them, they just bury themselves in the dirt (I think we can all relate to that).
The twinlets are loving animals more and more. And you’ve listed some great reasons why a snail would make a great low-maintenance pet! I’m particularly not fond of them myself but I bet the boys would love them.
Oh Gracie, I could imagine your boys holding them on their fingers, fascinated. 🙁 Gosh getting clucky over twin boys is not a good idea though! lol
dear penny, 50 or so years ago when i was a kid, i had a snail. “she” was the size of a fifty cent piece. i had found her in the woods. i fed her veggies and canned dog food. i would let her out of her tank and give her dog food on a tooth pick. mom never said i couldnt hold her,but she said my skin salt could burn her. i had her more than a year and one day there was hundreds of clear snails in her tank. sadly my mom dropped her and we buried her in the iris bed. i am 59 and still think of her.
Oh Pat, your comment warmed my heart. That was so lovely to read and exactly the type of wildlife experience I want to bring to children. I really appreciate you sharing your story.
I now have the happiest 3year old in the world. He’s been after a pet for ages even though he already has a pony, dog,4 cats and a bearded dragon. He’s already fallen in love with Brian and Melody. I’m just curious as how to tell if there male or female?
I think it’s quite complicated Brenda. Many species of snail are hermaphrodite, meaning they can have both male and female reproductive organs.
Hi. I accidently brought a snail home from a vacation in Wales a year ago. I had picked up a few shells, washed them well with soap and water, …3 times. They flew home in my luggage. Then after a week and a half home my granddaughter was admiring the shells and one started moving. The poor guy was starving. I quickly googled to see what to feed him. I had him on my hand and offered apple and carrot. I could actually feel him pulling on the apple as he ate. I didn’t know what to do with him. That is how I came to have a pet snail. My granddaughter named him Gary. Well 9 months later (I only had the 1snail) I find 48 eggs. They hatched very quickly into 48 baby snails. I must say they are very curious creatures and entertaining to watch.
A good idea for a pet. In addition, it is very easy to maintain and the kids would love checking on their little pet all the time.
My two girls found snail each the other day, we put them in a bug catcher and i was going to let them go after a few days, but you have convinced my to keep them, will improve their home today…also when my daughter got them out yesterday to have a play she wanted to know why they were joined together….”are they holding hands mummy”….might have more than two snails soon I think! 😉 any ideas about baby snails?
I don’t know a lot about baby snails. I’ve never bred them, but I’m sure it would be a fun adventure to find out how they reproduce together and have babies.
I have a big garden snail, this realy helped me thanks so much!
You’re welcome Kinsey, thank you for dropping by
After a really big storm I found hundreds of tiny snails. I collected a few of them, then a few of days later I was emptying my pool skimmers and on the top lot the lid was this really big snail, I picked it up (carefully) and put it with the others. (I named him Gary after Gary the snail in Spongebob Squarepants). Then about a week later I find this HUGE snail on my house, I was so exited, I had found not one but two big snails.
When I ask my mom to buy a bigger case for my snails to have them more room (and something easier to clean) she doesn’t understand why I want to keep them, she even offered to get me a hermit crab. I told her why get a hermit crab when I already have snails, yet she still won’t buy a bigger case.
I was wondering if I should let the little ones go because I heard that if you get a snail you should get two so they have company, so thought I have two big ones why not let the little ones go. Also the little ones like to climb on each other, is that their way of mating?
Jennifer, I love that you love snails. I think they really cute too. You can probably keep them together. I wouldn’t see any reason why you couldn’t. As for mating, I haven’t bred them before, so I would suggest you search the web for that information.
Well, If they climb on eachother it’s just them playing. They have to be fully grown adults to mate.
What could we use to decorate snail shells since we got told not to use nailpolish
Hi Catherine, I’m sorry I’m not sure what you could use. Perhaps anything that has non toxic written on it should be okay but I have never coloured our snail’s shell.
Gosh, please don’t paint your snail. Even stuff labelled non toxic could harm them by not letting their shells breathe. Please don’t paint them!🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
So you CAN keep them for longer term, right? And also, do you have to provide them with larger shells for growing at all? So glad to have found this, as my 5y twins have been loving finding snails in our garden, and keeping them in a box for a day. I’m sure they’d love a more permanent home for them, so will have to make them one!
im glad i found this post and comments , for the last week i been really worried cuz few years ago i saw this tv show where people die cuz they ate live snails , so last week i was at my job and was doing something outside in the grass at night but there were a lot of snails in the grass i tried not to step on them but i think i step on 2 , wasnt on purpose but then i got to my knees and had to put my hand in the grass and it landed in one of the snails that i step on , so because of that and cuz i suffer from anxiety i remember the tv show and was thinking what if i got the parasite ? anyways i did washed my hand right away like 3 times but since last week i been having like tension headaches , i was thinking the worst and still am but thats my anxiety cuz i have feel this way before sometimes when i over worry or when i dont get enough sleep , and thats me right now , but reading this blog and the comments it helps me a bit ,
Hi Jose,
I’m sorry you’re feeling anxious after touching a snail (or snail slime). As long as you washed your hands, you should be fine. All three of my girls have touched snails. I am very mindful to remind them that they must wash their hands after holding snails. When they were young I would supervise them too. In Australia, there are far higher risks than a snail that MAY have rat lungworm though.
i agree.
Yes
Hi Penny,
I really like the idea of the snails to show and teach the kids. But I live in Gympie, Qld and I don’t seem to have any in my yard (but everything else that eats veggies 😉 ).
Do you know someone who could sell and send me a few brown garden snails with a cream coloured foot?
That would be awsome!
Thanks a lot
Claudia
Hi Claudia,
Some pet shops can sell snails but I’m not certain they are the garden variety that you are looking for. Perhaps ring around the pet shops and see if they can point you in the right direction.
I’d suggest not to get someone to send them to you just in case your spreading disease in some way. I’m sure you wouldn’t let your snails go into the wild but sometimes disease can even spread just from the substrates thrown out from the enclosure. I’m not a expert on snails but I’d be cautious of this before getting someone to send them to you.
I hope you found the information helpful and I wish you luck in finding garden snails. I’ve heard they LOVE beer. You could try soaking a cotton ball in beer and putting in your garden. You just never know!
I have a pet snail of my own and I don’t know what to put in it’s box
Hi Rory, be sure to check out the images on this page. They should help.
Penny 🙂
We just found a little snail in our garden, and we’re trying to keep it as a pet, but I see that the shell it’s very small, almost like a finger nail, it’s that normal? maybe it’s a baby? And thanks Penny for all the information that you post here, very helpful.
Hi Sara,
I’ve seen snails like that too. I’m not certain but I’d say they might be a different species of snail. There’s a few out there. Perhaps google images of snails and see if you can see one that’s exactly like the ones you have. Let me know if you’d like me to have a look. You can share it on my facebook page if you like.
Hi Penny,
I’ve been keeping 7 snails as pets now for half a year or so, started collecting for my small children but it seems I am the one who loves watching and playing with them the most. not to mention taking care of them.
Last night I found hundreds of eggs buried in the soil and I am thinking of dumping them out since I do not want any baby snails, at least not in that number.
I would like to know if they will notice it’s gone will they? or miss them?
I know it sounds silly but I just want to make sure it doesn’t make them sad.
Thanks in advance for any information.
Best.
Hi Mindi,
I’m not a snail expert so I am unsure if snails fret. I would think they wouldn’t though. I think it’s lovely that you were worried about them. It’s so thoughtful of you.
Your snails laying eggs means that you have very happy snails, so well done!
Thank you for the reply. I did swap the soil and put lots of greens for them to play and to eat.
So far, they don’t seem too unhappy or act differently so sigh of relief for me.
Many links and posting on your site help me improve the conditions for them already so you are doing a wonderful job keeping us informed.
Who knew so many of grown-ups like to keep snails and enjoy them with so much interested in learning more. did you think this will grow like this when you started the site?
Best, Mindi
You’re welcome Mindi and thank you for your lovely feedback. I had no idea so many people were interested in garden snails as pets but I am so glad they are!
I am 12 years old and me and my 2 sisters have a snail each as a pet! ( mine is called Shelly) we keep our snails in a small open cage but we have no idea what to put in!! They do seem to like the flowers we put in though ! A website I visited said that they can have damp paper. Is that true? What else can we put in our snail orphanage??
Hi Gabriella,
How exciting that you have pet snails! There is a section on this post about food. You can feed then veggies and fruit. They don’t really like the acidic ones though. Good luck with your little pets.
Love! We’ve kept garden snails a few times. One of them had a hole in it’s shell, and it was absolutely fascinating watching the hole ‘shrink’ as the snail grew new shell to cover the hole – it took a few weeks! Great tips here, this will make it easier for next time we adopt some – which might be soon. Was just saying to the kids last week that we should get a new pet snail again soon….
I purchased some pet snails from SnailsInTheMail.com and we LOVE our snails! Just had babies last week and they are so cute! Way better than Gary on Spongebob!
Hi penny,
I was wondering if garden snails could eat fish food because I have lots and Polar my snail seems to always look a me giving the fish its food?
Hi Eleanor,
I’ve never tried it. Give it a try but maybe only a really small bit at first.
Hi penny I found a snail ? At my house and don’t know if it has parasites
Can the vet tell if it does
And also can I have a lepoard gecko AND a snail
Thanks to you Allan
Hi Allan, Thanks for your question. I can’t help I’m afraid, but I’m sure a vet would have some ability to answer your questions, so yes, I’d start there. ~ Pen
I am amazed how intelligent our pet snails are as they always find their way back into their box after being out and about for a little while.
Every time they all three slither slowly over and climb the steep sides of the large box and over they go into the inside.
They are now so tame that they like their little necks gently stroked.
Shimmer, Shine and Cupcake are so sweet.
They prefer to be handled with wet hands and are more responsive.
My 6 year old Grandaughter just loves them.
I kept garden snails for 2 years! Exactly how you have it set up is what I ended up doing. We accidentally broke a snails shell. It started as keeping this one to see if we could help it repair it’s shell. It lived another 2 years and repaired the shell! One thing you’ve left out, they don’t need another snail to reproduce. They lay eggs that hatch and especially in a dirt and moss environment, they can lay them quite frequently. You need to find a good/safe location to scoop out the eggs regularly and put them so that they don’t over take one area. If they hatch, they can actually get out of the top of the terrarium as well! I found about 20 at the bottom of the terrarium (outside of it) one morning! Apart from that, they are fantastic pets. So low maintenance as well. You can’t use any soap or cleaning fluids on their terrarium either, just water. We ended up with 7 total, two different species of them and some that were the babies of the original so we could watch them grow. The hedge species, like what you have pictured, never reproduced.
Our family has had a pet snail for over a year now! He’s not caged, and he lives in our yard in a giant planter in his own environment. I dabbed him with a touch of nail polish so that we can identify him/her, and he just decided to stay with us! At first we’d collect him and put him back in the planter if he wandered off, and now he just chooses not to stray! I bring him snacks, but his best food seems to be from the cedar tree. His name is Sorry and we live in Sweden. He is about the size of a golf ball (or slightly bigger?) And we love him/her! It’s taught my daughter tons about compassion. She knows not to handle him after a discussion about how as humans, we don’t always have to touch an animal to appreciate it.
Hi,
My daughter bought a snail home to be a pet but my other daughter wanted one too so we found some more but not the same type. They are similar in size. Is it safe to put them in the same enclosure?
Thanks,
Angela
Hi Angela, they should be fine for you to add in together. You may eventually get baby snails though 😉
I ran across this big snail in my backyard today! Quite a sight to see. Made an enclosure for it and its been eating for 3 hrs now….wondering if I should release it back in my backyard? I kept it to show my teenage boys and they found it fascinating and cute to watch it eat..but realistically I feel it would be better off in my back yard .
My mother and father didn’t allow me to keep a dog or cat as a pet,so I thought of snails and they worked. I have two of them and they are supercute.
For snail calcium,do eggshells work?
Hi, a while ago I found some garden snails and kept them as pets for a while in a plastic takeaway container with some holes punched out so they could breathe. However, several nights later the snails seemed to be chewing on the sides of the holes. Is it normal/safe for snails to eat plastic?
How interesting Jesse. I don’t think I can answer that one. Although I can say that eating plastic is not safe for snails
Today i went to the garden to play with my sisters after we saw a snail near the door. So i toke it home!!
Daughter: We have started to have pet Snails during Lockdown and they are fun to watch. I like it when they eat as they are very cute. We have been collecting them and then we are planning to release them back into captivity every 3 weeks. These are our first snails. We have been feeding them cucumber and lettuce. They seem to prefer the cucumber.
Parent: At first I was nervous about germs/diseases but after my daughter had researched (thanks) we were reasured that they make great pets. My daughter gets great pleasure from her snails and is looking forward to releasing them back into the wild. Thanks
You’re welcome Christopher. Enjoy your snails, it sounds like you’re having a lot of fun with them
What type of real plants can I put in a snail enclosure? And what do the plants need to thrive?
Great Monica. Anything that’s non-toxic, should be fine for a snail enclosure. The plants need soil, sunlight, and water. Each plant has different needs, so be sure to do some research on the plants you choose.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I just rescued a young small garden snail who was drying out on a wall.
I’m learning about care now & will keep it til the weather is cool or longer. I named it Tiny.
when I put my snail in my paper basket he does’t eat the food, but he eats the paper. is that fine for him?
Why kind of paper Rvan? I’m not sure if I could give you an answer either way. Be sure to continue to provide fresh fruit and vegetables for him. They would be healthier for him.
I have 2 little snails and i am getting them an upgrade today and i am hoping to keep them for a while. sometimes i notice that they have a weird smell as they move around if anyone has any tips please know
We’ll if there is a bad smell that might mean you will have to wash the snail’s shell. If you smell the thing you were smelling in the tank that might mean that the snail is not clean or it might mean that the snail is dying. But if this happens in the tank the smell clean it straight away because it will most likely mean that the snail is died or the water you have in the enclosure is very poor and dirty.
Sienna
I have miracle grow garden soil, will this be okay for the snails??
Hi Taina,
I suggest using clean soil from your garden. Snails are quit sensitive. It might be fine, but it is a risk to your snail health.
Penny
Hello so I’m looking for a snail to keep forever and I live in Oregon and surprisingly I can’t find a single little cute snail righ after it rained and my mom has a veggie garden and I looked there and saw none by the way do you have any name suggestions for a snail
Hi Charissa, keep looking in the garden each day, you will hopefully find one. You might also like to ask friends to look for you too.
Snail names, great question. I really like vintage names like Cecil and Thora but naming your snail is entirely up to you. It’s so fun!
i have a snail it is hard for me to take care of i think i just need to look at a different app
A pet snail on an app? Or a real snail? hahaha
Hi I have a question…. So I’m thinking about getting 2 pet snails, but I have no idea how to tell if the snail is male or female and I don’t want to end up with a bunch or baby snails, so what is your advice?
Hi Valentina,
Most snails are hermaphrodites, meaning they have both male and female sex organs. You may not have much choice.
When I was younger my brother and I had two pet snails Sweat Pea and Jonathan Sweat Pea was really small and cute, while Jonathan was all grown up then we let them go and stoped having snails as pets but I’m now going to have snails as pets and have babies 😁( my mum let me) but I can’t find one single snail!
Perhaps you need to start a vegetable garden first 🙂
I found one just before leaving school on Wednesday! I named her Rosie and is happy right away when we care for her!
I found some snails at the beach should I make their enclosure differently? and should I feed them differently?
Hi Frankie, I would try to find the species of snail that you found and double-check their diet.
Hello!! Ever since I was little I LOVED animals. When I was 4 I found a baby snail and decided to keep it, however I had to let go of it the next day because of my mother. Last year, I went on vacation and I found 5 snails, and again, I took care of them until this November, when they all, sadly, died. Now, I’ve done more research and came across your website and it helped me a lot! Now, my new snail that does not have a name yet will live better than the last ones, thanks to you! I hope he’ll live happily.
I’m so glad the information on here helped Erika 🙂
Penny
I am just 10 too and I found a snail camping! But she is sideways on the side and her shell is just hanging! Is there something wrong?
Hi Vada, it’s not a great sign when their shell is broken. My suggestion would be to take care of her and give her lots of vegetables. Hopefully her shell will heal.