Quiet pets
This mollusc is considered a dangerous pest of crops, because it likes to eat young shoots of plants. Its importation into the countries of North and South America is prohibited by law. And in a number of European countries, this animal on the contrary became so rare that organizations of environmentalists had to take it under guard. Nevertheless, in Europe and Russia there are farms where this shellfish is grown for food. And, if in the Middle Ages the meat of this animal was fed even by the poorest classes, today it is considered a delicacy.
We think that you have already understood that it is a grape snail habitual for us. In addition to gastronomic interest, it can become for you and your children a good pet - the content of grape snails is not difficult even for the child.
Grape home snails are quiet, unpretentious, do not take away much attention and time every day. A grape snail at home can live up to 30 years. She takes a little space in the apartment, she eats a little, and watching her is a complete pleasure.
Small house for a cochlea
For the cultivation of grape snails you will need a molluscaria. Suitable as a glass terrarium for turtles , and a plastic container. The main requirement for capacity is that it should be with a lid, because snails like climbing on vertical surfaces. In the molluscia there must be holes for ventilation: grape home snails make only one breath-out for a minute and are very sensitive to the accumulation of carbon dioxide.
The substrate for molluscaria consists of moist earth and activated carbon in granules (in a proportion of 6.5: 1). The earth should be moist, but not wet. In extreme cases, the wet sand will do. It is recommended to make a pool in the molluscan saucer, in which a little water is poured.
Lighting the house for a snail can be fluorescent lamps, the duration of a light day is 12 hours. The temperature should be maintained at about 20 ° C.
In molluscaria, a calcium-containing element must necessarily be present - for example, the cuttlefish shell. Calcium is necessary for snails to build and maintain in the order of their shells.
If you are making a mollusk in a spacious terrarium, add stones, branches, snags, fragments of a ceramic pot (make sure that there are no sharp chips) - the snails like to hide under them. You can plant and plants, but a high probability that the snails will eat them. Daily it is necessary to remove the remains of food in molluscaria, to wipe the walls from mucus and spray them from the spray to maintain the humidity of the air.
Feeding and reproduction
Mollusks are unpretentious in food, and you can feed them the same as eating grape snails in nature. Suitable leaves of grapes, cabbage, sorrel, dandelion, clover, plums, cucumbers, tomatoes and many other plants. In winter it will be practical to plant a salad in the pot - the snails adore its leaves - and feed the snail with citrus, pumpkin, and potatoes. Variants, than to feed a grape snail, it is a lot of, but meal before feeding it is necessary to cut into small slices.
Breeding grape snails at home is a complex process, because in order to start breeding, snails need to spend the winter months in hibernation. Grape snails are hermaphrodites, but they still need a pair to mate. After mating and fertilization, the snails dig in the ground deepening and lay eggs in them. When the masonry is done, the parents are planted. In a month, small snails will hatch and dig their way to the surface. In six weeks they can be transplanted to adults. About two thirds of the animals survive from the masonry to 30-40 eggs, but getting the snails to breed in captivity is not an easy thing, therefore at home snails breed infrequently.