How to keep a pet snail – a beginner’s guide

Ever wondered how to keep a pet snail? We’ll answer that question and many more in this thorough post. Believe it or not, keeping a snail as a pet is actually more common than you might think. There is an active community on the internet about the subject, with forums and blogs completely dedicated to these slimy little things. While we won’t answer everything in this post, we try to go over the most important parts and help you feel comfortable taking your first steps into the world of snail-keeping.

How to house your pet snail

The snail’s environment is of big importance to keep your snail content as a pet. Indoor pet snails do well in glass containers, such as aquariums or terrariums. The container should be of appropriate size, ideally 10 gallons (~40 liters) to house a few snails. Smaller containers will leave too little room for each snail. Additionally, it is harder to control the humidity in tanks that are too small.

Now add about 10 cm of soil, evenly spread across the bottom of the tank. Keep in mind that snails do not like acidic soil. Preferably you check the pH of the soil you purchase. Try to find one with a pH of 8 or more. Soil from your garden will also do just fine, maybe you can take it from where you found the snail in the first place?

Give your snail a place to hide

Snails like to hide away during the day, so it is essential to give them a hiding spot. This could be a pile of rocks, a tilted flower pot, or just about anything else that will shelter it. Think of this as the snail’s home. 

You want to recreate the snail’s natural habitat, so feel free to add in some plants, branches, and moss. Go for plants that don’t need a lot of sunlight. Snails can dry out if they are exposed to too much sun.

As far as humidity in the tank goes, this will depend a lot on the type of snail you decide to keep. Some will want more, and some will want less. Try to find the specific needs of the type of snail you have adopted and aim for the recommended humidity. To increase humidity in the tank, simply spray water on the soil and the walls. Openings in the tank are another way of controlling humidity: fewer openings lead to higher humidity, and vice versa.

What to feed a pet snail? 

The snail’s diet is one of the most essential things to get right to keep your snail happy and healthy. Snails are omnivores, meaning they eat plants as well as meat, decaying vegetation, animal feces, and other snails. 

The largest part of your snail’s diet should be made up of vegetables and fruits. It is recommended to feed it chopped up bits of a variety of vegetables and fruits, such as lettuce, cucumber, apples, carrots, and any other greens you may have lying around. Do keep in mind though, that foods that are highly acidic, such as tomatoes and oranges, can be harmful to your snail in high dosages. They are fine to include as part of your snail’s diet, but should not make up a big part of it.

Try to keep it organic!

As with any other animal, snails should not consume foods that have been treated with chemicals. While it is impossible to completely exclude this from your pet snail’s diet if you get their food from the store, you should try your best it. Your snail will thank you for it!

Arguably, the most important component of a snail’s diet is calcium. It keeps their shells strong, and usually makes up about 95% of the shell’s mass. The importance of the snail’s shell can not be understated. It acts as the sole protection for the animal’s soft body, greatly protecting them from threats that could otherwise kill them. Calcium is absolutely necessary for the shell to grow and heal cracks and erosion.

Remember the calcium

To keep your snails healthy, consider feeding them eggshells. Eggshell provides your snail with calcium, which is very important for the snail’s shell to grow strong, and heal any damages. This can be in the form of whole (or smaller bits) of eggshells, or in powder form. While snails can easily absorb nutrition from whole eggshells, griding it down to powder will make it easier for them to digest. To make eggshell powder, simply boil regular eggs for about 10 minutes, roast them in the microwave or oven for another 5 to 10 minutes, and then grind them down. The grinding can be done either by hand, or in a coffee grinder, or blender. Feed your pet eggshells regularly, as part of its’ regular diet.

Do snails need company? 

While snails can live happily on their own, they often do better with one or more companions. In many cases, snails seem happier together. Multiple snails open up the possibility of mating, which could be a fun part of your life as a snail keeper. 

While some studies have shown that snails are greatly affected by loneliness, some individual snail-keepers report unchanged behavior when adding multiple snails to a tank. Some snails need company more than others, so don’t be afraid to experiment.

Caring for a snail’s shell

The shell is a critical part of a snail’s “physique”. It functions as a protection against external threats, infections and keeps it from drying out. A snail with a broken shell will experience more stress since the primary protection is out of play. This stress often causes the snail to hide away, eating less and generally being less active.

So if your snail has a broken shell, what do you do? Well, good news: Snails naturally repair their shells by themselves, so long as the damage is not too extensive. This ability to self-heal is so powerful that they can heal more sensitive areas such as their eyes too. 

If the damage to the shell is extensive, you can assist your snail in the healing process. Consider removing any loose parts, and gently clean the snail to see the extent of the damage. You can raise the humidity in the tank to prevent the exposed parts from drying out. You should feed your snail extra calcium, as this is critical for the healing process. 

It will probably eat less than normal for a while until the healing process has gotten started. This is normal. Consider an increase in appetite a good sign that your snail is on its way to recovery.