Common garden snails/slugs

OldChamKeeper

OldChamKeeper

Chameleon Enthusiast
So, I've never given it a thought over the years but might as well ask, common garden snails ok to feed a chameleon? How about slugs?
 
Ya know, I am curious to hear a solid answer from someone that's been feeding them for a while as well.

I heard that snails can build up toxins and metals in their shells as they form over time and THAT can be bad to chams. I've also heard that they can carry parasites as well but this was all "heard".

I have also heard that they can carry a fair bit of calcium in their shells which is good for the chams.

I personally haven't tried it although I used to collect and feed the night time invaders, slugs, to my chickens. Never though of the chams....

I wonder if someone here on the forums has thoroughly explored this and cares to enlighten the rest of us? :D
 
Any organism can carry parasites. I'm not sure if it's worth the risk. But I am also curious as to whether or not its generally safe.

If you're worried about slugs and snails, i believe the flesh of the snail itself can be extracted from its shell, so although the toxins and metals built up in the shells is a good point, they could certainly be avoided altogether.

I myself will stick to bugs
 
I used to feed my Jackson's snails and slugs... he loved them. I never had any issues with him getting his mouth glued shut from slime, but always worried. I believe you can feed them cornmeal(what they do for escargot), it will clean them out, then gutload. It was 15+ years ago, didnt know any thing about parasites or bugs, just that he needed to eat, and i didnt have a petshop for 50+ miles. I also caught wild hoppers, flying termites, large carpenter ants, any thing i could to supplement his feeding.
 
Parasites are a big issue for wild caught snails. They are great feeders but not directly from the wild. Yes, any feeder can have a parasite, but why introduce a known vector to your Cham's diet.

I am rebuilding my snail colony currently. I have about a dozen wild caught adults. Once they lay eggs, I transfer the eggs to a separate, clean tank. Once those hatch, that should break the parasite cycle. Then, I periodically repeat the cycle just in case.

Snails are easy to catch, easy to care for, and easy to breed. My jax goes crazy for them, so it makes sense to breed my own colony. That is what I would suggest if you are interested in snails as feeders. They are very difficult to get online because of USDA agricultural peat restrictions.

Slugs I don't use as feeders. Their slime is an irritant as a defense mechanism. Plus, they gross me out.
 
I agree with what lathis stated. I started my colony w wild caught adults, it didn't take long to get eggs and have clean feeding size babies. I have a blog as well.

http://feederinsectbreeding.blogspot.com/2014/05/land-snail-care-and-breeding.html?m=1

I risk some wild caught insects, but snails would not be one I would. Just breed them and separate the eggs. I have pictures of eggs on my blog as well.

Totally worth it for my Jackson, they are his favorite food by far.
 
I've thought of starting a snail colony but how would I know which wild caught snails are readily breedable? The ones I can find locally are generally quite small. There is one location where I found some large ones and wish I had collected them because I believe them to be one of the European species used as food.
 
Garden Snails (Cornu aspersum) are a great feeder if you captive breed them to eliminate the concern of parasites. I had a captive colony going for about 4 to 5 years and I am starting a colony of garden snail for my greenhouse chameleons again soon. They are a great natural source of Calcium for chameleons and my Calumma parsonii parsonii ate them occasionally like popcorn. Both chameleon species from the genus Trioceros, such as Trioceros werneri and the Trioceros jacksonii subspecies, and Calumma such as Calumma parsonii parsonii and reports of Calumma globifer seem to relish occasionally making a meal out of (captive bred) Garden Snails. I would not be surprised if more chameleon species ate snails regularly.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/mem...r-insects-picture11867-snail-laying-eggs.html

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich
__________________
 
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Most species should be pleased to breed in a moist environment with plenty of food and somewhere to lay. I believe some snails species are gendered and some are not gendered. If you have a colony of 6 to 12, it shouldn't matter.

I actually like the smaller snails. They can be fed off longer. My Jax is a little guy, even for a Jackson's chameleon, so anything bigger than dime sized becomes a breeder or gets frozen. I had C. aspersum previously, and they get rather large. I "think" I have X. fosteri (bladetooth wedges) now that were wild collected. They are overall much smaller.
chamsarecool said:
I've thought of starting a snail colony but how would I know which wild caught snails are readily breedable? The ones I can find locally are generally quite small. There is one location where I found some large ones and wish I had collected them because I believe them to be one of the European species used as food.
Click to expand...
 
I have some salamanders I think might like them and I cannot bring myself to breed slugs. Are the adults hard to pull out of their shells? I had the idea I might pull them out of the shell and feed just the soft body.
 
Look what hatched this morning! So tiny! uploadfromtaptalk1432042082990.jpg
 
I started my Garden Snail (Cornu aspersum) breeding terrarium today. I had a 45 gallon terrarium going last time. This time I am going with a taller 20 gallon terrarium for my breeding colony. These Garden Snail love to climb. I am going to make a mix of organic soils (Peat Moss and other organic soils), add a rotten log for a refuge, plus some water, some leafy plant matter as food and that should start things off good.

A show this is what I have got going on to start.

9VzXqK.jpg


Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich
 
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chamsarecool said:
I have some salamanders I think might like them and I cannot bring myself to breed slugs. Are the adults hard to pull out of their shells? I had the idea I might pull them out of the shell and feed just the soft body.
Click to expand...

Why? The shells have a lot of calcium in them.
 
I get these big chunky snails in my backyard biggest I found so far was larger then a golfball! O_O
hGfiA8sl.jpg


Was thinking of trying to maybe attempt breeding these for food & to rid the offering feeders of parasites etc.

My plan was 3 primary live feeders, each 3 hopefully cultivated for longevity.

This snail is 1, crickets and silk worms.
 
IMG_20150526_173930_zpscklymhu7.jpg


I found this guy a few weeks ago and have been keeping him in my bioactive frog setup. With this "isolation" would he be okay to be fed to a veiled? He would have only had access to the plants that are cham-safe (ex. ficus), and the dirt/coco husk mixture is all organic, no pesticides etc Is there a way to determine if they have parasites or not?
 
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