Snails love their food! Here is a quick guide to feeding your snail...
- Cuttlefish – snails MUST have a source of calcium for their shells to grow. Eggshells or limeston flour can be used as an alternative.Rock chalk has also been used effectively.
- Raw food has a higher nutritional content than cooked or processed foods. This is not a comprehensive guide, and some snails enjoy foods that other snails would even dream of eating.
- The more variety a GALS has the happier it will be.
- Experiment with feeding your snails, and if they don’t like it, they won’t eat it!
Here is a quick list of fruit my snails will readily take -
Fruit:
Apple, Grapes, Melon, Blackberry, Banana, Peach, Satsuma, Apricot, Pear, Kiwi, Orange, Plum, Strawberry, Tomato, Mango, Raspberry
Vegetables:
Sweet potato, Pumpkin, Kale, Swede, Leek, Lettuce, Sprouts, Cauliflower, Courgette, Cabbage, Carrot, Sweetcorn, Peas, Beansprouts,Turnip, Broccoli, Watercress, Mushroom, Parsnip, Cucumber, Potato
Other:
Dog biscuits, Dandelion leaves, Hemp, Digestive biscuits, Raw egg, Bread, Chicken mash, Milk powder
Dangerous Foods - these foodstuffs will harm or even kill your snail.
BEWARE foods that that may have been treated with pesticide or contaminated by vehicle fumes, e.g. home-grown fruit and vegetables and dandelions. If in doubt, don't feed it to your snails.
PASTA – can cause bloating and the death of the snail
We all know what happens when a slug comes into contact with salt, so, no salt!
Foods containing Oxalates are said to be harmful in high amounts. This is due to the oxalates preventing the absorption of essential nutrients, mainly calcium. Foods containing oxalates include spinach, parsley and chives.