Housing Giant African Land Snails, or any snail, is relatively simple as long as you follow a few simple rules.
Housing:
There are lots of different types of enclosure you can keep your GALS in, the most obvious being a glass or plastic aquarium. These can be heavy and expensive, although glass aquariums can be found cheaply of for free. Glass doesn't get scratched and you will always have a great view of your snails.
Plastic storage tubs are good - they are light, cheap and easy to come by, and ventiliation holes are easily made with a drill or soldering iron. Care must be taken if you are using a heat mat as this could distort the plastic. Plastic boxes also scratch quite easily, marring any view of your snails.
For babies, margerine and ice cream tubs can be used.
Plastic vivariums are practical and easy to clean, but they are very pricey.
Use your imagination! As long as the tank is easy to clean and safe for the snails, more or less anything goes!
I will end on a Do Not. One person a few years ago asked me what sort of cages I kept my GALS in, as his kept escaping. I asked him how the lids were fastened and he said they were folded over. Confused, I asked what type of tanks his GALS were in. His reply? Cardboard boxes!!! After I had explained to him that snail mucus will make the cardboard go soggy and deteriorate, and that snails will eat cardboard, he went out and bought a proper plastic tank for them. There's no excuse for not using your common sense!
Heating & humidity:
Giant African Land Snails need to be kept fairly warm (room temerature and above) and also fairly humid. To warm up a tank a heat mat should be placed on one side of the mat, NOT underneath the tank as GALS burrow to escape heat. Do NOT leave tanks in a windowsill or in direct sunlight as the temperature fluctuations will kill your snails.
Humidity can be raised by spraying daily or placing a shallow bowl of water in the tank with the GALS. Be warned however, that most GALS will excavate beneath it and unless it is really heavy they will tip it over! I prefer to bath mine a couple of times a week.
Substrate:
GALS love to dig, and need to dig to bury their eggs, so a substrate of peat should cover the floor of the tank to a depth of the height of your largest GALS. When the GALS are adult, the substrate should be regularly checked for any eggs, which should then be destroyed by freezing. The enclosure should have feaces removed daily.
An upturned flower pot, plastic piping or plastic box are all cheap hiding places for GALS. They are easily cleaned and if the snail falls on it, it will not damage its shell. Rocks and other hard ornaments like the type you use for aquariums should not be used in the tank for this reason.
There are lots of different types of enclosure you can keep your GALS in, the most obvious being a glass or plastic aquarium. These can be heavy and expensive, although glass aquariums can be found cheaply of for free. Glass doesn't get scratched and you will always have a great view of your snails.
Plastic storage tubs are good - they are light, cheap and easy to come by, and ventiliation holes are easily made with a drill or soldering iron. Care must be taken if you are using a heat mat as this could distort the plastic. Plastic boxes also scratch quite easily, marring any view of your snails.
For babies, margerine and ice cream tubs can be used.
Plastic vivariums are practical and easy to clean, but they are very pricey.
Use your imagination! As long as the tank is easy to clean and safe for the snails, more or less anything goes!
I will end on a Do Not. One person a few years ago asked me what sort of cages I kept my GALS in, as his kept escaping. I asked him how the lids were fastened and he said they were folded over. Confused, I asked what type of tanks his GALS were in. His reply? Cardboard boxes!!! After I had explained to him that snail mucus will make the cardboard go soggy and deteriorate, and that snails will eat cardboard, he went out and bought a proper plastic tank for them. There's no excuse for not using your common sense!
Heating & humidity:
Giant African Land Snails need to be kept fairly warm (room temerature and above) and also fairly humid. To warm up a tank a heat mat should be placed on one side of the mat, NOT underneath the tank as GALS burrow to escape heat. Do NOT leave tanks in a windowsill or in direct sunlight as the temperature fluctuations will kill your snails.
Humidity can be raised by spraying daily or placing a shallow bowl of water in the tank with the GALS. Be warned however, that most GALS will excavate beneath it and unless it is really heavy they will tip it over! I prefer to bath mine a couple of times a week.
Substrate:
GALS love to dig, and need to dig to bury their eggs, so a substrate of peat should cover the floor of the tank to a depth of the height of your largest GALS. When the GALS are adult, the substrate should be regularly checked for any eggs, which should then be destroyed by freezing. The enclosure should have feaces removed daily.
An upturned flower pot, plastic piping or plastic box are all cheap hiding places for GALS. They are easily cleaned and if the snail falls on it, it will not damage its shell. Rocks and other hard ornaments like the type you use for aquariums should not be used in the tank for this reason.