BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Knock, knock. Who's there? Anyone .. ??

Anyways, I recently acquired some rather large Florida Leatherleaf slugs. So stocked! I've had one for a while, but recently he passed away of unknown causes. These are a lot bigger and lighter than he is. One seems to be very fat, so hopefully it is gravid.

Here are pictures of the little hermaphrodites.




I've been asked how they feel by a few people. Overall, they feel kinda dry. They are not as squishy or slimy as other slugs found in Europe or America, such as the Leopard slug or Banana slug. They do have some slime to them, but it is not as much as the aforementioned species.

They look like a leaf to me, just a fat leaf with little eyes poking out.

Yeah, I'm really digging them. I did not know they got this big!

These are the main intermediary host for the rat lungworm (well, can be). Thankfully the immature lungworm dies off if the life cycle is not complete, but it can give meningitis to humans. I actually did a research paper over the lungworm this last semester. Funny how things work out.

I was recently considering trying to raise some escargot for my own uses, just not sure where to get some to start with. I haven't studied snails enough to be good at identifying them yet, though I have noticed my friend's yard is full of various snails so I will probably be going to catch a few later on when I've got the time (or at the very least try to get some pictures of them).

Texas has some pretty awesome snails, both native and invasive. Curious to see what you find.

This is so cool! I actually chose to get a BTS rather than a beardie or any other lizard because I really didn't want to deal with crickets. I don't mind bugs but the risk of them getting loose just seemed too great (especially since I am an apartment dweller and wouldn't want to cause my neighbors cricket-related grief). Snails seem like a lot of fun to keep because you don't have to worry about them jumping or getting loose, plus they are kind of adorable.

A few questions:
1) Which kinds of snails are the best feeders for BTS?
2) Where do you get them from? I have yet to see any snails available as feeders, and I imagine it isn't good to get them from the wild because of pesticides and/or parasites.
3) What other reptiles besides skinks like to eat snails? Curious if you are mostly selling the feeders to BTS owners or if there are other lizards that like them as much.

This looks like the sort of thing I could get into, although I am holding off on getting any more critters until after I move in the fall (hopefully to a larger apartment), it is good to get some ideas now. :-)

AvaRose wrote:A few questions:
1) Which kinds of snails are the best feeders for BTS?
2) Where do you get them from? I have yet to see any snails available as feeders, and I imagine it isn't good to get them from the wild because of pesticides and/or parasites.
3) What other reptiles besides skinks like to eat snails? Curious if you are mostly selling the feeders to BTS owners or if there are other lizards that like them as much.

1. I would say anything in the Helix species complex. Helix pomatia and Helix aspersa (Cornu aspersum) are the usual species of snails they eat in the wild. Especially in Australia since both of these species are found there. They are large and their shells aren't too hard. Zachrysia are also good sized, but their shells are extremely hard. If you drop them, they sound like marbles. My skinks have a hard time breaking apart Zachrysia, so I've stopped feeding them. You can also do freshwater snails, such as the various species of Apple snails. Their shells can be a little hard, but my skinks have not had much trouble cracking them open. I can't really give much advice on Apple snails, as my specialty are their terrestrial and arboreal cousins.

2. You can get pre-cooked, food-grade Apple snails at your local Asian market. But as far as the live, terrestrial snails go -- it is a bit of a complicated situation. It is illegal to ship snails that are agricultural pests across state lines. And APHIS-USDA usually assumes all species of snails are pest, unless there is scientific literature stating otherwise (such as lichen-eating snails, etc.) You best bet is to find another snail enthusiast in your state or go look for them. Helix sp. can be found in various states such as Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin, etc.

3. I think the quesiton is more: what reptiles DON'T like snails. LOL. Teiidae, Hemisphaeriodon, Cyclodomorphus, Tiliqua, various large species of Gekkota. etc. The list can go on and on. Even turtles like them. I haven't been selling much of them, but when I do, I usually wholesale to reptile dealers. When I get large enough, I plan to sell to French restaurants.

As Dokota said Helix Pomatia/Aspersa are the most common feeder snails down here because they are your common garden snail the skinks just crack right through the shells no problem., reptiles go bananas for snails, if you don't like live feeding you can also find canned snails around online to sell, your Ebay/amazon or feeder sites.

Some new additions.

Limax maximus, Leopard slug. Invasive to the US.



Helix pomatia, Roman snail. Also invasive, but thankfully I am allowed to keep them in my state unlike Cornu aspersum.

OK, I'm not really sure too many care, but I'll post anyways. I had a VERY exciting weekend! One of my "snail buddies" came down, and we went snail hunting. Found Caracolus marginella, Caracolus sagemon, Drymaeus multilineatus, Liguus fasciatus, and ORTHALICUS -FREAKING- FLORIDENSIS!! Here are some photos.

Liguus













Orthalicus

Beautiful photos, and gorgeous snails. I do enjoy seeing your updates to this thread.