Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have a few questions about snails...

first : if i would get 'large' snails for my tank, would my turtles actually be able to eat them, or would they just try?

second : if the turtles actually DO eat the snails, are they harmful in any way? (i would get the golden snails)

third : do you people who HAVE or HAD snails really think that the snails are beneficial for the tank or do they just add to the waste? i mean obviously snails are going to crap as well, but do they clean more than they make a mess?

fourth : would i need a 'separation' period for the snails to make sure they are not diseased?

wow... sorry about so many questions! any comments are welcomed thank you all in advance...
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~ Evie

Pets:
0.1.0 German Shepherd {Dusty}
0.1.0 German Shepherd/Collie mix {Shadoe}
0.0.2 RES turtles {Booger and Snot}
1.0.0 African Clawed Frog {Bingo}
0.0.1 Snail {Gary}

Evie, I had a golden apple snail for a short while. I did not like it. It ate more greens than the turtles did...it would eat anything (whole green beans). I don't know if it was because I fed it veggies, but it did not do a very good job cleaning the tank. My turtles would bite a chunk out of it every now and then but it was too big for them to eat. I ended up taking it back to the pet store because it pooped more than my turtles, it was amazing.

If you want to get small snails to feed your turtles you run the risk of them having "flukes"...not good for your turtle. You can purchase some and allow them to reproduce in a seperate tank and the new snails should be safe for your turtles to eat.

Nancy

I have a yellow snail which is about the size of a ping pong ball, maybe a bit smaller. My turtles completely ignore it, although when they are begging at the glass they sometimes knock him off, lol. He does a great job of cleaning the algae, he never eats their greens, although my turtles don't really leave anything floating more than a few minutes. He has grown a lot since I got him, he was smaller than a quarter just a few months ago. I have never seen poop of any kind in my tank, turtle or otherwise thanks to my filter, so I have no idea if he is adding a lot of waste.
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What kind of filter do you have. I am using an aquaclear 300 and am doing a lot of the mechanical filtration myself (with a net). I have always been impressed with the fact that you only clean your tank twice a year...am I remembering that correctly? And if you never see poop of any kind, I want what you have! I assume it is some kind of canister filter, is it noisy?

Also, how is your hatchling? Are you getting any sleep?
Keep us posted...Nancy

It is a Fluval 404, and it doesn't make any noise. Well, it make may some noise, but with a kitten, dog and new baby in the house, who can tell?

Hehe, the hatchling is growing fast, he will be 6 weeks old on Monday.

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first off, that is a REALLY CUTE BABY!!! looks a lot like my nephew (of course they say all babies look alike). my nephew is only about 3 months old now, and he's soooooo fat! we all call him "meatball" haha...

but i have another SNAIL question. do you think if i got maybe 2 golden snails it would keep the water more clean? or do you think one is good enough? i would hate to get more than i need and have the snails produce more waste than what they clean up.

i do have a golden snail in with my African Clawed Frog, and he never bothers it. I am just afraid my turtles will eat the snail and get sick, or choke on a piece of the shell or something! haha
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~ Evie

Pets:
0.1.0 German Shepherd {Dusty}
0.1.0 German Shepherd/Collie mix {Shadoe}
0.0.2 RES turtles {Booger and Snot}
1.0.0 African Clawed Frog {Bingo}
0.0.1 Snail {Gary}

Turtles eat snails in the wild, so the only risk is parasites. They can also catch parasites from crickets and any other live prey, so I decided it was worth the risk. I actually bought two, but the other snail was black and is hard to see, so I don't know if he is still in there or not.
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haha... u lost the black snail? oh my... i'm thinking about getting one snail at first and seeing how that does. i figure starting off with one i can always NOT get more... but if i start off with 2, i'm stuck with 2 snails! haha thanks for all the info
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~ Evie

Pets:
0.1.0 German Shepherd {Dusty}
0.1.0 German Shepherd/Collie mix {Shadoe}
0.0.2 RES turtles {Booger and Snot}
1.0.0 African Clawed Frog {Bingo}
0.0.1 Snail {Gary}

i just don't understand how you never see any poop, leave greens to float, have a big snail, and only CHANGE YOUR WATER TWICE A YEAR!! thats crazy tawk right there, i have a tetrapond clear choice pressure filter made for ponds up to 1500 gallons and i still have to fish out the poops and the water gets a half change one a week and im planning on a full change every two weeks! (i just adopted last week) it is my understanding that filters don't clean out ammonia, so even tho your water looks clean, doesnt mean it is. i guess if i was so inclined with MY filter, i would be able to go only a COUPLE months without changing my water, if i had only a fluval 404 i would be changing my water every two weeks! hmm...i know about a few people whos houses smell like pure swamp from only changing the water a few times a year.....i hope noone follows your advice

Nicole

>>i just don't understand how you never see any poop, leave greens to float, have a big snail, and only CHANGE YOUR WATER TWICE A YEAR!! thats crazy tawk right there, i have a tetrapond clear choice pressure filter made for ponds up to 1500 gallons and i still have to fish out the poops and the water gets a half change one a week and im planning on a full change every two weeks! (i just adopted last week) it is my understanding that filters don't clean out ammonia, so even tho your water looks clean, doesnt mean it is. i guess if i was so inclined with MY filter, i would be able to go only a COUPLE months without changing my water, if i had only a fluval 404 i would be changing my water every two weeks! hmm...i know about a few people whos houses smell like pure swamp from only changing the water a few times a year.....i hope noone follows your advice
>>
>>Nicole
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my shell kids:

Speedy, 10 year old female
Soup, 4 year old female

Adopted Aug/04 from Reptile Rescue Alberta
(thanks Christian! )

Wow, that was a pretty strong response from someone who has had turtles for just a week. I think dsngrl has a lot of experience with turtles and I'm sure her house doesn't smell like "pure swamp". I think most experienced keepers have very low maintenance tanks and the more I learn the easier the upkeep on my tank has been. You might want to do some research before you start doing full water changes every two weeks, if you do that your tank won't cycle.

Good job giving those turtles a home! Nancy

Ideally if you do NOT change your water every week or two, then your tank goes through a process called cycling where you build up enough GOOD bacteria to counteract the build up ammonia. If you change your water every couple weeks then this never takes place and yes, ammonia can be an issue. So the fact that dsgngrl and myself and countless others don't change our water every few weeks probably means we actually have LESS ammonia than you. The good bacteria also "eats" a lot of what makes a tank smell like "pure swamp" in the first place...but again, you must leave your water long enough to let it cycle and then it takes care of itself. If you look back through posts you'll see that DsgnGrl is very knowledgable about turts and you would do your turts a world of good to heed her advice.
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~walnut~
Turtle Pics
1 Dog- Mollianna Mae
1 Cat- Macey Montana
2 Red Eared Sliders- Gator and No-No
2 Beta- Swamp and Swims
4 Fish- One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish