Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've always heard that Uros LOVE snails, but I know they are difficult to obtain and have heard a lot of cautions about parasites. Has anyone ever offered their Uros snails? I'd like to offer them more variety if possible.

Jon

It's been documented that juvenile uros and gravid females will willingly take snails. Adult males tend to avoid them. The main reason is for the calcium stored in their shell, so as long as you're offering a calcium powder on a regular basis, they're not missing anything. For variety concerns; it's more convienent to obtain roaches, worms, etc. It's true that parasites are a big concern when offering snails. They are notorious for being intermediate hosts for a number of parasites. However, as mentioned in a previous post, many parasites have evolved alongside their respected hosts. In this case, the snails that one would find here may be carrying a parasitic larva/cyst that isn't intended for our beloved geckos. Unfortunately, the problem can worsen if a organism were to ingest an oocyst (egg) for a parasite that nature didn't intend it to carry. This scenario can lead to major tissue damage as the larva migrates throughout the specimen looking for its intended destination. Sorry I got so longwinded.

i gathered some snails up from my back yard in charlotte and brought them back to school and threw them in an empty 10 gal. as hermaphrodites, they reproduce real quick and it wasnt long that i found a ton of tiny ones through the substrate. its taking a lot of time for them to grow, but i put some in with my juv phants. cant say ive ever seen one take one, but i wouldnt be too surprised. i know they're fond of crix and i dust em so they dont necessarily need the calcium. when i went to the keys, i found some very large land snails (not the endangered ones) that i brought back. i have only had them a few weeks, so i havent noticed any young. the big ones seem like they'd be too tough for even henks and fims so im just waiting to see if they'll reproduce, and the usefulness of their young. only thing is they chew the crap out of all the foliage! and i wouldnt be surprised if the biggest ones devoured newly laid eggs to get some calcium of their own. so if you do decide it, i would definitely keep the largest ones out unless you supervise until its eaten or you remove it.

we need to talk snails when we speak next.

When offering snails, parasites are the least of my worries. Sean explained prefectly why.

The first concern for me would be whether or not the snail is free of "snail bait" or poison. As Californians on here know, snails can be regarded as pests and are often lured to poison by passing it off as food. To be sure you are safe, never collect snails and feed them off that night. House the snails for a period of time to ensure they are not poisoned (poisoned snails will die shortly after ingestion so if they live a week it’s a safe bet that you are clear).

Worry number two is offering appropriately sized snails (although you’d be surprised the things I’ve seen Uro’s cram down their throats).

Sean Foley of Riverbanks Zoo (probably the largest US Uro collection) uses snails as a prey item with no concern and he is in my opinion the most successful Uro breeder in N.A. (He’s bred F4 henkeli) I know others that oversee large collections (probably the second largest collection in the US) that are convinced that feeding snails to gravid females is a crucial aspect of breeding.
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Ben

well yea im lucky enough to live in one of those places in the stix where people might use pesticides in their yards and such, but i have such a big back yard that im pretty confident that my snails are pretty healthy. im glad about the suggestion you made to set hem aside for a while. as i did, the numbers incresed pretty rapidly as i mentioned before. my only concern is the toughness of the shell, not totally sure if some of the adults i got locally are soft enough to be crushed by even adult phants. the very small young definitely are, so ive been trying to keep an eye on the excrement in the cage to see if i can see any undigested/partially digested snail shell fragments, which will be even easier to see once i get my microscope in a month. im getting a little wearing of the larger snails i got in florida, even though they look like theyd make a really good snack for henks and fims, they really are big and hard and devastate the foliage and could easily engulf an egg overnight to try to add to its own calcium supply. i have yet to see how well they play the role of a decomposing agent for fecal matter and such. once i get my microscope ill be able to tell a lot more about these guys wihtout having to pay the enormous vet bills along with it.

By my experience and all accounts I have heard, henkeli most readily accept snails. Next in line would be fimbriatus and to be honest with you, I have never heard of phants accepting them... I'm sure someone out there has tried and could tell me otherwise though!
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Ben

well the problem i think im running into with my henk is that she sits around in the branches all day, and most of the night. i rarely see her come down to the ground and when she does its usually just to sip from the fountain. the snails pretty much stay on the ground, sometimes they'll climb the branches a bit but not nearly to the top where she seems to like to stay. she also keeps very well fed so theres little chance ill be able to see a snail bulging in her belly. im gonna keep an eye on her droppings for shell fragments though.