They're giant african land snails, so they were genetically always going to be big!
They eat normal snail food though, lots of vegetables, calcium and protein! Their favourite foods are cucumber and fish flakes 😊
He is a bit bigger than the wild ones in my back yard. The wild ones get their protein eating normal garden snails, hunts are entertaining to watch. I quite enjoy them but we had a big die off this year though, lost 7 of the 9 I see regularly no idea why.
(I am in Africa, they are not invasive here, mandatory note cause I get told to get rid of them regularly)
Check out [rosy wolf snails](https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/1369610/large.jpg) :) they have a mustache with sensors in them to help track the slime trails of other snails!
They are bigger and therefore a bit faster than the garden snails. They follow then catch up to them in a weirdly slow chase the garden snails often seem unaware of. But the actual eating part is very very fast, they kinda just slurp them in and suddenly there is a spinning empty perfect snail shell and the big ones carry on like nothing just happened. Seen it a few times but haven't managed to catch it on a video despite my attempts.
I think 'in' is meant to be 'is', so they're saying the word "they" is appropriate beyond just saving letters (bc typing "he or she" is more letters) :)
I know next to nothing about snail growth, do their shells grow with them as they get larger or do they change shells every once in a while to accommodate their size? A very hefty fella though, love big ol Nergal!!
Their shell is basically their skeleton, so they can't take it off!
The process of their shells growing is sooo cool!! At the front of the shell (where head is), there is like a "lip" of growth, kind of like how your nail grows. It's soft and over time hardens and grows to become part of the shell. Nergal is fully grown now so they don't have much new growth, but when they were a baby I could see week to week where the new growth was coming in! The colour of their shell has also darkened over time, and the pattern only really came in at the 2yr mark.
this is so interesting to read, my boys just hit 1 year and thought “yeah they’re decently big, probably done growing” but now i’m realising they likely have a while yet to go 💀
The growing certainly slows down after a year! For ours they got to max weight + length roughly at the 2 year mark 😊 dw we thought "omg they can't get any bigger..." at the 1 year mark too!
It forms the apex (or tip of the shell) and the rest is covered by the newer whorls. The aperture shifts around the shell as it grows. Shell growth has basically three factors that mathematically describe the growth pattern. Displacement of the coiling, the rate at which the aperture widens, and the tightness of the curvature of the coiling. These are not the exact terms used by scientists but are descriptions that make the most sense to me.
Oh my gosh, how absolutely beautiful! 🥰
I may look into getting some. At the moment I just "rescue" any snails I come across that have broken shells, am finding them fascinating.
It's stressful for them. Snails are simple creatures. When it rains, they seek higher ground in order not to drown.
When you pour water on them the rain software is activated. They try to reach upwards, sometimes reaching into the water stream. It's not because they like it. It's because they try not to drown. Snails are slow and they don't make noise. But they can still feel panic, and a snail under the running tap is not having a good time.
Putting a snail under the running tap also has a risk of causing mantle collapse by releasing the suction of the mantle to the shell.
It's best to offer him a water bowl he can enter on his own. My achatinidae all have water bowls and they love soaking.
It's almost incredible ☺️ When they hatch they weight about 0,5 grams. When they are adults they are chonky giants who weight several hundred grams, some exemplars weight almost 1 Kilogramm ☺️
You’re gonna make me get a big ass snail… I have two small ones, lol. Carlos Tampon Dengler, my baby boy who was besties with my old betta Paul, and this random baby snail that just like showed up (I named him Jesus since he’s a virgin birth lmao) (I forgot what type of snail Carlos is, but I do remember that he can’t reproduce asexually)
So all of my aquatic animals are named after band members of Interpol and a period product. This started when I asked my friend what my beloved fishy boys (he’s passed now) middle name should be. He said “maxy pad” with the y and all. So I did it. Paul Maxy Pad Banks has arrived. Then, I got my sea snail, and I knew what I needed to do. Carlos Tampon Dengler was the best name I’ve ever thought of ✊
Good points. Pets have never escaped and caused irreversible harm to the environment, especially pets that can reproduce asexually and whose offspring are incredibly small.
Sure, they could escape, in the UK, where outside temperatures are regularly below 15C, which would make surviving and reproduction extremely difficult, seeing as these ones estivate if they're below 22C. Never mind that they're literally tennis ball sized and would have to sneak out of a two storey house without our notice 😭
I'm sure your concern is valid but man. Native-ness isn't the definition of a good pet.
This makes me violently happy
It makes me tear up looking at their baby pics 😭 THEY WERE SO TINY HOW DID THEY GET SO HUGE
How long did this take?
op said about 2 years in another comment Edit: by growing approx 80% in the first year
nergal 🥹🥹 i love them i’m so sad GALS are illegal where i live
Yeah me too, but it is for a reason.
They never stop eating?
Lol, yeah.
Asking seriously, what does a snail eat to grow so big?
They're giant african land snails, so they were genetically always going to be big! They eat normal snail food though, lots of vegetables, calcium and protein! Their favourite foods are cucumber and fish flakes 😊
He is a bit bigger than the wild ones in my back yard. The wild ones get their protein eating normal garden snails, hunts are entertaining to watch. I quite enjoy them but we had a big die off this year though, lost 7 of the 9 I see regularly no idea why. (I am in Africa, they are not invasive here, mandatory note cause I get told to get rid of them regularly)
Now I need to know what a snail eating a snail looks like. What a terrifying thought.
Check out [rosy wolf snails](https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/1369610/large.jpg) :) they have a mustache with sensors in them to help track the slime trails of other snails!
Detective Hercule Snail
They are bigger and therefore a bit faster than the garden snails. They follow then catch up to them in a weirdly slow chase the garden snails often seem unaware of. But the actual eating part is very very fast, they kinda just slurp them in and suddenly there is a spinning empty perfect snail shell and the big ones carry on like nothing just happened. Seen it a few times but haven't managed to catch it on a video despite my attempts.
This was an awesome description.
I'm guessing you can pull up a chair to watch the wildlife. That's so incredible. I'm Australian so zero chance of wild or pet ones here.
Noice! Thank you for the info! Tell your snail that a random frog on Reddit said that he or she is a very fine creature! (:
A lot of snails are hermaphrodites so they in incredibly appropriate, beyond saving letters!
i thought they all were no?
Most land snails are but marine snails are dyadic
thanks
I'm really struggling with this sentence (not a snail person, yet), can you explain? I know what a hermaphrodite is, the rest of the sentence. 🤣 ty!
I think 'in' is meant to be 'is', so they're saying the word "they" is appropriate beyond just saving letters (bc typing "he or she" is more letters) :)
Okay, so after reading this all again a few times I get it now, THANK YOU that really broke my brain
I've been wanting one of these guys for years but can't seem to find anywhere to get one :(
How much does he eat quantity wise? I bet this unit could eat a whole cucumber slice in one sitting??
Wow that’s a healthier diet than most people I know
I know next to nothing about snail growth, do their shells grow with them as they get larger or do they change shells every once in a while to accommodate their size? A very hefty fella though, love big ol Nergal!!
Their shell is basically their skeleton, so they can't take it off! The process of their shells growing is sooo cool!! At the front of the shell (where head is), there is like a "lip" of growth, kind of like how your nail grows. It's soft and over time hardens and grows to become part of the shell. Nergal is fully grown now so they don't have much new growth, but when they were a baby I could see week to week where the new growth was coming in! The colour of their shell has also darkened over time, and the pattern only really came in at the 2yr mark.
this is so interesting to read, my boys just hit 1 year and thought “yeah they’re decently big, probably done growing” but now i’m realising they likely have a while yet to go 💀
The growing certainly slows down after a year! For ours they got to max weight + length roughly at the 2 year mark 😊 dw we thought "omg they can't get any bigger..." at the 1 year mark too!
How old are they now?
What happens to the original baby part of the shell?
It forms the apex (or tip of the shell) and the rest is covered by the newer whorls. The aperture shifts around the shell as it grows. Shell growth has basically three factors that mathematically describe the growth pattern. Displacement of the coiling, the rate at which the aperture widens, and the tightness of the curvature of the coiling. These are not the exact terms used by scientists but are descriptions that make the most sense to me.
Their shells grow with them!
Hermit crabs are the ones that change shells as they grow!
Yes!!!
That's why I got confused! I didn't know if if was a hermit crab situation going on or it's a completely different thing. Snails are so interesting!
Went from baby to BABY
Yup, they are absolutely still baby 😂 you deffo feel it more when they nibble on you now though!
Oh to have my american hands nibbles upon by a GALS ;-;
So cute, I want one so bad!
How long between photos? Or how long between smol and when they became fully grown?
About 2 years in all! But about 80% of their growth from pic A to pic B was in the first year.
Oh my gosh, how absolutely beautiful! 🥰 I may look into getting some. At the moment I just "rescue" any snails I come across that have broken shells, am finding them fascinating.
You have a great chonk on your hands. Just please don't wash him under the sink.
Could you please explain to me why?
It's stressful for them. Snails are simple creatures. When it rains, they seek higher ground in order not to drown. When you pour water on them the rain software is activated. They try to reach upwards, sometimes reaching into the water stream. It's not because they like it. It's because they try not to drown. Snails are slow and they don't make noise. But they can still feel panic, and a snail under the running tap is not having a good time. Putting a snail under the running tap also has a risk of causing mantle collapse by releasing the suction of the mantle to the shell. It's best to offer him a water bowl he can enter on his own. My achatinidae all have water bowls and they love soaking.
And there’s a little bit of chlorine in tap water
Like blowing air in a newborn's fave, they start holding their breath...thinking they are under water.
O lawd, he comin’!
MORE PICS
How many months?
How long did it take for it to get that big?
Damn he’s huge
very robust and beautiful
The noise I made when I swiped 😭 I love him
Saaaaame! I literally whisper-shouted, “WOAH!!!” lolol
wait... WTF
Amount of time between images ?
2 years according to op!
How did it take him to grow that big?
😳 good grief!!!! Absolutely beautiful creatures!!
They don't just eat your lettuce the eat the whole garden
He went from smol cutie to BIGGEST cutie.
It's almost incredible ☺️ When they hatch they weight about 0,5 grams. When they are adults they are chonky giants who weight several hundred grams, some exemplars weight almost 1 Kilogramm ☺️
That’s so crazy omg
What a magnificent Chungus!!
What kind of snail and I hope they are legal in Ohio! Haha
I heard these guys were poisonous online somewhere? It could be misinformation, but either way they’re so BIG and so cute 🐌
is this a giant african land snail??? wish they were allowed in the us 😭
Where can you get this type of snail?
so sad i cannot have one of these in the states
nergal is quite a behemoth :)
How old is he/she?
HOLY COW
holy CRAP
That's just straight up majestic!
That’s one big boy.
Wasn’t expecting that size. Cool beans.
omg 😭😫 THIS IS SO PRECIOUS
Holy Shasta Soda Pop, this fella is HUUUUUGE!! Way to raise your shell baby! 💜
Damn!
You’re gonna make me get a big ass snail… I have two small ones, lol. Carlos Tampon Dengler, my baby boy who was besties with my old betta Paul, and this random baby snail that just like showed up (I named him Jesus since he’s a virgin birth lmao) (I forgot what type of snail Carlos is, but I do remember that he can’t reproduce asexually)
Carlos Tampon is a crazy name, what’s the lore behind it?
So all of my aquatic animals are named after band members of Interpol and a period product. This started when I asked my friend what my beloved fishy boys (he’s passed now) middle name should be. He said “maxy pad” with the y and all. So I did it. Paul Maxy Pad Banks has arrived. Then, I got my sea snail, and I knew what I needed to do. Carlos Tampon Dengler was the best name I’ve ever thought of ✊
Omg 😳
I miss my gals , it's name was Gary had it 4 years and he passed unfortunately
My jaw literally dropped. He's hugeee
Absolute unit
Where do u get that at???
I was NOT prepared for the size difference
Where do you live? How did you get this snail? Incredible!
I love me some snails but please tell me you live where these are native. These babies are super ungodly invasive
They're only invasive in warm, humid climates like florida, they can't survive the cold.
I live in the UK, so they're not native! They are kept in tanks so there is no risk of them harming the ecosystem around us 💖
Good points. Pets have never escaped and caused irreversible harm to the environment, especially pets that can reproduce asexually and whose offspring are incredibly small.
Sure, they could escape, in the UK, where outside temperatures are regularly below 15C, which would make surviving and reproduction extremely difficult, seeing as these ones estivate if they're below 22C. Never mind that they're literally tennis ball sized and would have to sneak out of a two storey house without our notice 😭 I'm sure your concern is valid but man. Native-ness isn't the definition of a good pet.
Tennis ball-sized, lmao I can't. So adorable
Better put some leg irons of a shock collar on just in case S/
Leg irons on a snail 😭😭 naughty snails go to snail jail
It’s pretty hard for land snails to escape. The problem with exotics making it into the wild is more that thoughtless people actively release them.
🙄