| NEW - the Professional Snail Centre XL -
order yours now (these are in production now, due to be ready April
2010) |
 Ideal for housing large adult African snails. Their drinking water
is in the moat around the edge of the yellow base; it cannot be tipped up.
|
 The lid can be tilted
up or lifted off for quick access. The silver Compost Dish provides a
place for the snails to bury their eggs. |
 Put the vegetable peelings on
the grey Soft Absorbent Liner. The sides of the snail centre separate
from the base, making it easy to change the food and compost. |
 Giant
African Land Snails need eggshells to eat to give them extra calcium to keep
their shells strong. |
The best housing
Giant
African Land Snails (Achatina fulica) are active inquisitive creatures
and do best if kept in a clear clean container that they can see out of. They
like to slide up the sides of the cage and rest under the roof. The
Professional Snail Centre XL is a large cage with strong see-through PVC
sides and a wipe clean tile base. The lid lifts off so extra food can be added
easily. Once a week, the cage should be washed with warm water with a few drops
of lemon juice added, to effortlessly shift the snail slime. The grey Soft
Absorbent Liner should be replaced as necessary and the Compost Dish
inspected from time to time for white snail eggs. The Professional Snail
Centre XL is designed for large East African Giant Land Snail adults
(Achatina fulica). It should be positioned in a room where there is lots
going on because the snails like to see what is happening. Giant African Land
Snails should be kept in a comfortably warm room. The Professional Snail Centre
XL has been designed with a gap around the bottom of the sides so that fresh
air can enter. |
| Why the Professional Snail Centres are
better than tanks... |
 |
| Snails kept in large 18" glass tanks (left picture) are difficult
to see and are not very active. But snails kept in the Professional Snail
Centre XL are more active and the display is much nicer and easier to keep
clean. Also, large snails are strong and frequently tip over their water dish.
However, the Professional Snail Centre XL has an in-built moat containing their
drinking water and the snails cannot tip this up! |
| The adult size of Giant East African Land Snails (Achatina
fulica) varies. Large adult snails need to be kept in the Professional
Snail Centre XL but a standard sized adult could be kept in the smaller
Professional Snail Centre. Younger snails do well in the Professional Snail
Centre. |
 |
| The
Professional Snail Centre |
The Professional Snail Centre XL |
| The Professional Snail Centre -
in stock now |
 |
 |
 |
| The snails slide up the sides and rest there or under the roof.
|
Put the
vegetable peelings on the grey Soft Absorbent Liner
|
Access is via the lid. For easy cleaning, the white columns and
sides separate from the yellow base. |
The Professional Snail Centre is 23cm x 23cm x 30cm
high (base tile 30cm square). It is suitable housing for medium-sized African
snails with a minimum shell length of 2cm . The four sides and lift-off lid are
made from strong see-through PVC . This means you can see the snails sliding up
and down the sides and under the roof. The snails can also see out clearly and
this makes them more active - they like to be in a busy area with lots going
on!
The four sides are connected together by the white vertical
columns. The whole section can be lifted up, leaving the base behind. Once a
week, the cage should be washed with warm water with a few drops of lemon juice
added, to effortlessly shift the snail slime. The yellow base is
dishwasher-proof and should be cleaned as necessary (this won't be very often).
The Soft Absorbent Liners absorb excess moisture and any spilt
water and should be replaced as necessary. They are in two halves; this is so
that you can adjust the ventilation. Snails with a shell length of 2cm do not
need much air-flow and so the Liners should butt up against each other,
minimising the air entering around the yellow base. As the snails grow, they
need more air and so the Liners should now overlap slightly so that more air
can enter.
|
| Baby Snail Centre - in stock
now |
 |
 |
 |
| Baby Snail Centre |
Baby snails with patterned shells
|
Soft Absorbent Liners |
The Baby Snail Centre is 17cm x 17cm x 17cm and is
suitable for baby snails and young snails with a shell length of less than 2cm.
This is a moulded plastic container with a lid that has a central ventilation
panel. The plastic container and lid are very easy to clean by washing in warm
water (with lemon juice added) and rinsing well. The container is slightly
opaque. Soft Absorbent Liners are supplied pre-cut to fit the floor of the
cage. They prevent the snails from cracking their shells and absorb the excess
moisture. They should be replaced as necessary.
Feeding,
breeding and heating needs... |
Feeding
Giant African Land Snails should be
given a wide range of vegetables because a varied diet promotes a patterned
shell. Favourites include: Slices of: melon, sweet potato,
courgette, marrow, red pepper, avocado Peelings from: carrots,
potatoes Leaves: fresh dandelion and buddleia leaves. Avoid: Supermarket-bought lettuce and cabbage because of
pesticide residues. Water: Snails need to drink water. Young snails
can drink from a Water Dish, filled with fresh cold tap water. Older snails can
drink water from the moat incorporated into the yellow base of the Professional
Snail Centre XL. Calcium: Snails need calcium to help their shells
grow ad to keep the shells strong. An effective way to give them this calcium
is to use rinsed-out eggshells from hens. Given the choice, the snails prefer
the free-range organic eggs to cheaper eggs. Cuttlefish bone is not as good
because it has a higher salt content.
|
Breeding
Fill the the Compost Dish to the brim with soil from the
garden, peat or John Innes compost. (Do not use other composts because they
usually contain pesticides). Adult snails mate and
then they both lay eggs. Snails are hermaphrodite which means they do not have
separate males and females. The white round eggs are buried and, provided they
have been kept moist, usually hatch about three weeks later. Baby snails
should be reared in the Baby Snail Centre and transferred to the
Professional Snail Centre as they grow. Unwanted eggs can be spread out
on kitchen roll on the day they have been laid, and they will quickly dry out
and not develop any further. The advice of putting unwanted eggs into a freezer
is a slower process and not one that we recommend. Heating Giant East African Land
Snails do well in a room that is comfortably warm. The snails should be active
most days. If the snails seal up inside their shells they are too cold and
should be moved somewhere warmer.
|
Prices of equipment and
snails
|
| Item |
Price
£ |
Delivery £ |
| Professional Snail Centre XL - including free Soft
Absorbent Liners (2) and Compost Dish and snail information sheet |
39.99 |
8.00 |
| Soft Absorbent Liners (2) for Professional Snail Centre XL
|
2.99 |
0.50 |
| Professional Snail Centre - including free Soft Absorbent
Liners (4 halves) and Water Dish and snail information sheet |
22.99 |
6.95 |
| Soft Absorbent Liners (4 halves) for Professional Snail
Centre |
2.99 |
0.50 |
| Water Dish |
0.55 |
0.50 |
| Baby Snail Centre including free Soft Absorbent Liners (2
) and Water Dish and snail information sheet |
7.99 |
4.95 |
| Soft Absorbent Liners (4 ) for Baby Snail Centre
|
2.99 |
0.50 |
| Pack of two Giant East African Land Snails,
medium-sized (shell length 4cm) and snail information sheet, sent by EXPRESS
delivery |
9.00 |
8.00 |
| French detailed anatomy drawing of snail, A4 size, showing
inside of snail |
0.50 |
0.50 |
| Please note that wherever possible we will
combine items in the same parcel so the delivery charge will be as low as
possible. We shall email you the total price before processing your order.
|
To order, please click
Snails
Explained order form and list what you'd like. Please note that
the Professional Snail Centre XL is a new product and in production now, due to
be in stock in April 2010. We are taking orders for this item now and shall
deliver it in April 2010.
If you have any questions, please phone
01949 842446.
Please note that all photographs on this site are copyrighted by
Small-Life Supplies and must not be copied or reproduced elsewhere.
|