Snails as Pets: Why I Chose Them?
I've always had a great connection with animals, and I've loved cats for as long as I can remember. My spouse also likes cats but has a phobia of them. Since we are both busy—working full time and raising a young child—I needed a low-maintenance pet. After doing some research, we decided to get a snail. Here are the advantages of keeping snails as pets:
Advantages of Having a Snail:
- No walks required: Unlike other pets, you don’t need to take snails out for walks or clean their paws when they come back inside.
- No vet visits: There's no need for vaccinations, surgeries, or dental care like with other animals.
- No litter box issues: You don’t have to worry about accidents or changing their litter. Snails are simple to care for in this regard.
- Simple feeding: Snails feed on leftover food like cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, rocket, or eggshells. Just be sure the food isn’t contaminated with pesticides, salt, or acids (like lemon or vinegar).
- Low maintenance: If you're entering a busy season, or if you're going on vacation, adult snails can enter a hibernation mode and survive for weeks without much care.
- No escape worries: Snails don’t run away. They move slowly—only about 10 cm per minute.
- Minimal setup: All they need is a small box with holes, a little soil to crawl on, a mist of water from a flower sprayer, and a hiding spot. These can all be easily found at home.
- Affordability: You can find garden snails in the wild during autumn or buy oversized African snails for around 50-60 Turkish Lira.
Here’s my little friend—I'm not sure how much more it will grow.
If you have any questions about snail care, feel free to leave them in the comments. See you in the next post!
12/2022