How to Care for Garden Snails

Use any tank with ventilation holes if keeping snails short. If you only want to observe snails for a few days and then release them back into the garden, you can use a jar of jam or pickles with holes for air to make a snail home. However, snails can be injured by the metal cap, so instead of using a cap, you can use a piece of cheesecloth to cover the mouth of the jar and tie it with a rubber band.

• Note that snails can crawl on a vertical surface and escape if the tank does not have a lid.

Use a larger tank or glass tank, such as the Kritter Keeper, if you want to keep your snails long-term. If you plan to keep your snails longer than a few days, you need to use a tank that is appropriate for their size. For long-term farming, plastic tanks can only be used for baby snails or adult snails of the smallest size. ^[1] Most snails need a large tank to stay alive and stay healthy and clean. You can buy a glass tank that meets this requirement at a pet store to make a home for them.

• Use a tank with a volume of 20 liters or larger so that the snails have enough space to move around. If you keep a lot or intend to take care of the baby snails that will be born, you should choose a larger tank.

Make sure the tank has ventilation holes. Just like humans, snails absorb oxygen from the air and release carbon dioxide. That is why the tank needs to have ventilation holes, and it is best to have many holes in the sides for better air circulation. Many people report that snails become more mobile when air can flow through small slits in the bottom of the tank. ^[2]

Maintain the aquarium at room temperature. As long as it’s humid, many garden snails are fairly heat tolerant, however, they’re most versatile and safe at room temperature. Keep them in the shade when it’s hot and avoid exposing them to extreme cold.

Buy land to put in the aquarium. To reduce the risk of harmful bacteria, pesticides, and other threats, it’s a good idea to purchase soil from a pet store to put in your tank. ^[3] The next option is to use natural soil from the garden that is not contaminated with pesticides or chemical fertilizers. You will use this soil to spread a layer that completely seals the bottom of the tank.

• Avoid using potting soil as it may contain chemicals that are harmful to snails.

Spread a layer of natural material on top of the soil. You can spread moss, peat, compost, or mineral fertilizers on top of the soil. ^[4] These materials will trap moisture in the soil, creating an ideal habitat for snails.

Home decoration for snails. Put something in the tank so the snails can hide and climb up. This will make them more comfortable and also quite pleasing to the eye. Most pet stores sell fake logs for small animals to crawl through or hamster tubes that snails might also like. Maybe you can also find something useful from the garden! However, never use stones to decorate the aquarium because snails can fall from the wall of the tank and break their shells if they are hit with rocks. The bark and branches will usually break down after a few weeks so you will need to replace them.

• Do not use cardboard to decorate because they will be moldy, affecting the health of snails.

Cover the tank with a heavy or fastened lid. Snails have amazing health for their size; They can climb to the top of most tanks. You should use a tank with a latch on the lid to prevent them from escaping. If the tank lid does not have a latch, you can use a heavy object, such as a stack of books, on top.

Find snails to feed. You can find snails in muddy areas in your garden, old potted plants, or other damp places. If you don’t see any snails, you can leave some green vegetables in the garden, after a while come back to check if the snails have come out to eat. After a heavy rain, snails often crawl out, so you’ll be easier to find them in the rain or after the rain.

• Garden snails are generally quite safe to handle, but you should still wash your hands before and after touching them to limit the risk of harming yourself and the snails. ^[5]
• Wear gloves if you don’t want to touch them.