If you want to get a pet, unpretentious to the conditions of detention, you can consider the option of acquiring a giant snail. Achatina panther may have a beige, brown or reddish shell. The shell of young Achatina is brighter, but over time it acquires a dark color. The body of the snail is smooth, bright, with a mesh pattern. From the rest of the varieties, the achatin immakulata differs in that from its very head to the carapace there is a dark brown stripe.
Content Features
The content of Achatina panther does not imply any difficulties. It is so easy to care for her that even a child can cope with this task. Snails need to be fed daily in the evening, and in the morning to clean the terrarium from food debris.
What are the growth rates of Achatina panther? These snails can reach a length of up to 18 cm. It all depends on the size of the container in which they are contained. Acquiring a special terrarium for these gastropods is optional. They can be kept in a glass aquarium or container made of non-toxic materials. It is advisable to choose a lid for the tank, in which it is necessary to make holes. The ventilation windows should not be too large, the main thing is that the diameter does not exceed the size of the mollusk itself, otherwise the snails will get out of their housing.
As for the soil, it should be of high quality, because snails like to bury themselves in it for daytime sleep and egg laying. The use of unpeeled peat is not recommended, as it creates an overly acidic environment. It is necessary to keep the substrate moist. Clay and crushed bark should not be used as a substrate. An alternative to peat can be loose sand or pieces of partition from walnuts.
Soil should be washed once every 30 days and periodically mixed with fresh. In addition, you will have to regularly clean the terrarium, remove old branches and driftwood. The snails themselves must be washed in clean, warm water.
Tropical countries are considered the birthplace of Achatina Panther, so it is important to provide them with comfortable living conditions. Air temperature should be 24-27 degrees, humidity indicators - not less than 80%. The substrate must be sprayed with water every day or put in a terrarium a small bowl of water. It is important to ensure that there is no waterlogging.
Achatina snails should not be crowded. The terrarium for them needs to be selected in such a way that each individual has at least 15 liters. It should be located away from heating appliances. It is also important to protect snails from drafts.
Lighting
It is not necessary to place lighting devices in the terrarium. Lighting does not play a major role in the content of Achatina panther. Snail activity is shown at night, and during the day they prefer to dig into the ground. Lighting will only help if plants that need it grow in the terrarium.
Accessories
As accessories, moss, pieces of badly decaying wood, fragments of flower pots are suitable. Before placing these items in the terrarium, they must be washed.
Live plants can be planted in the container where the Achatina panther snails will live. They will be an excellent decoration of the terrarium, and will also purify the air. Preference should be given to plants whose leaves are covered with villi. It is possible that snails will feast on vegetation, so it will have to be updated frequently. The most affordable and unpretentious in care are ivy and different types of ferns.
How to feed pets?
With feeding Achatina, panther immaculata also will not arise difficulties, because the representative of this species is unpretentious to food. The mollusk with pleasure will accept fresh fruits, vegetables, greens from the owners.
In order for the snails to fully grow and develop, their food needs to be flavored with fertilizers based on protein and calcium. Such additives strengthen the carapace and allow the immune system to gain mass. Egg shells, cottage cheese, a piece of chalk, vitamin and mineral mixes in store are suitable as top dressing. It is unacceptable that sweets, semolina, salt, flour products were present in the Achatine diet.
Feeding only newly born mollusks is practically no different from the diet of adults. Their first food will be pieces of eggshell from which they hatched. In addition, babies need to be fed vegetables, fruits, herbs.
Water
In a terrarium, you must definitely place a bowl of water. If the snails are small, water will have to be poured into a shallow container, because mollusks that have recently been born can drown. The walls of the container and the soil will have to be moistened periodically using a spray bottle.
By themselves, Achatina panthers are very fond of water, since they need it to secrete mucus. From time to time snails can arrange water procedures.
Breeding
Achatina panthers belong to hermaphrodites. For an individual to produce offspring, it will need a partner. The first clutch is possible after the snail is 6 months old. A healthy mollusk can produce offspring up to 4 times a year.
Achatina pregnancy lasts 2 weeks. The number of eggs in a clutch can be about 150 pieces. If you want mollusks to be born from them, you will have to move them to another container and maintain optimal humidity and air temperature in it. To avoid Achatina, eggs will have to be destroyed.
Diseases Achatina
If a snail is brought from its native habitat, there is a risk that it is a source of parasites and other diseases. To protect yourself from danger, it is worth purchasing snails that were grown at home. Prevention of infection - washing hands after each contact with the mollusk.
Achatina may fall off the lid of the terrarium, which will lead to cracks in the shell. An antiseptic agent should be applied to the places of chips. After a few days, the body of the mollusk will begin to secrete substances that will tighten the cleavage and make its edges not so sharp.
It is also worth considering that the Achatina panther is able to scrape its shell or shell of those snails that live next door with it. As a result, recesses are formed on the surface into which infection can get.
It is not recommended that you often take snails in your hands. If this is necessary, care should be taken not to affect vulnerable parts of the body.
The life span of giant snails is 5–9 years. The better the conditions of the mollusk, the longer it will live. If it is in improper conditions, it will lead to illness or injury.
From time to time, these creatures will have to be carefully examined. So it will be possible to detect the disease in time.
The main causes of death of Achatina are as follows:
- prolonged hypothermia or overheating in the sun;
- infectious diseases;
- feeding prohibited foods.
Salt and household cleaning products can cause burns on the mucous membrane. The cause of the shell disease is a lack of calcium. If the snail is affected by mold, it must be treated with a reptile agent or chamomile decoction. To remove parasites, pumpkin seeds must be introduced into the achatin diet.
Conclusion
The content of Achatina is a fascinating activity that does not take much time. Before you get such a pet, you need to study the description of Achatina panther, its features and basic rules of care.