Bringing up baby... snails.

June 9, 2008 8:53 PM

How can I tell if the hundreds of tiny (tip-of-a-pencil) baby snails on my porch are alive?

They blend in with the concrete and appear to have gathered in the area that gets the most moisture, and this makes it difficult to see if they change positions on their own or, if they appear to have moved from one visit to the next, whether wind/earthworms/anything else is moving them. I'm in the pacific northwest, there are no gardens nearby to ruin, and I have no intention of farming them for food, but I sure would like to see how the little guys grow! Any advice on really simple things I could do to "raise" them would be great!

posted by mireille to science & nature (2 comments total)

Wikipedia says that "After a few weeks, the snails will begin to show their first tinge of color, usually slightly blue, before they turn their adult color." So I guess if they start turning blue they're still alive and kicking?
posted by riane at 9:07 PM on June 9, 2008

Raising snails is easy, if my hosta's are anything to go by. If you have an old fishtank, put some compost in the bottom, a couple of rocks, and some lettuce. Seal the lid, and put it somewhere cool and damp, and not in direct sunlight.
posted by Solomon at 10:20 PM on June 9, 2008