Terrarium for snails - a full house in which shellfish spend most of their time. That is why its creation should be given maximum attention. How to choose a house where strange land inhabitants will be fully protected from any external threats? How to equip a plastic container and a glass aquarium with their own hands? The answers to these questions to find better before the new pet will be in the house.
The choice of container
Terrarium for snails need to buy or make your own hands is mandatory - either in banks or in other capacities they will not live. This may be a large aquarium or plastic container with transparent walls, modified manually. Be sure to need a cover for avoiding unforeseen shoots from pets created for them at home. It is believed that the minimum size ulitariya indicators must exceed 45 × 25 × 25 cm.
You can not select for the snails alternative to the aquarium in the form of a plywood box or carton. In any case, the container wall must be smooth, easy to clean and handling.
Horizontal container suitable for almost all the snails, but tree species need free space for recovery, they buy or prepare a vertically oriented tank.
volumes
By purchasing a terrarium, even for very small pet, it is important to remember that the shellfish grow throughout their lives and can reach 20 cm in length. Of course, too large terrarium add complexities of care and cleaning. The standard volume is 1 cochlea calculated from standard 10 L or dm3. To neglect this rule is not recommended as a small reservoir greatly worsen the conditions of detention pets.
If snails are small and grow no more than 5 cm in length, it is permissible to choose a more compact container.
Inside the cage is too large, they simply will not find food. It is recommended to choose terraria having a simple rectangular or square shaped, rounded glass aquaria will be dangerous for the snails.
Materials
When selecting materials for the cage in which to live snails, should pay attention to the following options:
- glass;
- plastic;
- Plexiglas;
- Plexiglas.
Each of these materials has its own advantages and disadvantages, but in general they do not have specific contraindications for use as a base of the cage. If you want to avoid drastic temperature changes, it is necessary to give preference to options with low thermal conductivity. This property is possessed polymeric materials - plastic, plexiglass.
Glass has its advantages - increased transparency, high mechanical strength and chemical resistance. All these characteristics allow us to provide the convenience of terrarium care.
Besides, Watch the snails in such a reservoir much more convenient and more interesting . Increased material light-resistant provides the ability to maintain the optimal mode inside the container.
In the pet shop, you can mainly purchase a ready-made plastic terrarium But for a snail will have to modify it, reduce the number of ventilation holes. Experienced breeders prefer to acquire an ordinary container with a cover with a capacity of 18.5 liters in the economic hypermarket and make them with their own hands at the desired level and in any desired quantity. Among the disadvantages of this option are opaque walls that interfere with watching pets.
Glass terrariums are most often manufactured to order. They are heavier, need careful circulation. But you can get the capacity of the desired size and even configuration.
How to make ventilation?
When choosing as a terrarium of a conventional plastic container for clothes, you can do ventilation openings in it with your own hands. To do this, with the help of a drill or soldering iron in the walls of the container, the holes are made with a diameter of up to 5 mm. Usually one row is located at the top, the other on the opposite wall above the layer of the ground substrate. But immediately turning the container in the sieve is not needed.
For a start, it will be enough for only one row. Then observation is performed. If there are signs of soiling, exceeding the humidity level, you can drill the second row of ventilation holes.
It is worth considering the snail breed when creating a ventilation system. If Akhatina and with 70% of humidity feels good, then wood species need 80-95% for a comfortable existence. With quick soil drying, it is enough to just take a few holes and adjust the humidity level.
Suitable primer
With the arrangement of the terrarium for land snails is extremely important to provide them with a high-quality bedding controlling the microclimate and gives the necessary shelter. The concept of "soil" here is very conditional, since the nutrient substrate can be used different. It is categorically not suitable for these purposes sand, sawdust, needles that can injure the gentle pet body with their sharp particles.
The optimal option is considered to use coconut substrate or peat. These bedding options are safe, but require preliminary preparation for use. Specialized primer for snails from pet shop is also suitable.
If it is not possible to purchase ready-made substrates, you can use conventional gardening soil.
After pretreatment in the oven (keep it takes 20-30 minutes at temperatures above 100 degrees), the land will be completely safe for further use.
Some coil breeders are used as a litter of sheet opead. It is used independently or in a mixture with other types of soils. The foliage allows pets to rip it into it, supporting the necessary humidity and shadow during the day. When buying a finished flower substrate, you must make sure that there are no dangerous salts and nitrates.
The selected soil falls asleep in the terrarium to the smooth layer, the thickness of which is determined by the size of the snail itself.
On average, it is 2-12 cm, it must be borne in mind that the substrate layer should allow the pet to be completely buried into it.
In the case of a coconut substrate, it is pre-prepared, soaking in boiling water, stitching, washing and slightly drying. On top of the soil, it is recommended to fit soft moss, allowing you to keep the pet's body clean, regulating humidity and microclimate in the terrarium.
Arrangement and creation of the necessary conditions
In order to properly equip the home terrarium for snails, it is very important to take care of creating a comfortable environment in advance. It is important to take into account the peculiarities of the pet. Wooden species are better to buy a high terrarium, everything else will rather be the usual horizontal with the height of the walls equal to the width.
Water and air
Despite the fact that the land snails breathe atmospheric air, the humidity parameters of the medium are also important for their comfortable well-being. Of course, this mollusks do not need a daily shower, but the atmosphere inside the terrarium should be wet. To monitor the state of the medium inside the capacity, you need to place a hygrometer and thermometer. Standard parameters for snail content:
- air temperature - from +25 to +27 degrees;
- Humidity - 75-90% (the highest wood snail).
In order to ensure the influx of fresh air, you must necessarily do the necessary ventilation holes in the terrarium.
The glass aquarium is installed on the frame on the frame with additional fastening latches.
It is impossible to reduce the temperature in the terrarium below +12 degrees, since under these conditions the snail can lie in the hibernation. As a source of heat, you need to use armar horns or cords, special lamps. You can not put a terrarium directly to the source of heating, it is better to place it on the wall near the battery.
The optimal humidity mode inside the tank of the snail breeder also has to be maintained manually. Spraying moisture is performed using a flower sprayer. This procedure is carried out 1-2 times a day.
Drinkers and feeders
The drinking bowl for snails most often plays the role of bathing or pool, so it must fully comply with security requirements, easy to wash and remove from the terrarium. But at the same time inside the soil, the drinking need to be easy to securely, otherwise it will be easy to shift. It will be convenient for use for this purpose a disposable plastic dishes without sharp edges, polyethylene or silicone covers for cans. It is not necessary to use glass, ceramic and any other tough types of materials.
Decor options
The terrarium used for the content of snails must not only prepare, but also decorate. As a decor, it is not enough to easily put a roasting or placing unpretentious plants. With the right approach, you can recreate inside the atmosphere of spectacular rainforest, complete exotic ornaments.
Do not purchase the first scenery.
Any ceramic and clay ornaments are not recommended - pots, locks, imitation of stones and corping. About such a decor of the snail can be painful the body, in addition, with the active behavior of the pets, they will threaten the damage to the shell when falling.
Living vegetation will be the best decoration of the tropical aquarium. As a delicacy for snails, gear wheat or lettuce grains can be planted. Young piggy pets will be happy to eat. You can put into the soil of succulents with thick fleshy stems, ferns, tradescans. They are diverse in shape, look spectacular, but do not pose food interest for snail.
It looks beautiful as scenery sphagnum, as well as moss bodies, bark of deciduous trees. In the role of shelter, you can use half the coconut shells, laying the soil near the leaves of oak, birch. You can arrange inside the root without sharp edges. Any decorations of natural origin must be prepared from bacteria and parasites.
Where to put a container?
Ground snails are preferably a nightlife, preferring to hide from bright sunlight in the ground. That is why when choosing a place to install the terrarium, it is worth a preference to a shaded corner, which eliminates contact with straight solar rays.
It is not recommended to install it on the windowsill on the south side. It is dangerous for snails and drafts, so they are better to avoid, so as not to provoke the disease or the death of pets.
It is impossible to place a terrarium directly above the radiator or near the heater. Permanent overheating can lead to the death of mollusks. It is recommended to create artificial shading around the container with living room colors or other scenery.
How to equip a terrarium for snail, look next.