Currently, many are interested in exotic pets. Therefore, snakes, all sorts of rodents and snails constitute a serious competition of cats and dogs. An unusual pets can be attributed to such a creation as Akatina reticulous, the snail, which surprises not only with its size, but also devotion to the owners. It is worth noting that this is a very interesting and intelligent creation. However, so that it is always active and healthy, she needs the right care.
Peculiarities
In the natural medium, Akhatina is reticulous, most often found in South Africa. Snail is considered mollusk. Marine environment prefers land with a hot and moistened climate. In addition, it can be found in Australia or Asia, where tropical or equatorial zones prevail.
Such a snail will feel great in the natural environment, and in artificially created conditions.
By nature, Akhatina is reticulous very affectionate and gentle. The same she is waiting for both their owners. This mollusk is growing very quickly: after 150 days, it can reach 17 centimeters in length. Adults in some cases can grow up to 35 centimeters, while the sink is up to 25 centimeters.
The snail appears deaf. It breathes with all the body, including shell. She has a beige body or even a brown color, while the head is always a bit darker. On her Makushka, there are eyes that she sees only what is at a distance of no more than 2 centimeters from them. The snail shell reminds its structure a small corrugated house, which is painted in brown. However, it is found different inclusions.
File ripening of sharp occurs only after 11 months. She is able to capture any flavors, because its sense of smell is quite well developed. The world around us perceives all the body, and not just tentacles. But it can easily determine the form of the item, and its texture. In addition, with the help of a suckling snail feels the illumination of the subject. So, if the light is too bright, it immediately hides in your house, and with too dawn lighting the snail will look for the place of warmer.
On both sides there are curls that show the age of such a pet. If there are too much of them, this suggests that the snail is old. The snails are considered silent pets, but still in case of danger, they can look very loudly. In the natural medium, sharp are dangerous pests, because they feed on greens.
But in Japan, such snails contain in special nurseries, so that they are later simply eating, because in this country they are considered a real delicacy.
Views
In a natural environment, there is up to one hundred species of such huge snails. However, only some of them are suitable for home. This list includes only 20 varieties. According to the standards, all subspecies have three main shades: This is a beige or brown, white and black. In addition, they can only be crossed with representatives of their subspecies.Ahather Fulika
It differs from other clams of its increasingly. Most often, such a snail becomes active in the dark. But during the day she just sleeps in the most secluded place. Her shell has characteristic features: it can change its color, depending on the fact that the snail ate for breakfast or lunch.
The body of this mollusk is rather massive and covered with small tubercles. Color - dark brown. Fulik's snail length can grow to 21 centimeters.
Snail albino
Albinos can be reticulously, and Tiger Snail, and Fulika. Their body has a bright color, and the shell is a yellow shade. Length does not exceed 16 centimeters.
Tiger
These individuals have a barrel-shaped sink, the color of which is very bright. In addition, you can see small dark stripes on it. Upon reaching adult age, snail grows to 24-25 centimeters. Tiger variety was listed in the Red Book.
The largest representative of this subspecies really struck: it is DOROS to 39 centimeters in length with a weight of 900 grams.
Chernogolovaya reticulous
The individual of this subspecies has a head painted black. In some cases, the whole body can be black. The young snails of this subspecies have thin stripes, as well as small points of the cherry blossom. Subsequently, they acquire a natural color.
Immakulyat
Snails of this subspecies have a beige shell. In addition, it is covered with a patterned dark shade grid. They weigh no more than 200 grams with 16 centimeters.
Conditions of detention
So that the snail is always healthy and beautiful, it will require special conditions for living. If you do not provide, then the mollusk can just fall into the hibernation or even perish. Too much costs do not need, because For snails, communication with its owners is most important, as well as the right choice of food.
First of all, it is necessary to equip her place of residence. To do this, a terrarium or a simple closing container is suitable. On one adult snail requires a capacity of up to 10 liters, its bottom should be at least 40 centimeters. Therefore, if the snail is bought not alone, then the terrarium should be larger.
The cover should not be removed too tight to the tank itself, as it needs oxygen. However, it is not completely open to open it, because the snail can simply escape along the wall of the terrarium. Its bottom can be filled with a special substrate, which can be purchased at a special store. Most often it consists of sand, wood humus, as well as coconut wood.
The layer of earth should be rather fat so that the favorite pet can burn in it.
For the scenery, you can use various snags having an unusual shape, or moss, but not only pebbles, because they can harm snail by hiding it. It is necessary to put the container with clean water in the terrarium. It should be quite stable, because the snails not only drink water, but also bathe in it.
In addition, there should be high humidity in the terrarium. For this you need to spray its walls every day with a spray gun. However, all this should be done very carefully, so that at the bottom there is no puddle, because in them the snail can be simply drown.
If the pet too often covers on the walls of the tank, it can only mean one thing - the soil is too wet. In the event that the snail covers in the shell, the ground, on the contrary, too dry.
The optimal temperature for the evidence is 27-28 degrees. However, if it is slightly lower, this creation will not feel bad.
The main thing is that it does not fall below 10 degrees. To avoid this, you can buy special belt heaters.
Feeding
You can use any plant food as food for sharp: vegetables, fruits, as well as any herbs. In addition, snail can give remains of boiled meat or boiled eggs.
The richer is the diet, the more strong it will be its shell. For feeding, it is best to cut products into small pieces so that the snail can be suppressed by them. In the event that a pet does not want to eat some of the products, it can be replaced with another or simply remove from the diet.
For good development, snail must be added to the calcium diet. To do this, you can use the eggshell or give it a special mineral stone that buy many animals.
Control the amount of food is not necessary, because more than required, the snail will not be able to eat. In addition, it is worth knowing that salty, sharp or roasted should be excluded from the diet of the pet.
How to care?
If we talk about ahatine, then this is a rather clean snail. She practically always cares about himself. But at the same time, all the remnants of food must be removed from the terrarium so that they cannot be rotten.
Also, care provides for the cleaning of the container in which the snail lives. Do it need it once a month. The walls of the terrarium must be wiped with a moisturized sponge, but without adding any detergent or cleaning agent. In addition, 1 time per year must be carried out by general cleaning. This includes a complete soil change, as well as washing the tank of clean water.
Its pets also need to be bathed under running water 3-4 times a month, and its shell can be wiped with a soft brush. During the bathing, the snail can spin his head from her sink and substitute it under a stream of water.
However, the pressure should not be too strong, and the water is too hot. If you observe all these rules, snail will feel good.
Reproduction
By nature, Akhatina reticulates are considered hermaphrodites. For reproduction, it is enough to simply put in one capacity of two snails of only one subspecies. Specialists have recorded several cases of self-exploitation.
Those mollusks that have not fulfilled another 10 months cannot become females. Usually they perform men's functions. Immediately after the process of fertilization, the snail roets the pit, in which no less than 45 eggs should postpone. All of them have a transparent shell. When the snail will postpone them, the owner must move the eggs to another container with a temperature within 28-29 degrees and humidity at least 50 percent. However, it is not entirely necessary to do and it is necessary only for the female not flooding them or did not eat them.
Already after 21 days, kids should appear. At this time they are quite mobile, as well as curious. They crawl everywhere, try everything in a terrarium. In addition, they try to contact their owners as often as possible. Sleep kids most often together, forming a small tangle.
Adult snails, especially those individuals who have quite large size, lay eggs several times a year. As a rule, they breed from 5 to 9 times. But at the same time it is not so many young.
Such a pet as Akhatina is reticulous can become a friend for any of the family members, because it has an excellent character and practically shows love and kindness. The host requires only the right care for her, and some time to communicate with your favorite pet.
For the peculiarities of snail care, see below.