How do I differentiate between a male and female snail' There is no male or female snail. Snails are hermaphrodite.Is there cross-breeding in snail i.e. Can achatina specie mate with helix species' No, only snail of the same specie mate.What type of water should I give my snail' Give clean, fresh and untreated water.Do I need a special bowl to serve the water' Serve water in a flat plate. Avoid use of bowl to prevent your snail from drowning or create a small gutter within the snail house and put water daily. Is it compulsory to give my snails calcium and how often' Yes, it is important you give your snails calcium daily for them to grow well.Apart from poultry egg, what are other sources of calcium' Other sources of calcium are ' charcoal, white chalk, bone meal, formulated calcium powder, snail shell, limestone.Can I give my snails salt or salty foods' NO. Salt or Salty foods will kill snails.Can I give my snails water leaf (gbure) as food' Snail do eat water leaf but water leaf purges them. Instead of gaining weight they will be loosing weight. So dont give them.How often should I feed my snail' Once a day(in the evening around 6pm) is okay. Snails are usually active in the night.Is it advisable to feed my snails with formulated feeds alone' Snails enjoy eating varieties of food, give formulated feeds as supplementary food.Can I feed my snails with the same type of food everyday' Snails get bored eating the same type of food everyday.Which is the best type of snail to raise for local market' achachatina marginata.What are the advantages and disadvantages of the open range snail farming system' Free-range snail farming is where snails roam freely and forage for food in open pastures of living food crops, rather than being densely confined in small enclosures and fed only compound foods. The freedom to roam in large areas allows the snails to avoid each other's slime trails. Over-slimed ground and excess faeces can modify snail behaviour by putting out chemical signals which might be harmful to reproduction and growth rates in terrestrial snails(sonya begg). In this system snails are allowed to breed at their own pace. This system does not need daily human supervision, The cost of feeding is low.Disadvantages : since the snail are left to roam about within the pen, the conditions of the snails are not known. You might not be able to monitor the growth of your snails. This system requires more supervision during the dry season- watering of plants to maintain plant coverageSonya Begg is Australia's entrepreneurial pioneer of snail farming. Sonya is recognised internationally as a Helicicultural Consultant and travels extensively to assist people in Australia and other countries to become established in commercial snail farming. She has these to say about free- range snail farming - Free-range snail farming is considered the most sustainable method of mass producing snails and is the only internationally recognised system of sustainable, commercial snail farming in Australia.She believes that snails bred in free-range fields have higher reproduction yields. When compared to snails bred in high density situations such as small enclosures or greenhouse environments, free-range snails have demonstrated a significantly lower mortality rate and the snails produced are well-developed and consistent in size.This free-range system of breeding and growing snails produces clean, healthy snails that are sought after because of their exceptional quality. It is more cost effective than any other method of raising large numbers of snails.What can kill my snails very fast' Sun and eating of contaminated food or chemical.What are the simple equipment needed by a snail farmer' A weighing Scale, thermometer, ruler, watering can or hose and water or feeding troughs Stay Blessed and Happy farming !
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