18 Snails Facts you Should Know

1. Some snails Hibernate.
   Some species of snails hibernate during the colder
   months of the year. They cover their bodies with a

thin layer of mucus, which prevents them from dry-
ing out. Sometimes snails also do a similar process

in the summer, called aestivation, to survive if it is
a dry period. These processes are probably one of
the reasons they have survived for millions of years.

1. Snails can have a long life.
   The life expectancy of snails depends on their
   habitat and the species. Some of them only live for
   about five years. However, others in captivity can
   live up to 25 years old.
2. There are giant snails.
   The biggest land snail recorded was 12 inches long
   and weighed near 2 pounds. It was a Giant African

Snail. Other species are tiny being only a few cen-
timeters long when they are adults and just a couple

of ounces in weight.

1. Snail Moving.

When moving, snails leave behind a trail of mu-
cus. This mucus acts as a lubricant to reduce friction

against the surface where they pass.

1. Snail Mucus.
   It is a myth that snail mucus can make humans ill.
   Many people worry that the snails in their garden

will ruin the foods grown there and make them un-
fit for consumption, but that is false.

1. Snails live in slow motion.Facts and in-
   formation about snails

Garden snails reach a top speed of 50 yards per
hour; this is about 0.5 inches per second. While they
don’t move fast, they do move at a very steady pace.
Snails are one of the slowest creatures on the Earth.

1. Snails are Hermaphrodites.
   Snails have the reproductive organs of both, males

and females, which categorize them as hermaphro-
dites. However, they usually do not create offspring

on their own. They mate with another snail, and
then both lay eggs.

1. Snails can see but can’t hear.

Most land snails have two set of tentacles, the up-
per one carry the eyes, while the lower one has the

olfactory organs. However, they do not have ears or
ear canal.

1. Snails are nocturnal
   Snails are nocturnal animals, which means most
   of their activities take place at night.
   Snails don’t like the sunlight, which is why you find
   them out more on cloudy days. If you keep them in
   an aquarium, make sure that there is not too much
   sunlight in the room, or the snails will stop eating
   and hide inside their shell.
2. Snail Care.

Snails will die if you put salt on them. Make sure
they are not in contact with salt if you have one in
captivity because their body can ́t process it.

1. Very Hungry.
   The Giant African Land Snail is known to eat
   more than 500 different types of plants.
2. Small, not weak.
   Snails are strong and can lift up to 10 times their
   body weight in a vertical position.
3. Large family.
   There are at least 200,000 species of mollusks out

there including snails, although only 50,000 are clas-
sified.

1. Snails do not change shells when they grow
   up.”
   Instead, the shell grows along with them. Calcium
   carbonate is the main component of the snail shells.
2. The food of land snails goes through a mouth
   structure called the radula, which has several rows
   of tiny teeth inside. Thou they don’t use the teeth
   to chew their food, they scrap it. Land snails breathe
   thanks to a lung.
3. The speed of snails is around 0.5-0.8 inches per
   second. If they moved without stopping, it would
   take more than a week to complete 1 kilometer.
4. The courtship, process by which they attract
   each other before mating, lasts between 2 and 12
   hours.
5. The mucus of the garden snail is used to treat
   wrinkles, spots, aging, Stretch Marks and scars on
   the skin.
   Sunday Ekpa Ido
   Snails Agripreneur