What do garden snails eat?
Keeping garden snails at home is very easy and cheap because they often live in large numbers in the garden by eating plants. Although snails need to be fed and watered at least once every two days, they are easy to care for if you know what they need.
Snails should get fresh and clean food every day
Most snails are not picky eaters and will happily eat almost any fresh fruit and vegetable. Wash all food thoroughly with clean water before giving it to the snails, and cut large vegetables into slices or chunks. Some types of food, such as potatoes or carrots, should be boiled for a couple of minutes to make these vegetables a little softer. Always cool cooked food before serving it to snails.
Find out which foods can harm snails
The nutritional diet of snails has not been particularly studied by scientists, so there is no consensus among snail owners about what food is harmful to snails and what is not. Below is a list of unhealthy foods for snails, ranked from most dangerous to least dangerous:
- Salty food can lead to the death of snails.
- Do not give pasta, rice and millet. This starchy food can lead to blockages in the snails’ digestive tract. Do not feed these foods to snails.
- Home-grown plants can be exposed to vehicle exhaust fumes and can therefore be dangerous.
- Acidic foods like tomatoes, citrus fruits and kiwis can harm snails. Use such food in small quantities, adding to the main meal.
The main thing is not to forget that forest and garden snails are omnivorous at home, but it is important that the food is fresh and juicy.
