Or more accurately a hemaphrodite! Gary has been reproducing asexually. I am so glad that I remembered this little tidbit from college AFTER the eggs had hatched. That's right, we have snail babies at our house. GROSS! Remember my post about Gary digging and hiding in the dirt and needing a bath? He/She/It was burying eggs to be hatched in 3-4 weeks. Addie saw what she thought was a snail booger on the lid of Gary's tank. Ryan took a closer look and this is what he discovered....
Once we realized what it was and googled about snail reproduction, we discovered that snails can lay as many as 85 eggs at once. We immediately started counting. This little guy had crawled up through the air hole provided in Gary's tank. If he made it, how many others had escaped? I am ready to pour Morton Salt all over my kitchen counters and sink! We counted 10 originially, but one fell to an early death. Ryan dropped it off of a popsicle stick and accidentally stepped on it. EEW! Hope you aren't eating lunch while you read this post--he he! Addie is attached to the little critters and loves her pet's little offspring. Unfortunately, I think they are not going to survive our vacation to Disneyland next week. Wink! Wink!
Andrea, I don't know about snails being good pets, but they are relatively low maintenance. Now my only recommendation would be to change out their soil every week, especially if your snail decides to hide in it for a day or 2. We are hoping Addie can get extra credit for her baby snails.
Posted by: Kari | October 16, 2008 at 09:52 AM
So, do snails really make a good pet? Sorry about your luck with the babies. Hopefully they made their way outside.
Posted by: Andrea | October 16, 2008 at 08:47 AM