SNAIL FEEDING

Snail Feeds and Feeding

Snails need carbohydrates for energy, and protein for growth. In addition they require calcium (Ca) for their shells, as well as other minerals and vitamins. Snail meat is low in crude fibre and fat. Snails mainly feeds on green leaves and fruits though they can utilize other ranges of foods. Feed your snails leaves, fruits, or even formulate from the feed mill. Aside from food to grow tissues, snails need calcium to grow shells.

Snail Feeding Materials

Leaves: Cocoyam leaves, pawpaw leaves, okra leaves, cassava leaves, eggplant leaves, cabbage and lettuce leaves.

Fruits: Mango, eggplant, pawpaw, banana, tomatoes, oil palm fruits, pears. and cucumber.

Once they start growing, separate the big ones from the small ones..

Tubers: - Snails also eat tuber crops like yam, sweet potato, cocoyam and cassava when cooked, but without salt.

Agricultural by-products:- Agricultural by products – wheat bran, rice bran, corn, soybean, residue bran, palm kernel cake, peel of plantain, banana, fresh maize chaff etc, can also be eaten by snails.

Supplements: - Feed supplements like fish meal and blood meal are also good for snails.

Concentrates: - feed, fish feed, but without salt. Dried and processed maize, groundnut cake, soybean meal, and sorghum.

Minerals: - Limestone, wood ash, fish meal, bone meal. Snails also need a lot of calcium in-take for growth and shell formation. Calcium or mineral supplement can also be derived from ground eggshell, oyster shell, bone meal, or even soil.

Always remember that the performance of your snails depends solely on the type of feeds they are fed with. So feed your snails well for better growth and increased returns.