Find The "Dracula" Among The Typical Snails, The Fire Snail
All of us have heard about ‘cat people’ and ‘dog people’, but not about ‘snail people’? Sometimes the attractiveness of the character Spongebob and his pet snail, Gary may have drawn this attraction towards it. And the trend of keeping snails as pets has come into practice? Though it’s not my cup of tea, it is up to each of the others to have their own! Platymma tweediei which is from Malaysia is considered as the most uncommon snail even though it's a bit creepy and large.
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This specific snail is approximately the size of a hand. The Peninsula of Malaysia shows off Platymma tweediei as the biggest snail around. Irrespective of your choice on a pet, snails are found interesting. They are called 'fire snails' due to the dominant bright red color. Snails are creatures with shells found on sea, freshwater and land and they are called mollusks or gastropods. The only habitat of these fire snails is the Peninsula of Malaysia.
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The excretion of the snails is called 'snail slime or snail trail' is sometimes an ingredient of cosmetics and the body of the snail (not all the snails are eaten!) is a good food as well. Jewelry and some other ornamental items are produced with the use of snail shells. The area of distribution is quite large compared to the body size, 100km radius and 1000m above sea level.
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The largest snail recorded so far is called the Giant African Snail, and is found from Ghana. Some of these have grown approximately up to 30cm! According to the research, these snails have lost their usual home in massive numbers, due to the removal of them to sell as pets. The movement on rough terrain is helped by their secretion along with the powerful and well-grown foot which helps them to move along. Remaining in good health at capture is somewhat challenging. The average speed of these well known slow movers is extremely slow, which reaches about 1mm per second. Only cool and humid conditions help them survive well. The size of the shell which covers their body is developed according to the snail's body. 79% is the level of humidity in The Malaysian town of Tanah Rata. The snail can be kept in its optimum health by providing a healthy portion of calcium in the diet and the environment to see a perfect and strong growth of snail and its shell. Eventhough keeping these snails alive in captivity has so many difficulties, it doesn't discourage the collectors.
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There is a formation called an operculum which acts as a door, ensuring the safety of the snail at entering into its shell. These strange looking snails are considered truly a treasure to exotic pet collectors. Land snails are commonly found in moist and damp locations which are covered with moss. Photo credits: Maxs Exotic Pet Garden. More info: Facebook (Maxs Exotic Pet Garden)
