Grape snails hibernate. Grape snail. Description, features, lifestyle and habitat of the grape snail. Snail - description and characteristics

Burgundy is famous not only for its wines and Dijon mustard, but also for its snails. On the first weekend of August, the small French town of Diguan turns into a snail capital. Over the three days of the festival, more than 100,000 shellfish are eaten here. They learned to cook them almost two and a half thousand years ago.

The grape snail is one of the largest land mollusks, the shell size reaches 4.5 cm. This mollusk is a hermaphrodite, that is, it can be both female and male. And each individual lays several dozen eggs. Young snails reach their maximum size at the end of summer, so farmers harvest the most abundant “harvest” in August.

The grape snail is part of the Helicidae family, which includes more than 300 genera of land mollusks. The Helix genus is one of the most widespread. These snails live in Australia and in countries temperate zone, including in the south of Russia.

In nature, grape snails prefer to settle in meadows, in small degraded forests with dense ground cover vegetation, in gardens with chalk or limestone soil that has an alkaline reaction. In dry weather, snails hide under stones, in the shade of plants or in damp moss.

The winter dormant period of the grape snail lasts up to 3 months. Under the natural conditions of Belarus - at least 5 months, while mollusks with a period of suspended animation of less than 60 days under experimental conditions were characterized by reduced fertility or did not produce eggs at all.

In preparation for wintering, the snail attaches itself to the substrate with its lower leg—the sole—and then curls up inside the shell. Still holding on to the surface with the tip of its leg, the snail, with a film of mucus, covers the space between the surface of the substrate and the edges of the mouth of the shell, after which it removes the remaining part of the leg, covering the hole with folds of the mantle. The film hardens, turning into a hard lid.

During hibernation, the snail loses about 10% of its weight, which is restored 4-6 weeks after awakening. In the spring, when the air temperature rises to +6-8"C, the animal awakens and leaves its winter shelter. The grape snail can tolerate low temperatures, for example, a temperature of -7"C for several hours.

The round, almost spherical limestone shell of the grape snail reliably protects the soft body of the mollusk from enemies. The spiral whorls of the shell are convex, their outer part is smooth. The last turn is large and swollen. The shell is colored uniformly, usually orange-yellowish. The snail's head stands out noticeably and bears two pairs of tentacles; at the tips of one of the pairs are the eyes of the mollusk.

The leg is large and muscular. The grape snail moves with the help of this leg. With the help of muscle contractions, the animal, sliding, pushes off the surface. When moving, mucus is secreted, which softens friction and facilitates movement along the substrate. The glands that secrete mucus are located in the front of the body. average speed movement is about 1.5 mm per second. It can settle on both horizontal (for example, on the ground under a stone) and vertical (on the walls of buildings, on the side glass of a molluscar at home) surface.

Natural enemies Snails include hedgehogs, shrews, lizards, moles and some other animals. They are also different beetle species, which can crawl inside through the breathing hole, and some types of predatory snails. This animal is the enemy Agriculture, primarily because it feeds on young shoots of agricultural crops, in particular grapes. In a number of countries it is intensively exterminated, and in some, in particular the countries of North and South America, the import of these mollusks is prohibited.

Grape snails have been bred since ancient times. According to Pliny the Elder, Fulvius Lippinus was the first to breed them. Now in a number of countries there are so-called “snail farms”, where large quantities, for subsequent preparation or export, these gastropods are bred, creating favorable conditions for them.

Their meat contains 10% protein, 30% fat, 5% carbohydrates, as well as vitamins B6, B12, iron, calcium, magnesium. In the air-dry matter of meat grape snails, according to the Institute fisheries NAS of Belarus, contains 60-65% protein, about 5% fat, the rest is low molecular weight organic matter and mineral compounds - ash.

In Spain, France and Italy, these mollusks are often eaten. In France they are cooked in the shell in vegetable oil, seasoned with parsley. It is believed that its taste is superior to that of other edible snails. In France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, it is considered rare and protected by law, it is imported from Greece and other countries where it is collected, or specially bred on farms. Even in Russia Kaliningrad region, snails are quite widely bred for sale to restaurants, for the pharmaceutical industry, and for sale in stores.

Well, for a snack, here are a couple of recipes for preparing grape snails. The result should be approximately the same as in the photo.

Snails in Burgundy style

100 snails, 1 liter of white wine, 200 g of three percent vinegar, 3 tbsp. tablespoons flour, 2 carrots, 2 large onions, parsley, Bay leaf, thyme, salt, 800 g snail oil.

Place the prepared grape snails in a saucepan, pour cold water, bring to a boil and simmer for 5-6 minutes. Rinse them with cold water, dry them with a clean cloth or towel, remove the snail from the house with a tailor’s pin (in France there is a special “tool for this”, it resembles a tailor’s pin) and cut off its black tip. Wash the snails cleaned in this way again and put them in a saucepan, pour in dry white wine and the same amount of water so that all the snails are covered with liquid. Add 2 chopped carrots, chopped onions, thyme, parsley root, celery stick, green onions. Add salt at the rate of 10 g per liter and cook for 4 hours. Then remove from heat and leave to cool in this broth. While the snails are boiling, wash and boil the shells in soda water. Then rinse them clean water and dry.

Snail oil: chop very finely (can be grated), 100 g onion, 3 large cloves of garlic, add 80 g chopped parsley, 25 g salt, 5 g ground pepper, 700 g butter soft, but not melted. Mix everything well in a bowl.

Place a nut of prepared oil on the bottom of the sink, then a snail, covering with a good portion of the same oil on top. Place the stuffed shells, butter side up, on a plate and place them in a hot oven for 7-8 minutes before serving. Serve the sizzling, aromatic dish immediately.

Limousin snails

6 dozen Burgundy snails, 1 glass of vinegar, 300 g of peeled walnuts, 200 g of butter, 1 clove of garlic, several sprigs of parsley, salt, pepper.

For the broth: 0.5 liters of dry white wine, 1 carrot, 1 onion, bay leaf, celery, parsley, salt, pepper.

Dip the grape snails, prepared in advance, as indicated above, into water acidified with vinegar. During this time, peel 1 carrot and onion, chop them, and prepare the greens. Now put them in a spacious saucepan, pour in white wine and water so that they are completely covered. Salt and pepper, add chopped carrots and onions, herbs and cook for 3-4 hours. While they are boiling, prepare snail oil, for which you peel the nuts and garlic, wash the parsley, chop everything finely; skip the crumb rye bread through a meat grinder; Put the butter in a bowl, add chopped nuts and other herbs and bread crumbs, pepper and mix everything well to get a homogeneous mass. When the snails are cooked, drain the broth, remove the snails from their shells with a pin, and cut off the black dots on the tip of their body. Stuff the shells in the same way as in the previous recipe: put a piece of snail oil the size of a nut on the bottom of the shell, then a snail and, finally, another piece of prepared butter.

Place the stuffed snails in a refractory dish, oil side up, add a few drops of white wine to each of them and place in a hot oven for 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

What kind of pets do people not keep at home? Even snails. We have already written about keeping Achatina snails at home on our website - you can read about it here. However, Achatina is not the only snail that can live next to us. There are also grape snails - worthy contenders for a place in our home and heart, and it is them that we will tell you about today. So, about the peculiarities of keeping grape snails and everything that a novice snail breeder needs to know...

Description of the grape snail

Grape snail - belongs to the species land snails, and is one of the largest. Its natural habitat is Central and South-Eastern Europe, from where it was brought to South America. This terrestrial gastropod belongs to the order stalked, it has an asymmetrical body, a clearly visible head and a flat, wide leg. The grape snail has 2 pairs of tentacles and 1 pair of eyes on its head. The shell of the mollusk is curved in the form of a spiral, and forms 4-5 turns. Snails breathe with their lungs, so they cannot live in water. As a rule, the color of the mollusk is uniform, yellowish-orange. The height of the shell reaches 45 millimeters, and the width is 46-47 millimeters, but the weight is from 22 to 45 grams (it all depends on how and what you feed your grape snail).

With proper care, the life expectancy of a mollusk is 6-8 years, however, in Sweden there was a case recorded when a grape snail lived for as long as... 35 years. An impressive age for such a pet.

By the way, grape snails are called large-growing, roof snails, Burgundy snails, apple snails, Roman snails, moon snails and edible ones...

Where do grape snails live in Nature?

If you want to create for your unusual pet comfortable conditions in your home, it won’t hurt you to know where grape snails live in Nature. So, their habitat is valleys and mountains, forest edges deciduous forests, parks, meadows, ravines overgrown with bushes, vineyards, alkaline soils. In dry weather, these moisture-loving creatures hide under stones, in the shade of plants, or bury themselves in moss. If there are abnormally high temperatures outside, then they become lethargic and may even fall into a state of torpor - something akin to hibernation, but as soon as the rains begin, the snail gets out of the shell and becomes active again. So, you will have to try to create similar comfortable conditions for her at home.

Not only can a snail fall into a state of torpor heat, but also its decrease. So, at a temperature of 9-12 degrees above zero Celsius, it can already hibernate, and snails can hibernate either individually or in entire snail colonies, burrowing into the soil to a depth of 5-10 centimeters.

During hibernation, the snail loses up to approximately 10% of its weight, however, it quickly regains the lost grams a few weeks after its awakening.

In the spring, as soon as it gets a little warmer outside, the snails wake up. By the way, according to experts, grape snails are able to tolerate lower temperatures - they can live for several hours even at temperatures of -7 degrees below zero.

Considering the peculiarities of the comfortable temperature regime for these mollusks, it is not surprising that grape snails most They spend their lives in a state of hibernation and torpor, and are awake only 4-5 months a year.

The enemies of these mollusks in Nature are mice, hedgehogs, predatory insects, toads and frogs, weasels, skunks, birds, lizards and other types of snails - so if one of the above listed potential enemies of your future pet lives in your house, think about it , is it worth getting him, will you be able to ensure his safety, or will he become someone’s lunch or dinner...

What do grape snails eat in Nature?

Similar to the previous point, we invite you to familiarize yourself with the diet of grape snails in free-living conditions. This information will become a kind of guide for you, which will help you find out what you should include in your shellfish menu, and what it is better to refuse. So,

Grape snails are primarily herbivorous creatures, they eat green grass, leaves and can feed on humus.

According to experts, in this exclusively vegetarian diet of grape snails there are more than 30 species of wild as well as cultivated plants. You will have to provide her with a similar diet if you take responsibility for her life. By the way, interesting fact regarding snail nutrition - they prefer to go out to feed at night, and in general, they mainly lead night look life. You will either have to adapt to this feature of snails, or try to rearrange the mollusk’s daily routine to suit you.

So, you finally decided to have this pet in your home. Being next to it has its advantages, and you can’t argue with that - silent, unobtrusive, calm, your snail won’t cause you trouble, spoil your property, and you won’t worry about whether you’ll have time to walk it after work. But such a neighborhood also has its own difficulties. In particular, you should take care of purchasing a special terrarium or aquarium for your snail. It can be either plastic or glass, have a large bottom area and are well ventilated. Down to the bottom of the terrarium, it is recommended to place a damp mixture of soil and granulated activated carbon, in a ratio of 6.5 liters to 1 liter. But, make sure that this mixture is slightly damp, but not wet, since the snail can drown in wet and viscous mud.

You will have to constantly clean such a terrarium, especially paying attention to glass and other decorative items that will be covered with grape snail mucus. In order for your pet to feel comfortable in his home, you will need to provide him with proper temperature regime – During the day, the temperature should be 20-22 degrees above zero Celsius, and at night it should drop to 19 degrees. If you forget to regulate the temperature and it drops below 7 degrees inside the terrarium, your snail will go into hibernation, from which it will be difficult to bring it out. It is better to use fluorescent lamps for lighting the terrarium, with the help of which you will create a 12-hour day of daylight for your pet, thereby adjusting the snail’s daily routine to suit you. The humidity inside the terrarium should be between 85-95%.

Regarding the interior design and mandatory elements decor, then in addition to plants, stones, pieces of limestone, halves of pipes (they will become a shelter for the snail), it would not hurt to place a small artificial pond in it, in which you will change the water at least once a day.

What to feed a grape snail at home

You can safely feed your pet clam fruits, vegetables, plant leaves and grass. In principle, grape snails are omnivorous in their vegetarian diet. The main thing is to remove food debris from the terrarium in a timely manner so that it does not spoil or begin to rot. As for additional vitamins and mineral supplements, be sure to add calcium to the terrarium - the snail needs it for health, and without it it will not be active.

Breeding grape snails

First of all, you should be aware of the fact that grape snails are hermaphrodites by nature. Based on this information, you don’t have to worry too much about whether you have a male or a female, and which one you need to purchase in order for you to have a family of snails. By the way, after mating, grape snails can retain their spermatophores for 12 months.

Their breeding season begins in March-June, however, sometimes snails lay eggs again - this happens in early autumn.

They reach puberty at 12-18 months of life; you shouldn’t think about offspring from your snails before that.

Necessary conditions for the reproduction of grape snails

If you decide to start breeding grape snails, then you will need to get not only a male and female mollusk, but also organize a special breeding terrarium in which the thickness of the substrate at the bottom will be at least 7 centimeters, and the soil humidity will be 80%, at a soil temperature of 21 degrees. In order to stimulate the breeding processes of snails in such conditions, you can increase their duration daylight hours until 18 o'clock. True, you can’t count on the fact that you will witness how this all happens. Mating itself, and even the laying of eggs, which occurs through the intestines into a natural shelter or into a pre-dug hole, occurs at night. At one time, a snail can lay up to 40 pearl-white eggs with a diameter of 4-7 millimeters. After finishing the laying, she fills the hole and from that moment the countdown begins incubation period, which lasts 3-4 weeks.

It is noteworthy that many snail breeders note that the breeding season exhausts the body of the snails’ parents, and after the end of the clutch, up to 1/3 of the mollusks die.

Photo can be enlarged

(see photo in the text) is part of the Helicidae family, which includes more than 300 genera of terrestrial mollusks. The Helix genus is one of the most widespread. These snails live in Australia and temperate countries, including southern Russia.

In nature, grape snails prefer to settle in meadows, in small degraded forests with dense ground cover vegetation, in gardens with chalk or limestone soil that has an alkaline reaction. In dry weather, snails hide under stones, in the shade of plants or in damp moss.

The winter dormant period of the grape snail lasts up to 3 months. Under the natural conditions of Belarus - at least 5 months, while mollusks with a period of suspended animation of less than 60 days under experimental conditions were characterized by reduced fertility or did not produce eggs at all.

Photo can be enlarged

In preparation for wintering, the snail attaches itself to the substrate with the lower part of its leg - the sole - and then curls up inside the shell. Still holding on to the surface with the tip of its leg, the snail, with a film of mucus, covers the space between the surface of the substrate and the edges of the mouth of the shell, after which it removes the remaining part of the leg, covering the hole with folds of the mantle. The film hardens, turning into a hard lid.

During hibernation, the snail loses about 10% of its weight, which is restored 4-6 weeks after awakening. In the spring, when the air temperature rises to +6-8"C, the animal awakens and leaves its winter shelter. The vine snail can tolerate low temperatures, for example -7"C for several hours.

Photo can be enlarged

The round, almost spherical limestone shell of the grape snail reliably protects the soft body of the mollusk from enemies. The spiral whorls of the shell are convex, their outer part is smooth. The last turn is large and swollen. The shell is colored uniformly, usually orange-yellowish. The snail's head stands out noticeably and bears two pairs of tentacles; at the tips of one of the pairs are the eyes of the mollusk.

The leg is large and muscular. The grape snail moves with the help of this leg. With the help of muscle contractions, the animal, sliding, pushes off the surface. When moving, mucus is secreted, which softens friction and facilitates movement along the substrate. The glands that secrete mucus are located in the front of the body. The average movement speed is about 1.5 mm per second. It can settle on both horizontal (for example, on the ground under a stone) and vertical (on the walls of buildings, on the side glass of a molluscar at home) surface.

Photo can be enlarged

Natural enemies of the grape snail are hedgehogs, shrews, lizards, moles and some other animals. They are different kinds beetles that can crawl inside through the breathing hole, and some types of predatory snails. This animal is an enemy of agriculture, primarily because it feeds on young shoots of agricultural crops, in particular grapes. In a number of countries it is intensively exterminated, and in some, in particular the countries of North and South America, the import of these mollusks is prohibited.

Grape snails have been bred since ancient times. According to Pliny the Elder, Fulvius Lippinus was the first to breed them. Now in a number of countries there are so-called “snail farms”, where these gastropods are bred in large quantities for subsequent preparation or export, creating favorable conditions for them.

Their meat contains 10% protein, 30% fat, 5% carbohydrates, as well as vitamins B6, B12, iron, calcium, magnesium. The air-dry substance of grape snail meat, according to the Institute of Fisheries of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, contains 60-65% protein, about 5% fat, the rest is low-molecular organic matter and mineral compounds - ash.

In Spain, France and Italy, these mollusks are often eaten. In France they are cooked in the shell in vegetable oil, seasoned with parsley. It is believed that its taste is superior to that of other edible snails. In France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, it is considered rare and protected by law, it is imported from Greece and other countries where it is collected, or specially bred on farms. Even in Russia, in the Kaliningrad region, snails are quite widely bred for sale to restaurants, for the pharmaceutical industry, and for sale in stores.

Grape snail - content.

Photo can be enlarged

IN Lately Some hobbyists began to keep more “exotic” animals, such as invertebrates, in their home terrariums instead of the now familiar amphibians or reptiles.

Grape snails are herbivores, feed mainly on living plants, causing significant damage to them. Decaying vegetation makes up only a small part of their diet. The diet of grape snails in captivity can be limited to vegetables and fruits, which must be added to the terrarium as they are eaten. Mollusks have a very long digestive tract and rarely suffer from lack of appetite. Food should be given in small portions, cut into thin slices, and rotting, decomposing food should be removed immediately. Grape snails love bananas, apples, zucchini, cucumbers, pumpkin, carrots, potatoes, radishes, cabbage, beets, dandelion leaves, sorrel, horseradish, burdock and nettle leaves. A special treat for snails is soaked bread, but it is more suitable as a feed.

Photo can be enlarged

For keeping at home, glass or plastic container with a large bottom area and good ventilation. A mixture of damp (not wet, since the snails can drown) earth and granular activated carbon in a ratio of 6.5:1 is placed at the bottom. Constant cleaning of glass, walls and other objects from mucus is necessary. Recommended daytime temperature is 20-22"C, nighttime - 19"C. When the temperature drops below 7"C, the snails hibernate.

The terrarium is equipped in such a way as to recreate natural living conditions. You can decorate it with green twigs or live plants, on which the snails will crawl, and, if desired, can feast on them. And don’t forget to provide a shallow pond for them to swim in. It would be nice to build a limestone slide, which will provide the snails with the nutrition they need to strengthen their shells. You can also add some damp moss to the terrarium. The terrarium must be tightly covered with a lid to prevent snails from crawling out, but it must contain small holes for air to enter. It is important to constantly moisten the habitat of grape snails; this can be achieved by spraying the internal surfaces of the terrarium with a spray bottle once or twice a day.

Grape snail - breeding.

Photo can be enlarged

Grape snails are hermaphrodites, therefore, for breeding at home, it is enough to have two mature individuals. The desire to mate can be determined by behavior. The animal crawls slowly, as if looking for something, often stops and stands in one place for a long time, slightly raising the front part of its body. If two such snails meet, they immediately begin to " love game"They stretch upward one against the other and take a position characteristic of reproduction, touching parts of the sole, and feeling each other with tentacles. These movements stop after a short time, the snails fall and, pressing their soles tightly against each other, remain motionless for 15-30 minutes. After a period of rest, the game resumes again. This whole process lasts about two hours, until the snail, having achieved greater arousal, inserts a love arrow into the body of its partner, which also increases his arousal. After a short pause, the act of copulation occurs, in which each snail simultaneously plays the role of both male and female. Only after the exchange of spermatophores do the snails spread out in different directions.

Photo can be enlarged

For breeding grape snails in industrial scale needed temperate climate 15 – 24 degrees Celsius with high humidity (75%-95%), although most species can tolerate a wider range of temperatures. Optimal temperature for many types 21C. At 12C, snails become inactive, and at 10C, they stop growing. When the temperature rises to just over 26 C or conditions become too dry, the animals hibernate.

Wind is also harmful to them because it accelerates the loss of moisture, and mollusks must retain it, they need moisture environment. But although snails need high humidity, it is necessary to remove excess water. Snails breathe atmospheric air and may die in an overly humid environment. The most favorable soil moisture level is 80%. At night, air humidity of more than 80% enhances the vital activity and growth of snails.

Photo can be enlarged

After mating, the grape snail can retain spermatophores for a year. To lay eggs, she digs a hole or uses natural shelters (the base of plant stems). After a hole of the required depth has been dug, the snail begins to carefully finish the walls of the nest. They are compacted and the soil is released through the intestines to the surface. The clutch contains about 40 pearly white, shiny eggs (diameter 4-7 mm). After finishing the masonry, the hole is filled up.

After the breeding season, about one third of the producers die. The laid eggs hatch into small snails that look very similar to adults. Young snails have a small, smooth, transparent shell with only one and a half turns. After 8-10 days, young snails leave the nest and crawl to the surface in search of food. Under favorable conditions, snails grow very quickly - within a month they can become four times larger than at birth. Of all snails born, only about 5% reach sexual maturity.

Cooking grape snails.

Photo can be enlarged

Well, for a snack, here are a couple of recipes for preparing grape snails. The result should be approximately the same as in the photo.

Snails in Burgundy style

100 snails, 1 liter of white wine, 200 g of three percent vinegar, 3 tbsp. tablespoons flour, 2 carrots, 2 large onions, parsley, bay leaf, thyme, salt, 800 g snail oil.

Place the prepared grape snails in a saucepan, add cold water, bring to a boil and boil for 5-6 minutes. Rinse them with cold water, dry them with a clean cloth or towel, remove the snail from the house with a tailor’s pin (in France there is a special “tool for this”, it resembles a tailor’s pin) and cut off its black tip. Wash the snails cleaned in this way again and put them in a saucepan, pour in dry white wine and the same amount of water so that all the snails are covered with liquid. Add 2 chopped carrots, chopped onions, thyme, parsley root, celery stick, green onions. Add salt at the rate of 10 g per liter and cook for 4 hours. Then remove from heat and leave to cool in this broth. While the snails are boiling, wash and boil the shells in soda water. Then rinse them with clean water and dry.

Snail oil: chop very finely (you can grate) 100 g of onion, 3 large cloves of garlic, add 80 g of chopped parsley, 25 g of salt, 5 g of ground pepper, 700 g of butter, soft but not melted. Mix everything well in a bowl.

Place a nut of prepared oil on the bottom of the sink, then a snail, covering the top with a good portion of the same oil. Place the stuffed shells, oil side up, on a plate and place them in a hot oven for 7-8 minutes before serving. Serve the sizzling, aromatic dish immediately.

Limousin snails

6 dozen Burgundy snails, 1 glass of vinegar, 300 g of peeled walnuts, 200 g of butter, 1 clove of garlic, several sprigs of parsley, salt, pepper.

For the broth: 0.5 liters of dry white wine, 1 carrot, 1 onion, bay leaf, celery, parsley, salt, pepper.

Dip the grape snails, prepared in advance, as indicated above, into water acidified with vinegar. During this time, peel 1 carrot and onion, chop them, and prepare the greens. Now put them in a spacious saucepan, pour in white wine and water so that they are completely covered. Salt and pepper, add chopped carrots and onions, herbs and cook for 3-4 hours. While they are boiling, prepare snail oil, for which you peel the nuts and garlic, wash the parsley, chop everything finely; pass the rye bread crumb through a meat grinder; Put the butter in a bowl, add chopped nuts and other herbs and bread crumbs, pepper and mix everything well to get a homogeneous mass. When the snails are cooked, drain the broth, remove the snails from their shells with a pin, and cut off the black dots on the tip of their body. Stuff the shells in the same way as in the previous recipe: put a piece of snail oil the size of a nut on the bottom of the shell, then a snail and, finally, another piece of prepared butter.

Place the stuffed snails in a refractory dish, oil side up, add a few drops of white wine to each of them and place in a hot oven for 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

so named because of the harm it causes when feasting on grape berries. Snails have been eaten since ancient times, not considering them a delicacy, but rather the opposite, since they were available to any segment of the population.

Appearance of a grape snail

The body of a grape snail is, roughly speaking, a large leg and head. It is very flexible and elastic, the color is beige-gray, whitish-brown or yellowish-gray. There are many folds on the body, which, when moving, increase the area of ​​the lower surface of the leg, helping to cover long distances. The leg of an adult, under natural conditions, can stretch up to 9 cm, but grape snails grown at home grow to gigantic sizes.

On the head there are: a mouth opening and two pairs of antennae-tentacles. One pair, the front one, is intended for smell, the second, located behind, is the ocular one, at the tips there are blind eyes that do not distinguish colors, but see the outlines of objects at a distance of one centimeter. The tentacles of snails are very sensitive and at the slightest touch they immediately retract inside. The shell of snails completely accommodates their body, twisted in a counterclockwise spiral. The shell color is usually yellow-brown or white-brown, and the ribbed surface allows the snails to store moisture.

Features of the life cycle of a grape snail

Snails are active in the warm season: from April, May until the first frost. With the onset of cold weather, they fall into suspended animation (hibernation), burrow into the soil, digging a hole up to 30 cm, where they wait out the cold. Usually in nature, snails do not change their “burrow”. During wintering, mollusks close the “entrance” to the shell with a mucus flap, leaving little access for air. In spring, snails push out the protective film and begin active life and search for food. Various plants and their fruits and berries are what the grape snail eats, although they often eat the soil. For example, immediately after emerging from suspended animation, snails, eating a small amount of soil, restore the microflora digestive system so that coarser foods are easier to digest.

IN daytime mollusks prefer to sit out in damp places, under big stones or in dense thickets, under a pile of leaves. Snail activity occurs mainly in rainy weather and after it. On dry and hot days, individuals cover the mouth of the shell with a thin film and wait out uncomfortable conditions. Some members of the family stick to the bark of trees, thus waiting out the period of drought. How long do grape snails live? On average, up to eight years, but if it is not eaten by natural enemies, for example, hedgehogs, it can live up to twenty years.

Did you know? Snails- fantastic creatures, because their regeneration abilities surpassed lizards. If the latter is capable of growing only a tail bitten off by a predator, then the mollusks can grow both tentacles and part of the head in a maximum of a month.

Application of snails

Growing snails is aimed at eating them. Snail meat is considered today a great delicacy and has certain beneficial features: it contains calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, zinc; a large amount of protein and B vitamins, in addition to them vitamins: E, K, A, PP. Snails are useful for pregnant women, being a source of calcium and magnesium, for children for growth, for religious people who observe fasting, as a source of protein. France and Italy are especially famous for snail dishes.

Snail farming is also associated with medicine. In particular, snails are used to produce broncho-relaxants and lectins. From useful substances As part of snails, pharmaceuticals produce drugs that enhance immunity, anti-inflammatory and wound healing agents, as well as sedatives for the treatment of nervous disorders. Doctors recommend consuming snail meat for people with gastrointestinal diseases.

Grape snails are a small cosmetology clinic, so breeding them at home is often associated with orders to various beauty salons. Recently, facial massage with snails has been gaining popularity. The mucus secreted by mollusks nourishes, softens and disinfects the skin. Glycolic acid, which forms collagen, smoothes wrinkles (with regular procedures), moisturizes dry skin and helps cope with irritation or inflammatory processes.

Did you know? The largest land snail weighing 2 kg was found in 1976 in France. The largest sea snail is the Australian one. sea ​​snail body length up to 30 cm and weighing up to 40 kg.

Types of grape snail breeding

Snail breeding technology is divided into three types, each of which is good in its own way. What they have in common is the cultivation of shellfish and the ease of caring for them.

Extensive type

The extensive type is a method of breeding snails that is as close as possible to the natural conditions of their life. This method of keeping grape snails at home is ideal for small farms, in the absence of natural enemies of mollusks: hedgehogs, mice, lizards and large beetles, frogs, shrews and moles. The advantage of this method is minimal financial costs, the minus is the maximum time required to obtain the result. Such cultivation is suitable for private arboretums or botanical gardens, since the appearance of predators is excluded here.

Intensive

The intensive method is suitable for breeding snails on a large scale. At the same time, grape snails are kept in greenhouses and caring for them requires constant attention. In greenhouse conditions, a certain temperature and humidity are maintained, and intensive nutrition is provided. Snails grow much faster in greenhouses, so the intensive growing method has a significant advantage - quick results: both growth and production of “caviar”. The downside is that this method is not for a small farm; it requires an initial financial investment and physical costs.

Semi-intensive

The semi-intensive method is characterized by shellfish farming in open pens. Conditions for shading and additional moisture are created for them, as well as moderate feed consumption. This is one of the most acceptable options for breeding grape snails at home. Its advantages are the meager expenditure on food: you can use herbaceous plants (burdocks, dandelions, nettles, etc.) for food and food waste(vegetable and fruit trimmings). The disadvantage of this type is slower growth than with the intensive method, but at the same time there is savings on the area for keeping mollusks, nutrition and physical effort.

How to breed snails at home

You can grow a grape snail at home and carry out simple care for it in open enclosures on fresh air and in indoors-in terrariums and aquariums. Growing indoors will be expensive, but in this case the mollusks are not threatened by predators and the breeding cycle lasts all year. Growing in greenhouses also gives better results, and you can control the snails' conditions (temperature and humidity), which increases the chances of good results.

Where to get snails for breeding

Important! For reproduction, adult mollusks are needed, which can be determined by the size of the shell: its diameter should reach 5 cm. The best option-several pairs from different sellers.

Don’t rack your brains about the gender of the snails you buy, because grape snails reproduce in a very unique way. Mollusks are hermaphrodites; to produce offspring, two individuals, touching the sole of their feet, shoot a certain calcareous substance at each other. They then lay eggs that will require your care.

When asking the question “How to grow grape snails at home?”, first decide where you will keep them. There are several options: in open areas you can make a container with low side walls and a mesh stretched over the top to protect it from birds. It is better that the shape of such a pen is rectangular, since this will make it easier to care for the mollusks. You can place snails in an aquarium or terrarium, it will be both practical and convenient.

The grape snail is a gastropod from the large family Helicidae. They live in temperate countries: Northern, South America, Australia, other countries, including the southern regions of Russia.

Grape snails are quiet, very interesting creatures, whose life is quite entertaining to observe. Therefore, many people keep them at home as pets (they can be bought at a pet store). They are easy to care for, since mollusks are very unpretentious creatures, and they have enough space to live even in the smallest room. At good care at home, they can live up to ten years.

These mollusks have been used in cooking since ancient times. Their meat is considered very healthy, and the mucus they produce is used in cosmetology for active skin rejuvenation. Of course, eating pets is not at all necessary. For this purpose, you can buy frozen or canned snails in the store. Well, the mucus can be used for home cosmetics.

Today we will talk about these interesting creatures. We will also find out why grape snails are useful, discuss breeding at home, and consider the maintenance of these gastropods. We’ll also talk about their culinary merits and prepare shellfish according to the most simple recipes. Well, let's start our conversation with home care and snail breeding:

Grape snails - keeping at home

Clam house

Keeping a grape snail at home is not difficult, but it is responsible. Therefore, before you bring them home, you need to decide where they will live. To make your pets feel good and comfortable, you can use an aquarium or a transparent plexiglass box as a house. You definitely need a lid with holes so that they don’t crawl around the apartment and can breathe normally. Snails definitely need enough space to move around properly, so don't put them in a jar or small box.

When a container for living has been selected, evenly sprinkle garden soil or special soil purchased at the store onto the bottom. Such a covering is necessary so that if the snail possibly falls from the wall of the aquarium, it does not break the shell. In addition, the presence of land brings home conditions closer to natural ones. In addition, when snails reproduce, they lay eggs there.

You can put leaves, soft grass, small twigs on the surface of the soil - snails will happily crawl on them. Do not place stones or dense materials in the snail house. heavy branches, since they will need to be constantly cleaned of accumulated mucus. When the conditions for keeping are created, you can settle your pets.

Grape snail at home - requires daily care

The walls of the aquarium where pets live should be regularly wiped of mucus. They love water very much, so you need to install a small bathing container. It should not be deep, since snails cannot swim. In nature, they prefer damp grass, protected from the sun, where they actively crawl from evening to morning. Therefore, protect the aquarium from bright sun and spray the walls, soil, and pets themselves daily with a spray bottle.

Feeding

At first glance, it may seem that these small gastropods eat practically nothing, and if they do eat, it is only soft, ground food. However, this is not so - grape snails are very voracious and happily consume plants, the pulp of fresh vegetables and fruits. Since they have something like teeth, they independently gnaw and grind plant food.

At home, the grape snail happily eats apples, nibbles vegetables, loves fresh, juicy dandelions, young dandelions, and others. edible plants. In winter, you can use frozen vegetables, previously thawed. In addition to plant foods, pets need calcium. Therefore, periodically put dried eggshells on them.

In general, in winter, if you put the aquarium in a cool room, the snails will hibernate until spring and there is no need to feed them. If you leave them in a warm room, they will not sleep, but you should feed them as before.

Do not leave uneaten food for a long time; remove it from the aquarium in a timely manner so that flies do not appear. For convenience, place a special feeding saucer on the bottom and periodically throw away the remains of old food.

How to breed grape snails?

Breeding grape snails is a simple matter. To start increasing the number of snails, it is enough to purchase two adult snails. Mollusks are hermaphrodites and one pair is enough. To start breeding, the snails must first spend several hours in hibernation. winter months.

In the spring, when your pets wake up, watch them carefully. Their behavior indicates their readiness to reproduce: they crawl slowly along the walls of the aquarium, often stop, stay in one place for a long time, and at the same time slightly raise the front part of their body. Then mating and fertilization occur.

After this, the snails dig small holes in the ground where they lay their eggs. After the laying is completed, the adults are temporarily removed. After about a month, small mollusks will hatch from the eggs and climb to the surface of the soil. After six weeks, when the snails have grown up, the adults can be returned to the aquarium.

Newborn snails feed on the shell of the egg from which they hatched. While they get to the surface, they feed on substances found in the soil. Then the babies are fed fresh fruit, vegetables, only finely grated. They also need mineral supplements, which can be purchased at a pet store.

Why are grape snails valued, what are their benefits?

As we already mentioned at the beginning of our conversation, grape snails are very useful product for human health. In many Asian and European countries They are considered a delicacy and people know how to cook wonderful dishes from them.

If you want to taste them, you don't have to use your pets. It is better to buy frozen shellfish in a store or fresh at the market or from farmers. They are quite easy to prepare, the dishes are very tasty, and most importantly healthy, because the dietary meat of grape snails is considered healing.

Meat contains a large amount of useful, easily digestible protein, a large amount of amino acids, which are very important for the body. In addition, it is rich in microelements, containing a lot of iron, calcium and magnesium. Contains collagen, alontoin and elastin - substances necessary to maintain youthful skin. Grape snail meat is hypoallergenic, so it can be consumed even by allergy sufferers.

Separately, it is necessary to dwell on healing properties mucus, which is in large quantities secreted by mollusks. This thick liquid contains no less amino acids, vitamins, biologically active substances than meat. It also contains natural antibiotics.

Mucus has a pronounced healing, restorative effect, as it is a natural antiseptic. Therefore, it is still used for the speedy healing of skin injuries: wounds, cuts, burns, etc. Moreover, after treating the wound, its inflammation stops and does not recur.

Doctors of Tibetan medicine use ashes from mollusk shells to treat tumor diseases.

Grape snail in cosmetology

Snail mucus in cosmetology

Since grape snail mucus contains natural antioxidants, highly effective anti-aging cosmetics are made from it: creams, lotions, tonics, masks, etc.

Snail slime for face

To rejuvenate the skin, it is quite possible to use domestic snails. For example, oriental women They simply plant the mollusk on clean skin, after which the snail slowly crawls, leaving a trail of mucus. After 15-20 minutes of such exposure, the snail is returned to the aquarium, the skin is washed and cream is applied. For a sustainable effect, three months of daily procedures are required.

If you don’t really like the feeling of a live mollusk on your face, make a mask based on the mucus collected in the aquarium.

Face mask with snail mucus

In total you will need 0.5 tsp of the substance. Place it in a cup, add 2 tsp clean, not cold water. The mucous secretion does not dissolve well, so mix everything thoroughly with a fork for several minutes. Now add 1 tsp. cosmetic or green powder), stir again. Apply the mixture to clean, scrubbed skin. After 20 minutes, wash your face.

The result is noticeable after the first use. To get a pronounced rejuvenating effect, you should use the snail mucus mask 3 times a week. In a month, the skin will noticeably tighten, wrinkles will smooth out, the skin will become smooth, tender, and velvety.

Cooking grape snails at home

Grape snails have been used as a culinary product since Ancient Rome, where they were part of the normal diet of ordinary residents. Only in the last century they began to be considered a delicacy, and dishes from them are included in the menu of expensive restaurants.

Large specimens are prepared different ways and served directly in the shells with garlic sauce, onions and parsley. Small ones are often used to make soup or stew.

Residents of our country can buy fresh frozen snails in supermarkets or buy live shellfish in markets southern regions. They are easy to prepare at home and enjoy the pleasant taste of tender meat. Here are the recipes that even a novice cook can handle:

Preparing frozen fillets

The simplest thing you can do is place the finished semi-finished product on a baking sheet sprinkled with salt. Sprinkle with your favorite seasonings, then bake in an oven preheated to 200-230ºC, just 5-10 minutes.

If you want to get a delicious dish, cook Burgundy-style snails:

For the recipe you will need: half a kilo of shellfish without shell. If you bought them in shells, boil them for a few minutes first. Then cool and remove the fillet using a toothpick. You will also need a piece of softened butter (100 g), 50 g. For flavor, you need to take 2 cloves of garlic, ground nutmeg, finely chopped fresh parsley, and salt to taste.

Preparation:

Combine the oil with parsley, nutmeg, and salt. Mix well until smooth. Place snail fillets in small muffin tins. Place a spoonful of butter mixture on top and sprinkle with chopped Parmesan cheese. Place in an oven preheated to 200-230 degrees and bake for 10 minutes. It is usually served with a fresh baguette and a glass of dry wine.

However, real connoisseurs advise cooking live shellfish. These are the types of dishes served in expensive restaurants. So, if you want to prepare a real delicacy from live grape snails, do the following:

Preparing fresh snails

Before cooking, they should be cleaned of toxic substances harmful to humans. To do this, place the shellfish for 10 days on flour mixed with bran and aromatic herbs (any will do, such as thyme, marjoram or fennel with basil).

After the set time, wash them well and then fill them with water.
Remove dead shellfish. They cannot be cooked. Boil the remaining ones together with the shells (3 minutes), cool and rinse again. Now you can cook, for example, “in Maltese”:

We will need: half a kilo of blanched snails, a glass. You also need aromatic herbs: basil and marjoram, and salt to taste.

Preparation:

Fry the shellfish and shells over a well-heated stove. Pour wine, salt, sprinkle with herbs. Reduce heat, simmer covered for 10 minutes. Serve on serving plates, topped with the remaining sauce. Remove the meat with a special fork or use toothpicks.

Well, if you are not going to eat snails, but prefer to keep them at home as ordinary pets, you can use them to find out your future. For example, this is how in some countries girls use shellfish for fortune telling:

In the evening, place the snail on a dish sprinkled with a thin layer of flour and cover with a large lid. In the morning, remove the mollusk, and according to the pattern of the paths that she left overnight, read your future, or, for example, the initials, or the name of your future husband.

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