Snails, really?

FRANCOIS

FRANCOIS

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François
I keep reading in articles & books that caudates eat land snails... I have such, they are small (THE ESCARGOTS) but, the newts and / or salamanders never seem interested to go after them eventhough they eat slugs... so what is the story here? Do they really eat snails or is it just an urban legend? You tell me!
 
I haven't tried feeding snails to my terrestrial caudates, but my axolotls are so fond of aquatic snails that they drive the populations in their tanks to the brink of extinction. I think a fully grown Helix aspersa or Helix lucorum would be far too big for the vast majority of caudates, and Cepaea hortensis, which is abundant where I live, would also be a challenging mouthful for even a moderately large salamander.

Glass snails are also abundant here, and grow to a much more manageable size, plus their shells are quite thin and would be easily digested.
 
as a kid, I used to catch lots of small brown (about the size of a lima bean) slugs and other small snails and all my salamanders and newts and lizards just loved them.
 
I hate snails in my tanks.

None of my critters even the oft called snail-eater species, terrestrial or aquatic, ignore them.

I work hard to keep them out of my tanks and decimate any I find. The exception here is ramshorn snails. I keep them in their own tank and use them in various aquatic foods cultures. Any other snail gets the "six pack forceps treatment".
 
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