If you are really keen I was given a "general purpose" food diet a year or
so ago to help me raise Microxeromagna vestita which only grow to about 7mm
(although I have seen monsters at 8.5mm.)
PLease email me privately if youy would like the recipe, but generally
speaking I have found that sliced carrot with some calcium carbonate keeps
them quite happy.

Angela Lush

Research Officer
Entomology Unit
Waite Building
SARDI
Box 397 GPO
Adelaide 5001

Ph: 8303 9536
Fax: 83039542
E-mail: [log in to unmask]



-----Original Message-----
From: Orstan, Aydin [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, 29 March 2000 10:21 pm
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Cocliocopa lubrica


James,

Five mm is about as big as Cochlicopa (not Cocliocopa) lubrica gets. Some
may grow another mm or so. So the snails you have may already be adults. But
if they like the way you treat them, they may lay eggs. I have never kept
Cochlicopa, but I suppose some general recommendations on raising land
snails would also be right for them. I keep my snails in store bought
potting soil rather than leaf litter, because if you keep the latter too
moist too long you get worms & mites in it, which sometimes harm the snails.
Most land snails seem to do well on lettuce. You can buy powderized
limestone from gardening supply stores. I bought mine -a 20 pound bag for a
few dollars- from Home Depot. Sprinkle some of that on the lettuce & the
soil. And yes, keep the soil damp, but not too wet. You can use a spray
bottle for that. The Cochlicopa in my backyard are almost always on the
undersides of rocks. They must like rocks. So put a few rocks in the
container.

Hope this helps.

Aydin


> -----Original Message-----
> From: James M Cheshire [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Wednesday, March 29, 2000 00:26
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Cocliocopa lubrica
>
>
> Dear all,
> I need some advice. I have some tiny (5mm), juvenile
> Cocliocopa lubrica
> that I collected in my back yard. I placed these snails in a small
> container
> with some leaf-litter and a stone, and they all are quite
> active. I want
> to keep
> them for some time, as I want to see if I can observe any
> shell growth.
> However,
> I don't know what kind of care they need; what do they eat?
> Do they need
> water?
> Should they be kept moist? Do they need to stay in the dark? I would
> really appreciate
> help on this subject; I haven't been able to find info on it anywhere
> else.
>
> Thanks,
> James
>