Marcus,
  You might want to get a copy of

Mead, A.R. 1961. The Giant African Snail; a problem in economic
Malacology. Univ. Chicago Press, 257 pp.

It discusses much of what you would want to know about Achatina.  For
those who are interested, Dr. Mead is now 90 years old, and still on the
emeritus faculty at the university where he was a dean.  He was spry
enough to attend the World Congress of Malacology meeting 2001 in Vienna.

Regards,
Charlie
******************************************************************************
Charlie Sturm, Jr
Research Associate - Section of Mollusks
                     Carnegie Museum of Natural History
                     Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Assistant Professor - Family Medicine

[log in to unmask]