Pet snails have 300 babies
A woman from Kingswood was shocked when her two pet snails suddenly laid eggs which hatched into 300 babies.
Ann Dring, 40, bought two giant African land snails 18 months ago as birthday presents for her daughter Gemma, 13.
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But the call centre worker was unaware the snails – the largest on earth – are hermaphrodites capable of changing sex and breeding whenever they like.
The two six-inch-long pets laid hundreds of round white eggs three weeks ago which have now hatched into more than 300 babies, which are available to a good home.
Each baby snail is around the size of a 5p piece but could grow as big as their parents – large enough to cover the palm of a hand.
Mrs Dring, mum-of-two, is appealing for any snail lovers to come forward and take them off her hands.
She said: "I was really shocked to wake up one morning and see hundreds of eggs.
"When I bought the snails they all looked the same so I had no idea what sex they were.
"They were really small at the time and now we can't believe how big they've grown – they're huge.
"I thought that if they were to breed only 10 or 15 of the eggs would hatch so it was a massive surprise to see as many as we have now."
Both snails – which are capable of impregnating themselves – laid the trail of eggs overnight in the tank where they live.
Vets and pet shops told Mrs Dring and her husband Barry, 41, to freeze the eggs to stop them all from hatching.
But the animal-lover refused to kill them and incubated the eggs under a heat lamp until they were ready to hatch after a three-week incubation.
Mrs Dring is now trying to find homes for the babies.
She said: "I've asked all my friends if they would like any and I've offered to give them away to pet shops.
"They're nice gentle creatures which are great to keep as pets and everybody I know likes looking at them. But I'm desperate to get rid of them because there's no way we can keep them all – we haven't got enough lettuce!"
Giant African Land Snails are native to the forests of Ghana, Africa and prized for their large size and distinct markings.
Mrs Dring can be contacted on ad5153sb@blueyonder.co.uk.
9 Comments
by angie, bristol
Monday, August 17 2009, 12:13PM
“these snails will continue to breed as long as they are together... the only way to prevent it is to seperate them, however they can store each others sperm and lay eggs without each other being around for years to come. they usually will not reproduce asexually, some may if anatomy allows but usually they can't. some people think they do as they lay eggs fertilised by sperm they recieved from another up to two years ago, depending on species. they do not change sex as said in the article.”
by gemma dring, bristol
Friday, September 12 2008, 10:54AM
“steven no offence but i bought em nd the news paper is adding stuff dat aint actully true they ad stuff they dnt even no they lie it proves nw 2 neva belive wat u read !x”
by ann dring, bristol
Tuesday, September 09 2008, 3:56PM
“I did not have 300 as reported was only 104 this was bad enough though-i have rehomed all of them sucessfully to responsible people who knew what they were getting themselves into. Mainly to schools & pre schools (kids love them).
Also i did NOT buy them my daughter came home with them from the local pet shop they sold them to an 11 year old (2yrs ago) for about 50p each they did not seem to care who brought them-just the money I gave mine away free and gave the people who had them FREE advice. I know i am getting a bit of bad press at the mo but i think this is totally unjustified in my case.”
by Jo Fry, Nailsea
Tuesday, September 02 2008, 7:30AM
“Be warned this will happen again. I had 2 snails, and was fully aware of the amount of eggs they lay. What i didn't realise was how often. My two now lay eggs every 2 weeks (sometimes less), if you don't want to be inundated then you have to freeze them.
I am an animal lover, if you keep all the babies/eggs each time, you will continuously be looking for homes.
It took me 5 months last time to find a pet shop to take them.”
by Jeremy, BS5
Monday, September 01 2008, 8:31PM
“The Evening Post have really stole the front pages with this one! What a swoop! I just don't know where they find such talented journalists. Congresbury journal, eat your heart out!”
by gerry, bristol
Monday, September 01 2008, 6:41PM
“It was a joke Bradley, dooooh !!!!”
by Bradley sanders, Bristol
Monday, September 01 2008, 3:09PM
“I have african land snails and im fully aware they can breed, however some people arent, the people who have commented before should really look into getting a hobby and find something more constructive to do with there time rather than insult some one who is potentially trying to rehome some animals! PS you wouldnt eat an unwanted dog with garlic butter would you!”
by gerry, bristol
Monday, September 01 2008, 9:03AM
“Will go nice with some garlic butter.”
by Steven, Bristol
Monday, September 01 2008, 8:58AM
“Perhaps Mrs Dring should have done some proper investigation before she bought exotic animals for her daughter. To take on any animal with little basic knowledge of it's behaviour is irresponsible.”