How to Clean up After a Pet Snail

Snails, though earthy and having reputations for being slimy animals, need clean habitats to survive. Their chances for survival often rest on finding and thriving in clean, suitable environments. Keep your pet snail happy and healthy by cleaning its tank often and thoroughly.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Detergent
• Boiling water
• Replacement habitat articles

1. Set up a temporary vicinity where your snails can roam while you clean and place them in this vicinity.
2. Dismantle your snail’s habitat, taking out old, disintegrated or worn articles while separating the articles that you would like to keep or reuse. Dispose of unwanted articles.
3. Collect replacements for the disposed contents of your snail’s habitat. Rocks, sticks and bark can be reused if washed with hot water and set on grass to dry in the sun.
4. Wash your snail’s tank. Use boiling water and detergent to scrub the tank’s surface and use vinegar to combat slime and tough stains. Rinse the tank thoroughly to ensure that the chemicals are properly washed away. Dry the tank.
5. Repeat the thorough washing, scrubbing and drying at least two times.
6. Reassemble your snail’s habitat, placing new articles of substrate, dirt, gravel, rocks, moss, plants and miscellaneous articles inside the tank.
7. Place your snail’s food inside the tank. Include vegetables, fruit and a calcium supplement like a cuttlefish bone.
8. Replenish water in your snail’s habitat, making sure to mind appropriate amounts. Shallow, heavy receptacles are great to put water in for your snails. Too much water can cause an accidental drowning.
9. Approximate a suitable temperature for your snail’s habitat. Temperatures that are too hot or too cold can be detrimental to your snail’s health.
10. Put your snails back into the tank.

Tips & Warnings

• Whether you use substrate or natural elements for your snail’s habitat, it is prudent to clean the habitat about once a month, replacing all elements with new or fresh ones.
• Thorough and frequent cleanings ensure a safe and livable habitat for your snail. Neglecting to keep your snail’s habitat clean can attract unwanted disease, pests and smells.
• Avoid using chemicals, soaps or detergents on parts of the snail’s habitat that are porous. The chemicals will infiltrate the porous articles and could possibly kill your snails.