How Long Do Slugs Live Under Human Care?

While some people go to desperate measures to get rid of the slugs that inhabit their gardens, other people love the slippery creatures and keep them as pets. While the lifespan of a slug varies greatly, chances are it will live longer under human care than in the wild.

  1. Banana Slugs

    • Bananas are one of the most popular types of slugs to have as pets. These slugs, if taken care of properly, will likely live at least a year -- and some may live as many as seven years. Natives of the Pacific Northwest, these slugs are usually about 6 to 8 inches long, but -- as the second longest slug in the world -- they can grow up to 10 inches. As their name suggests, banana slugs are usually bright yellow, but they do change color in response to their habitat and diet. They sometimes feature black spots and often appear in various shades, including solid green.

    Pancake Slug

    • While many Floridians consider these crop-munching creatures pests, pancake slugs make excellent pets. Pancake slugs can can live up three years or even longer and, like many slugs, enjoy a steady diet of fruits and vegetables like apples, bananas, grapes, carrots and cucumbers. These flat, light-colored slugs often are wild-caught in Barbados. In captivity, they enjoy a warm, moist habitat similar to their tropical home.

    Sea Hare

    • This tropical slug can grow to a ripe old age in captivity, with some genera living up to 6 years in an aquarium. Named because they sometime resemble sitting rabbits, sea hares make excellent algae-eaters in salt water aquariums. The nine genera of sea hare vary widely in color and size, from just 2 cm up to as long as 70 cm. These slugs thrive in shady environments that resemble the seagrasses and coral rubble where they dwell in the wild.

    Nudibranchs

    • These sea slugs have a fleeting lifespan of just two or three months, and may only live a few short weeks in an aquarium. Nudibranchs are brilliantly colored creatures, and for that reason are attractive pets. However, unlike their vegetarian cousins, these slugs need a very specialized diet of sea creatures like sponges and anemone, and as such are difficult to care for in captivity. They are not recommended as pets.