How to Feed a Pet Snail

For some, snails seem like ideal pets because they require a minimum of maintenance. However, snails are living animals in need of constant care, including feeding. Keep your snail happy and healthy by feeding your snail a variety of natural foods.

Things You'll Need

  • Vegetables
  • Fruit
  • Calcium supplements
  • Water
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Provide your snail with vegetables. Snails appreciate green vegetables like broccoli, cabbage and cucumber, but also like sweeter vegetables like pumpkin, sweet potato and sweet corn. Mix and match different kinds of vegetables to see which combinations your snail likes.

    • 2

      Feed your snail fruit. Snails enjoy everything from common fruits like apples, bananas and oranges to slightly more exotic fruits like papayas, dragon fruit and kiwi. Try as many fruits as you'd like.

    • 3

      Include calcium in your snail's diet by placing cuttlefish bone, eggshells or calcium supplements in your snail's habitat. Snails need calcium for shell growth and rejuvenation; too little or too much calcium in their diet may be detrimental to them.

    • 4

      Pour a bit of water out into a weighty, shallow and small receptacle. Your snail will take small drinks from it and bathe in it, but make sure that the receptacle is small enough to prevent your snail from drowning in it.

    • 5

      Treat your snail to different types of food. Snails can eat hemp, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and oats, but these need to be soaked and ground or crushed before feeding. Tortoise food and cat and dog treats are also good substitutes and treats for snails if their regular diet of vegetables and fruits are temporarily inaccessible.