A big, gentle, genuinely handleable snail that glides calmly over your hand — one of the easiest and most child-friendly invertebrates you can keep.
🟢 Perfect first invert🖐 Gentle & handleable🌿 Herbivore⏳ 5–10 years
Care difficulty
Easy
Animal cost
£3–£20
Full setup
£40–£150
Adult size
Up to 20 cm
Lifespan
5–10 years
Min. enclosure
Humid tank 45×30×30 cm+
🎬See one of ours
Our giant African land snails 🐾
📋At a Glance
Giant African land snails are among the largest land snails — calm, slow, hardy herbivores that are wonderfully easy to keep and gentle to handle. They need a warm, humid tank with deep substrate and a constant calcium source for their big shells. Cheap, undemanding and safe with supervised children, they're a superb first invertebrate.
Best for: beginners, children and classrooms wanting a gentle, easy, genuinely handleable invertebrate.
💷Costs & Getting Hold of One
The animal
£3–£20 (larger/rarer species at the higher end).
Full setup
£40–£150 (humid tank, deep substrate, calcium source, water dish).
Ongoing costs
Very low — vegetables and cuttlefish bone.
Availability
Easy in the UK. Note: illegal to keep in some countries (e.g. the USA) as an invasive pest — never release them anywhere.
These are minimums, not budgets. The low end still has to meet the animal's needs — proper UVB, a heat gradient, space and filtration are not optional extras. A vivarium alone can cost £250–£300+, and a tortoise's UVB lamp alone is often ~£100. Price the whole setup before you commit to the animal.
Buying tip: Choose an active snail with an intact, undamaged shell. They're hermaphrodites and breed prolifically, so be ready to manage eggs.
🏠Enclosure & Where to Keep It
A warm, humid tank with deep, moist substrate to burrow into.
Adult
A humid tank from 45×30×30 cm; bigger for a group.
Substrate depth
Several inches of moist, dig-able substrate (coco fibre/soil) to burrow and lay eggs in.
Calcium
A constant calcium source (cuttlefish bone) for the shell — essential.
Where to keep it
A warm, stable room out of direct sun.
They breed prolifically (hermaphrodites laying many eggs) — freeze or dispose of surplus eggs responsibly, and never release snails into the wild.
🌡️Temperature, Lighting & Humidity
Temperature
Warm 20–26 °C; a low heat mat if the room is cold.
Lighting / UVB
Normal light cycle; no special lighting.
Humidity
High; mist daily and keep substrate moist.
Bedding / substrate
Deep, moist coco fibre/soil mix.
🍽️Diet, Supplements & Feeding
A herbivore — fresh vegetables and greens, plus constant calcium.
Staple
Cucumber, lettuce, courgette, and a variety of veg and greens.
Calcium
Cuttlefish bone always available — vital for the shell.
Frequency
Fresh food daily; remove old food to avoid mould.
Water
Misting and a shallow water dish; they hydrate through the foot.
Avoid citrus and salty/processed foods. The cuttlefish bone is not optional — the shell depends on it.
✨Grooming, Shedding & Additional Needs
No grooming; keep humid and calcium-rich. A cracked shell can often repair with good calcium and care.
🖐️Handling & Interaction
Gentle and safe — genuinely one of the best invertebrates for handling, especially with children. Their skin is delicate, so wet hands and a soft touch.
How to handle
Wet your hands (snails dislike dry hands and it protects their skin), then let the snail glide onto your palm. Support it and keep it low. Wash hands afterwards.
✅ Do
Wet your hands before handling.
Let the snail glide onto your palm, low down.
Supervise children.
Keep cuttlefish bone available at all times.
Wash hands after handling.
⛔ Don't
Don't handle with dry hands (harms the skin).
Don't pull the snail off a surface (shell/foot damage).
Don't release them into the wild (invasive).
Don't feed citrus or salty foods.
Don't let the shell go without calcium.
🦎Fun Facts
Among the largest land snails in the world.
Hermaphrodites — any two can breed, and they lay lots of eggs.
Glide on a single muscular foot, leaving a silvery mucus trail.
Illegal in some countries (like the USA) as a serious invasive pest.
Native to East Africa; hardy and long-lived for a snail.
⭐Overall Verdict
A gentle, hardy, genuinely handleable giant snail — one of the very best first invertebrates for children and classrooms. Keep it warm, humid and endlessly supplied with cuttlefish bone, manage the eggs responsibly, and never release it. Easy and rewarding.