Snail Farming In Nigeria And All You Must Know

Snail farming is another great agriculture business in Nigeria which involves the raising of snails for commercial purposes. The snail business is highly lucrative for lots of reason. This is because it is in high demand by lots of hotels and food canteens.

Snails belong to the class of Mollusca referred to as Gastropod. Snails feed is expected to contain calcium. Snail meat is usually called Congo meat in many African countries. Snail meat is rich in amino acids, magnesium, anti stress and several other nutrients. Snail meat is recommended for treatment of liver disease and obesity.

Feeding Of Snails

This is an important part of the business. The way you feed your snails determines their growth and reproduction strength which tells whether or not you will make profit.

You may feed large adult snails once in several days while small species needs to be fed daily. You can feed them with corn, mango, melon, spinach, vegetable marrows, avocado, paw paw, apples, cucumbers, watermelon crusts with pulp, berries, bananas, green salad etc.

FORMULATED FEEDS

This is the combination or mixture of two or more feed ingredients

Maize
groundnut cake
fish meal
soy bean meal
oyster shell
and bone meal

These Formulas are given at different proportions to meet the particular need (growth, maintenance, reproduction) of a specific animal using locally available feed resources at lowest possible cost.

BENEFITS OF USING FORMULATED FEED

It improves performance of the snail.
It can be used to meet the specific requirement of the animal.
It can be easily measured.
It saves time and energy.
It is good for commercial production of snail.
It can be stored for longer period.

Requirements For Snail Farming

A terrarium

A terrarium is a container to keep the snails as they grow. It must be washed in at least 2-3 months. This is because of the accumulation of waste products which will make it smell unpleasant. The walls may become covered with a thick layer of the slime by the creeping snails.

Temperature

Temperature, the degree of hotness or coldness is very essential in this business. Success hangs on this a great deal. African snails are known as tropical inhabitants. They thrive well with temperature of 20 to 28°C. Please take note not to place a terrarium with snails under direct sun or close to heating devices as this will bring a damaging effect on the snails.

An Expert

You need to work with an expert in the business. He will help you with advice and help you with the business progress as well as the health of your snails.

Lighting

This may not really be an option except when you want to see them. Snails are more active in the night. During the day, they may not even eat due to their inactivity. If you must have lighting around, keep it at low intensity.

Reproduction In Snail

Snails are hermaphrodites which means that each snail can lay eggs. Thats a significant leverage in the business. The other advantage is that they lay lots of eggs per reproduction. Huge snails are said to breed more up to 160 eggs per year, while the common grape snails breeds about 60. It is better to buy by weight. The average weight of grape snails is 50 grams. Please endeavour to check well and get yourself acquitted with the snails before going into business. Start with small and grow big. This reduce your risk and also give you time to learn the business.

With the information above, you can begin your snail Farming business on a small scale and grow big while you make lots of money. Wishing you the very best.