The largest land snail is Achatina achatina, the original habitat of which is Africa. If a detailed study of literary sources, we can see that the biggest Achatina snail was found in 1976. Sink it reached truly incredible sizes — 275 mm. the foot of a mollusk stretched to 375 mm. The largest snail, weighed about 1 kilogram.
Officially entered in the Guinness book instance has the following dimensions: the shell is 273 mm and the length from the tail to the head — 393 mm. Weight of clam-record — 900 grams.
The largest snails that live on our planet, belong to the genus Achatina. And perhaps not all of them can be called the biggest, yet their size and appetites are truly impressive. In the wild snails Achatina live in tropical forests. They are distinguished by such property as omnivorous. The diet of these snails includes both dead animals and plants. Interestingly, people who live in the area, eat these snails, considering them a true delicacy.
There are certain types of snails Achatina, which had been specially shipped from Africa. Shellfish has been done to explore other areas. However, in other continents of the cochlea, without a single natural enemy, began to proliferate than harm to most crops.
At the same time, the largest snail in the world is more sensitive to changes in living conditions. Due to the fact that in Africa, deforestation began quite actively, and the indigenous inhabitants sent their gastronomic preferences towards tiger snails, the population of the latter has significantly decreased. That is why slow and clumsy creatures are considered to be a rarity nowadays.
Amazing appearance and considerable size made these snails attractive as exotic Pets. Today there are a lot of fans of these mollusks who in the house in every possible way try to create ideal conditions for their activity. In Russia there are also people engaged in cultivation of a tiger snail. However, since this species is rare today, a wide range of people are not yet aware of the fact of their active breeding.
In Western countries, this amazing animal has already been bred in private collections. For this reason, there is no doubt that this species will remain on earth, even if it is destroyed in the wild.
The biggest Achatina snail has both female and male sexual organs, thereby treating hermaphrodites. The eggs of this snail in size coincide with large drops. These amazing mollusks, retracting the leg, push air through the respiratory opening, thereby issuing an unusual squeak. Often snails squeak when they are scared.
Those who has been breeding the largest snails, strive to create optimal conditions for the animal that will be maximally close to natural. The optimum temperature for the normal functioning of the clam are considered to be the 27−300C. The humidity should vary between 80-90%. In such conditions, the tiger snail feels as comfortable as possible. In captivity it can live five to seven years.
