what kind snails do you feed?

[pcw_phoenix]

I have a question...what kind snails do you guys feed to your hingeback? the 2 i have right now...one eats a lot of food..the other one is really really really really shy....don't even come out of the shell unless i soak her...do you think i should put both into individual tubs?
i tried papaya and banana on the shy one...still very shy...

thanks

J

 

[Angi]

I feed my Boxie regular garden snails. She loves them.

 

[pcw_phoenix]

I feed my Boxie regular garden snails. She loves them.

Do you have photo of them? where can i possibly buy them?

 

[Kristina]

Shyness is just the way they are, you are going to have to get used to it. There really would be no benefit to separating them, unless one is obviously bullying the other, which I doubt. Place the food and water right next to the hide, and leave her alone. She will come around, but it will take time, like months. Both of those Hingebacks were wild animals not that long ago, and so they are going to act like it for awhile longer. If you fuss at her, she will just get more and more stressed and not eat and die. Make sure there are multiple hides in the enclosure.

Mushrooms and butternut squash will usually entice them to eat.

I raise freshwater ramshorn snails, and I feed those to my turtles and my meat eater tortoises.

 

[pongpagong]

My hingeback was like that before,he just ignoring anything i gave to him to eat but I'm glad he is ok now....they are really shy tortoise..I feed mine with earth worms and he likes it so much..papaya is the best!! Try to check your light(brightness/temp) also the humidity..make sure you put your enclosure in a quiet location..Wait for Jacqui a very expert in hingeback..I'm sure you will get a reply from Jacqui..

 

[Jacqui]

As forgoing to two enclosures, I know Danny believes in doing that, but I like leaving mine in groups when possible. Like Kristina said,because it doesn't sound like an issue with a bully, just shyness, I would keep them together,

For the snails, I know mine enjoy eating the wild ones in the yard. Some folks raise their own like Kristina does. I believe Joe from Carolina supply sales them some times. Some pet shops carry them. Also there are canned snails. The place (is it Zoomed?) sells them just like they do grasshoppers and such for reptiles in cans. In a human grocery store, you can find them too.

 

[tortoises101]

Jacqui is right, snails can be found in a ton of places. You can also consider raising a few wild caught snails in a container with leaves and water for a few days, and if the snails pass mucus and die at this time then they are contaminated. The snails that stay healthy are the ones that are not treated with pesticides and these are the ones that are safe to feed to your tortoise.

Also, hingebacks are naturally shy. In the wild, they spend most of their time hiding in undergrowth. Hingebacks in captivity are also shy by nature, and even if they are "personable" the shyness will never fully fade. That's why it's important to provide plenty of cover using artificial/live plants, overhanging plants, sphagnum moss, leaf litter, and artificial vines.
If one tortoise is bullying the other, that could be the reason the other tortoise is reluctant to come out of it's shell. If this pattern continues/gets worse, by all means seperate them. Tortoises that are pestered too much will stop eating or even scummb to diseases.