Comparative Study on the Effect of Citrillus lanatus and Cucumis sativus on the Growth Performance of Archachatina marginata

Abstract

Feeding accounts for a reasonable percentage of the cost of livestock production and a major factor that determines the viability and profitability of livestock farming ventures. Also scarcity and high cost of meat for human consumption has necessitated the need for intensive rearing of some non-conventional livestock such as the snail hitherto hunted from the wild, in view of this, this study evaluated the effects of two fruits, Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) and Watermelon (Citrillus lanatus) on the growth performance of Archachatina marginata. The study was conducted using One hundred and thirty five (135) snails, 15 snails per treatment and each treatment was replicated three times and the experiment lasted for a period of eight weeks. In terms of growth, results showed that the snails fed with watermelon and cucumber performed generally better than others but statistically, no significant difference (P>0.05) existed between the snails (in terms of weight, length, circumference of the snail) fed with the two fruits and the combination of both. From the result, it was observed that the mean weight gain of snails fed with Citrillus lanatus ( Cage A) was 5.43g, those fed with Cucumis sativus (Cage B) had mean weight gain of 1.22g , while those fed with both fruits (Cage C) had 7.53g. The mean shell length increase in snails fed with Citrillus lanatus was 10.74mm, those of Cucumis sativus was 10.52mm, while those fed with both had 12.24mm. The mean shell circumference of snails fed with Citrilus lanatus was 14.47mm, those fed with Cucumis sativus had 14.15mm, while those fed with both had 15.16mm. From the results, snails fed with both Citrillus lanatus and Cucumis sativus performed best while snails fed with Citrillus lanatus performed better than those fed with Cucumis sativus in all parameters measured. Therefore, snail farmers are advised to use the combination of cucumber and watermelon for a better yield.