Observations on the biology and nutritive value of the African giant snail Archachatina marginata

Abstract

SummaryFood habits, growth rate, reproductive performance, carcass characteristics and nutritive value of the giant snail were investigated in the field and with captive snails.Food consumed included fresh plant material, livestock faeces and dead animals. Clutch sizes varied from six to twelve and incubation periods from 30 to 45 days. Weight gains of young snails of average weight 20 g fed on diets of single plant species ranged from 18% on Talinum triangulare leaves to 200% on pawpaw fruit. Best growth was shown on leaves of cassava and cocoyam, grain chaff of maize and fruit of pawpaw.Dressing‐out percentage of snails of 200 g weight was 37.8%. Nutrient composition of the edible portion compared closely with that of domestic livestock. Nitrogen‐free extractive content was high at 5% and fat low at 1.3%. Mineral analysis revealed a high iron content of 12.2 mg/100 g in the edible carcass.The experiments showed that the snail could thrive in captivity on a variety of locally produced feeds, many of them rejected as waste products. It shows great promise as a domestic animal capable of being reared with negligible capital outlay.