How to get a grape snail at home

A profitable business of the 21st century is breeding grape snails at home. This activity is often carried out by small households or individual farmers. This exotic product pays well both in Europe and in Russia. Restaurants, pharmaceutical companies, and other food businesses can become regular customers of shellfish. For business to be successful, it is important to learn some of the subtleties of breeding, growing and keeping snails.

Business profitability is 100%. The offspring of one individual per season is 50 large snails, that is, about 20 kg of snail meat. The (purchase) cost of an exotic product on the world market is $5/kg, and caviar is $200/100 g.

Description

Found in southeast and central Europe, it later settled in South America. Grape snails live in shady forests and parks. Helixes are also called greatbush, apple and moonflowers. They cannot live in water.

External structure

The abdomen reaches 10 cm in length, colored brown or beige. The skin is rough. The shell is up to 5 cm in diameter and has 4–5 whorls. The color of the shell is from brown to olive, the stripes are dark brown or light. The tentacles on the head help to sense the surrounding world and see at a distance of 1 cm.

Character and behavior

Shellfish are peaceful and slow-moving. They sleep during the day and are awake at night. In drought, too high and too low temperatures, they hibernate. Animals need to fall asleep for several months to maintain health. In their natural habitat, in the heat, grape snails hide among the leaves of plants and under stones.

Mode

Grape helixes need to hibernate. There are 2 methods:

Follow the schedule for hibernating the snail, for example, every 3 weeks, immerse your pet in suspended animation for a week, gradually lowering the temperature.
Simulate the same conditions as outside. If it rains, increase the humidity, if there is a drought, reduce the water supply, and if it gets cold, lower the temperature.

During hibernation, animals lose about 10% of their weight, but quickly regain it.

Lifespan

Grape clams live for about 10 years. If you take good care of them, they can live for 20 years.

Continuation of the case

Once the young have reached their optimal growth point (6-9 months), they can be removed from the shell. In order for the mollusk’s body to be completely cleansed, it is not fed or watered for 3-4 days.

The unusual harvest is collected:

weekly;
spring or autumn;
in rainy weather;
using slate sheets or other surfaces.

Some experts advise sending the collected snails to special cages for 7 days, where they will cleanse their digestive system of soil residues. Only after this can they be killed. The next stage in the preparation of semi-finished products is their instant freezing. This product should be sold as quickly as possible.

Some customers prefer to purchase live individuals. Therefore, they are placed in special containers with ventilation holes. However, they should not be stored with dead shellfish.

Before selling the delicacy, experienced farmers select the largest individuals for further breeding. Understanding how long grape snails live (7-8 years), fertile broodstock are kept for 3 years.

During this time, the businessman finds regular customers, who can be:

elite restaurants;
catering establishments;
cosmetology companies;
enterprises preserving delicacies, as well as shellfish caviar;
pharmaceutical companies.

Additional information about these enterprises will help you find your client. The cattle breeder needs to investigate whether such an exotic product is on the restaurant menu. In other cases, it is important to find out whether the factory produces these delicacies. Then there’s just one small thing left to do: contact the supply department and negotiate the terms of the contract.

Proposed financial statement. For the purchase of equipment and rental of premises, you will need up to 10 thousand rubles for each expense item. To rent a plot of land you need to invest 20 thousand. Broodstock (750 pieces) will cost 5,000 rubles, and 20 thousand rubles will be spent on feed. The starting capital will be 45-85 thousand rubles, and the monthly income will be 20,000 rubles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfAUYjs5TrU

Home improvement

Grape snails are unpretentious in keeping and feel good at home. Suitable for beginner snail breeders. Do not live with frogs, amphibians or mice.

For arrangement you need:

aquarium or terrarium;
thermometer;
bowls;
priming.

Housing

Place the snail in a terrarium or aquarium with a wide bottom. Prepare a plastic or glass container. Food containers with holes made in the lids are often used. Round containers are not suitable as they leave little space for the clam. The container should have a tight lid with small holes.

External conditions

Place the terrarium in a shaded area without drafts. Avoid exposure to sunlight. Make sure that other pets cannot reach the terrarium.

Ventilation

The grape snail breathes air, taking no more than 1 breath per minute. The animal will survive without ventilation holes, but the lack of ventilation will lead to rot in the ground. Choose a mesh lid or make the holes yourself. Make 8 holes horizontally on different sides of the container. On one side the holes will be in the center, and on the other - 5 cm below.

Temperature

Helixes are active at a temperature of 15–25 degrees; it is optimal to keep them at 19–22 degrees. When the temperature drops to 11 degrees, the snails stop growing and become slow.

Lighting

Natural light is fine, but not sunlight.

Bottom

Land is needed for the comfortable existence of animals and the laying of eggs. To make soil, mix soil with activated carbon in a ratio of 6.5–7 parts to 1. Pierce the soil at a temperature of 90 degrees to disinfect. And coconut substrate from a pet store is also suitable.

Water

A shallow bowl will provide the snail with the necessary moisture. It is important that it is stable and with fresh water.

Scenery

Place on the ground:

mosses;
branches;
leaves.

Large branches and hard, sharp stones can cause injury to the shell if it falls. In addition, large decorations are more difficult to clean from slime.

Cleaning

Wipe the sides of the tank daily and remove any remaining food. Moisten the soil with a spray bottle once every 1–2 days. The soil should be slightly moist, but not wet. Wash the decorations under running water 1-2 times a week without using detergents. Change the soil every 2 weeks or wash it if it is reusable.

Do I need to register a business?

To legalize a business, you must undergo a mandatory registration procedure. You can register a legal entity (LLC), but for breeding an individual entrepreneur is sufficient.

In addition, you need to obtain special documents:

permission to conduct activities from the sanitary and epidemiological station;
from the fire service;
from the veterinary service about product quality.

Without the above documents, you will not be able to legally sell your products.

If you are interested in how a teenager can make money on the Internet, check out this material. You can read in detail about the idea of breeding worms as a profitable business of your own here.

Nutrition

Grape snails eat plant foods. For feeding use:

pumpkin;
zucchini;
salad;
potato;
scalded nettle leaves;
grape leaves;
beets;
broccoli;
bananas.

Cut vegetables and fruits into thin slices or grate them. Feed once a day; adult Helix can be fed once every 2 days. Serve the food in the evening so that the animals can eat it safely at night. Use a flat bowl to keep food out of contact with the soil and keep it clean. Calcium supplements are required:

eggshell;
sepia (cuttlefish shell);
special chalk

Sprinkle crushed eggshells over the vegetables or place them in a separate container so that the shellfish always have access to the minerals. Regular or bird's chalk are not suitable as they contain impurities. Dried daphnia and gammarus in small quantities bring benefits to shellfish.

Avoid spicy, sour, fried, boiled and salty foods:

radishes;
citrus
boiled eggs;
onion;
cheese and cottage cheese;
bread;
sorrel.

Alternative uses

In such a simple living organism, everything has a purpose for humans. The same mucus, which is not pleasant in appearance and disgusting to some, has been used for a very long time as a cosmetic ingredient for creams, lotions, tonics and masks.

Let's talk about masks. There is no need to achieve extraction, steaming or anything else. It is enough to collect half a teaspoon of discharge. This concentrate must be diluted with plain clean water and diluted with cosmetic clay for easy application. This will be enough to make masks after 20-30 minutes and wash off immediately. The effect will be immediate.

Reproduction and breeding

Grape helixes reproduce in spring and autumn. To breed offspring at home, you need 2 grape snails. Stimulate suspended animation in winter. Mollusks must hibernate for 2 months. Environmental parameters for breeding:

Temperature	16–23
Air humidity	80–90%
Soil moisture	80%

During the breeding season, the clams make frequent stops and raise their heads, moving their horns in search of another adult. Mating lasts 1.5 hours. Mollusks lay eggs in the ground after 20–30 days. Grape snails produce 30–40 eggs at a time. Grape snail eggs are round and white. Future parents sprinkle the masonry with earth.

Remove the adults. Incubation time is 30 days. The hatched individuals are buried in the ground and feed on the contents of the eggs. You can return the parents when the snails reach 1.5 months of age.

Feed small grape snails with home-ground plant food. They need a lot of calcium at this stage of growth. It is known that only 5% of mollusks survive to sexual maturity.

Snail farming has become a business that is carried out using three methods.

Extensive method

Natural conditions are created for the breeding of snails. The rate of birth of offspring is low. For small farms.

Intensive method

Grape clams are grown in a large room with regulated humidity and temperature. Suitable for rapid propagation on an industrial scale.

Semi-intensive method

Shellfish are bred in open-air farms. The gain is less than with the intensive method.

Interesting Facts

Some of them:

The fastest grape snail moves at a speed of 7 mm per second.
They move easily not only on horizontal planes, but also on vertical walls.
Footage of snails mating is very popular; there are many such videos on the Internet, but not everyone knows that individuals exchange only male cells, since these mollusks are hermaphrodites.
On the coat of arms of one of the Swiss communities there is an image of a grape snail.
Helicidin, a substance prepared from the body of a gastropod, has a bronchodilator effect.
Only 5% of grape mollusks reach maturity, the rest die.
These mollusks have no color in their blood.
The first farms for growing grape snails appeared in the first century AD.

Snail farm

Grapes, like representatives of the related species Helix aspersa maxima, are bred on farms in large quantities. The site is prepared for the farm: trees are removed and the land is treated to remove pests. The land area reaches 300,000 square meters. m. The territory is fenced with a fence, the underground part of the fence is placed 0.5 m deep. Under the influence of natural conditions, mollusks hibernate and receive food and moisture. In extreme cold, animals are covered with film to prevent them from freezing. When the grape snails reach their maximum size, they are prepared for transportation.

Business registration

To engage in the breeding of grape snails for their further sale and profit, you must register as an individual entrepreneur or open a limited liability company. To do this, you need to provide a number of documents to the regional office of the Federal Tax Service. Registration is carried out within 5 working days from the date of submission of documents, after which the data is entered into the appropriate register.

A state fee is charged for registration - 4,000 rubles for legal entities and 800 rubles for individual entrepreneurs. Also, to engage in business, you must obtain permission from the sanitary and fire services.

Adviсe

Do not wash shellfish in tap water, as the liquid contains impurities and chlorine.
Fill the bathing bowl with cooled boiled or settled water.
If the shell breaks down and looks shabby, then there is little calcium in the diet. If this element is lacking, the snails also scrape each other’s shells with their teeth.
Don't keep your pets in a cardboard "house". Cardboard is not moisture-resistant; a snail can gnaw a hole in such a tank and crawl away.
If you do not need offspring, but several grape snails are kept together, remove and freeze the eggs in time.

The good thing about snails is that they are silent, do not take up much space, do not cause allergies, and are interesting to watch. The grape snail, unlike Achatina, can be found on the street and brought home. It is important that the individual looks healthy and that the shell is intact.

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Sales of products

Selling snails is perhaps the most difficult part of this business.
First you need to figure out who needs them and why and who is willing to pay for them:

Cafes and restaurants. Snails are a very healthy delicacy and are valued by gourmets for their unique taste. You can make deliveries in your city or abroad. The main consumers of snail meat are the French. You can contact restaurants and cafes through feedback via the Internet or telephone. They mainly buy frozen products, so you can distinguish yourself by supplying fresh snails. Snail caviar is also very valuable; it is much more expensive than red and black caviar and is called white caviar.
Wholesale sales. Perhaps someone has already established a sales market, so you can sell them in large quantities to these people.
Sales to manufacturers of medicines and aphrodisiacs. Snail mucus has medicinal properties. Potency enhancing products are made on their basis. It is also added to medications to treat the respiratory system.
Sale for breeding. People who also want to start breeding snails can sell broodstocks.

Beneficial features

The benefits of snails have not been fully studied, but some valuable qualities are still known:

Saturation with vitamins. The product contains vitamins A, B, PP, E, K.
Benefits for pregnant women, since snail meat can restore calcium metabolism.
Used in cosmetology. Creams and serums based on snail secretions have a beneficial effect on the skin because they are ideally compatible with its structure.
You can have these animals as pets.
Snail mucus is used to treat inflammation, burns, and warts.
The component improves complexion.
The product is effective for weight loss because it contains no cholesterol and contains amino acids.
Snail meat is an excellent aphrodisiac.

Taking care of your health

Major diseases

Breeding snails requires the creation of certain conditions. The mollusk loses weight with poor nutrition and insufficient humidity. It may shrink so much that the shell appears empty. By the way, it should be noted that the snail loses a large percentage of its mass during hibernation. The mollusk may contract an intestinal or fungal infection, become hypothermic, or suffer from a calcium deficiency.

Prevention

Do not allow the snail to come into contact with salt. Even minor contact with salt causes damage to the mantle and brings great suffering to the snail. This manifests itself as bubbles and hissing. The animal becomes unable to even hide in its shell. In addition, the snail can get sick; infection with pathogenic organisms can be prevented by maintaining good living conditions.

Feeding your pets correctly is very important. Do not give them salty or sweet foods. Flour products have a detrimental effect on them. Farmers have experience feeding cottage cheese to pets.

Surprisingly, there is an experience where sick shellfish were brought back to their senses with the help of paper towels. The enclosure was covered with several layers of towels and sprinkled with water. All other food was removed. The dying snails crawled on the paper, ate it, and after some time returned to normal.

External fencing

The outer perimeter is fenced with sheets of galvanized iron. They are buried to a depth of 30-40 cm and reinforced with supporting wooden or iron posts. The main purpose of a perimeter is to prevent the entry of predators, especially those that are capable of burrowing. There must be a cleared area between the perimeter and the inner fence. If any of the snails get past the inner fences, the path and outer fence will prevent it from going any further.

Adding wire mesh and electrified wire on top of galvanized sheets provides better shellfish production safety.

Animals

If the fencing is done well, there will be no main natural enemy on the site. This is a hedgehog. However, moles appear from underground and also consider snails a delicacy. There is no way to cover the ground with anything, since the snails themselves need soil, and moles will have to be fought in some other way, of which, in principle, there are many.

The fence at the top should be rounded inward so that lovers of verticals - snails - will never escape to freedom. Some farmers instead use a more effective method - applying a weak electric current (no more than ten volts, otherwise the snail will have to be eaten immediately, it will be completely cooked). The mollusks crawl to the top of the fence, receive a small shock and fall back.

Caviar

Home breeding is good because it makes it much easier to obtain valuable snail caviar. Entrepreneurs usually reserve one out of ten molluscs for mating purposes in order to freely reach the clutches that the snails bury in the soil and not disturb the other inhabitants. Collecting caviar is a rather labor-intensive process, but it sometimes brings in more money than shellfish sold to restaurants.

By the way, you can sell snails not only to restaurants. Pharmaceutical companies willingly buy them, any kind, even small and completely illiquid ones. Gastropods are used in the production of the drug helicidin, the basis for cough medicines. Also, some chemical industries are interested in such a purchase - they need shellfish to extract lectins from them, used in industry. If you are lucky enough to get such orders, the farmer (entrepreneur) will receive a guaranteed income (and even somewhat more significant than when working with restaurants).

Preparation for implementation in the restaurant business

Certain standards must be observed when selling snails to a restaurant. For the board to be worthy and consistent with the expected calculations, the snail should weigh about 20g (more is possible) and be 5 cm in size.

If the consumer wants to bargain with you, give in, especially if he will be a repeat customer in the future.

From the batch, by selecting, set aside the largest ones for further reproduction, and prepare the rest for sale. Once the shellfish is no longer alive, it should be frozen and only then delivered to the consumer. But there are farmers who sell live meat, so it’s rational to consider both options in detail.

Acquisition

Where to buy, price

These mollusks can be found in gardens, orchards, and parks, but this will take a lot of time. For beginning breeders, there is now an opportunity to simply buy the required number of individuals in a pet store, on the market, or in an online store. There are groups on social networks where prices vary. Wholesale purchases are cheaper; you can buy 10 rubles for one pet. You should read reviews before purchasing.

Depending on the region, prices may vary. The presence of a sales permit must be checked. Certificate of quality from a veterinary clinic. Permission from the sanitary and epidemiological station.

Pros and cons of home keeping

There are more advantages than disadvantages to keeping snails at home, but growing them has its own characteristics. These pets are not for squeamish people; you need to understand that you will have to deal with cleaning your home. The container for the house will take up space in the apartment, which is inconvenient if the apartment is not large. But such a pet does not make noise and does not shed like cats. He doesn't need to be walked. Caring for a gastropod is not difficult.

Profitability

This product is exotic. Therefore, the question arises: is snail farming a profitable business or not? This type of activity requires a small investment at the beginning of the business. In addition, competition will be low. There is a rich spectrum for implementation. Profitability is up to 100%.

Sales of products can be carried out in the culinary or medical field. In the first case, it will be an exotic dish, and in the second, it will be a product for creating pharmaceuticals. Considering that 1 individual produces about 1 kg of offspring per season, and the price of caviar is 10-12 thousand rubles per 100 g, the business is quite promising.

What benefits do this little “horned delicacy” bring?

Therapeutic effect. Surprisingly, but true, snail meat is the basis for many industrial medicines. Extracts from snails for anti-aging products have become especially popular.

Culinary sphere. Snails, whose body practically consists of meat, contain a large amount of protein, vitamins (B6, B12), and iron. This delicacy enriches a person with beneficial properties. Meat, easy for everyday consumption, improves the functioning of the intestinal tract, normalizes the functions of the stomach and bone tissue. It is especially useful for men for potency, pregnant women and the elderly.

Equipment

To breed snails you need:

Aquarium with lid. There are holes in it for fresh air. The size should be such that there is about 30 cm of perforated space per individual.
Wood chips and earth. There should be no debris in them. Line the bottom of the aquarium with this mixture.
Containers for food and water. It is important that there are no sharp edges to prevent injury to the snails.
Stones or plastic. The shelter is made from these materials. The additional shelters obtained are purchased at a pet store.
Thick tree branch. This is a suitable decoration for an aquarium.
Water - for bathing shellfish.
A spray bottle that maintains humidity.

Pests

Breeding snails in an apartment and in a natural environment is very different. Farmers usually set aside a separate, completely fenced area (otherwise the inhabitants will slowly but irrevocably crawl away in different directions). Fifty square meters is enough. This area is equipped as an ordinary kindergarten. In addition to the danger of snails spreading if their habitat is not sufficiently isolated, there are many others.

In the natural environment there are a lot of inhabitants who are not averse to eating snails. First of all, these are birds. A scarecrow is unlikely to completely secure this business, but a canopy will definitely help, maybe just a tarpaulin one. Birds are afraid of anything that looks like human habitation. Many species of large beetles also feed on snails. If you fight them with pesticides, you can poison the snails, so beetles are perhaps the most serious enemy on the way to starting a business.

Kinds

What types of snails should you choose? It depends on where the person will keep them. Each species requires its own living conditions:

Achatina. Snails of this species are grown in glass aquariums. They must have several holes in them to allow fresh air to pass through. A lid is also required. The Achatina snail is one of the most common snails grown for business.
Grape. Their breeding is allowed in gardens or terrariums. They require space at the rate of 30 square meters. see for 1 individual.
Ampoules. It is important that in addition to water in the aquarium there is an air space of several centimeters. For 1 medium-sized snail you need about 10 liters of water.

Laying eggs

The eggs of the Achatina snail are white, oval in shape, about 4-6 mm, enclosed in a calcium shell. The number of eggs in a clutch increases by several dozen with each subsequent clutch and can reach 400 pieces.

You should not touch snail eggs with your hands if you want to get offspring. The warmth of our hands is destructive for them.

How to care for snail eggs

Prepare a small container and add a layer of moist soil to the bottom. Then use a spoon to dig up the masonry and move it to a container. Cover the top with soil and moisten it. Try to avoid temperature fluctuations (26-28 degrees) and drying out of the soil. After 7-10 days, small snails will hatch from the eggs. Read more about snail masonry here.

False masonry in Achatina

The first clutch of snails is a trial one, i.e. unfertilized, it contains no more than 10-15 eggs. They are translucent and not enclosed in a shell. That's why snail breeders call them fat eggs.

A false clutch is a harbinger of a real one if the snail has a pair. Often fat eggs are laid by lonely Achatina. If you do not plan to reproduce Achatina snails, then it is safer to freeze all clutches. Cases of self-fertilization in African snails are common. Today, snail caviar, which can be prepared at home, is gaining great popularity among gourmets.

Main features of the purchase

One of the pressing issues of breeding is the price of an adult snail. The approximate cost of one individual is 4 dollars, in bulk this price drops, so count on 2.75-3. The initial purchase should be 300-400 pieces. Obviously, you will need at least $1,200 for the first time.

The question of which manufacturer to buy snails from is controversial; often the countries are Germany, Tunisia, Poland, and the Czech Republic. The best option is to trust experienced suppliers who have been on the sales market for several years and can fully justify the high quality of the goods supplied. This business is more developed in Poland, so it is in this country that you can find the best quality specimens.

Human use

Snail caviar is an exquisite delicacy, beloved by gourmets. White shiny eggs have a salty taste and a mushroom smell. It is used to decorate dishes and simply spread on toast. Caviar goes well with champagne, martini or white wine.

Only shellfish that have emerged from suspended animation can be eaten. That is, you need to wake them up to check their condition. Those shells that do not wake up should be thrown away.

In view of this, this type of shellfish is bred for business purposes. And this is not surprising, given all the qualities of this creature.

Benefits of snail meat

Grape snail meat is not only tasty, but also healthy. This is a source of protein necessary for humans. Contains vitamins A and B. The taste is delicate and exquisite with spices. A dietary product, rich in minerals, it is a natural aphrodisiac. Eating grape clam meat is recommended for bronchitis and improves the condition of the skin and respiratory system.

How to cook

Before eating shellfish, they need to be prepared. The collected specimens fast for a week to cleanse themselves and the meat becomes more tender. Rinse everything thoroughly and place in boiling salted water for 15 minutes. Once cooled, remove the snail from the shell and separate the leg from the intestines. Then this pulp can be fried with herbs and eaten.

Another option: boil the empty shell for 15 minutes, drain the water. Then boil it again in salted water with the addition of soda. Processed shells are used for semi-finished products. The pulp is cooked for 2 - 3 hours. A salty sauce is made in butter with garlic, pepper, and the addition of parsley leaves and stems. The sauce and the finished pulp are placed in the sink.

This semi-finished product is frozen and can be stored in the refrigerator for a long time. Cook in the oven, baking with the hole facing up for 15 minutes. Be careful, the sink takes a long time to cool down!

Application in cosmetology

Cosmetologists advise using masks based on snail mucus. It contains precious hyaluronic acid. It provides youthful skin. There is a simpler, but less pleasant way: apply milk to your face and plant a grape snail. Eating milk, the mollusk provides the skin with the effect of firmness and rejuvenation.

Conditions of detention

Fresh air is only necessary for grape snails. Achatina may not survive almost zero temperatures. Since they are not trained in suspended animation, Achatina will simply die. Many entrepreneurs at the initial stage think about feeding their pets. What do snails eat?

For the first time, the vegetation that grew on the site will be enough. But this is enough for literally a week. Let them eat the weeds. You can plant wild grapes - snails feast on its leaves and fallen fruits with great pleasure. You can throw weeds into the enclosure. Don't forget about mineral fertilizers. The area should be regularly moistened and light shade should not be forgotten. Once again, a tarp will come in handy.

Start

Before you start breeding snails, you should check whether these mollusks cause disgust. You will need:

choosing the type of snail;
arrangement of living conditions;
purchase of broodstock - about 50 snails;
determine sales locations;
learn how to care for shellfish;
register a business to organize a sales market.

What you need to know when cooking snail

Before planning to cook a snail, it must be quarantined in order to completely clear the stomach of possible food. The first thing the cook must do is clean the shell and body of any existing contaminants; usually only mucus remains on the surface of the mollusk. Liver is not an edible food and is disposed of immediately during cleansing. The shell or shell is used as a utensil. The price of a dish in a restaurant changes taking into account the dynamic increase in the cost of importing snails themselves, but for about six pieces of a ready-made dish you will pay about 30 euros.

If you have a herd of snails, know that caring for them will take no more than 1-2 hours a day. You can easily combine your main work activity and your household. The main task is to provide the correct soil and nutrition, to remove mucus from the soil so that there is no reason for the growth of microbes and bacteria.

To maximize business profits, it is advisable to limit your capital investment by doing the installation yourself. In addition, you need to master all the nuances and stages of preparation from the source to the final operation. If you are overcome by doubts, it is better to test yourself in practice; to do this, try breeding several snails at home or in an apartment, equipping a certain area for their breeding. In fact, you will immediately understand whether you have the desire to continue promoting your business. If things went well and you have actively mastered all the nuances, then you should think about the next stage - creating a snail farm.