Achatina achatina, commonly referred to as the Giant Tiger Snail is the largest land snail species in the world, with an average shell length of at least 18cm, they can get to around 30cm shell length, though a snail growing to that size in captivity would be very unlikely.

Captive bred tiger snails are yet to be fully established in captivity, but an increasing number of wild caught snails are now kept within Europe, and are breeding well in captivity, so this species should be fully established in captivity very soon. They are certainly not as rare and sought after as much now as they have been in previous years.

One of the main reasons for the increasing number of wild caught snails being kept is the fact that this species, along with another West African species, Archachatina marginata var. ovum, are sold as food In markets in Brixton, London. In the summer months there can be hundreds of living snails there, usually kept in very poor conditions with no food and very poor humidity, the snails can be bought live, and so many have been rescued in recent years and offered to snail keepers via the internet, on forums and mailing lists. Most snails recover well, though Archachatina marginata has proven more resilient than Achatina achatina, this may be because they can withstand harsher conditions better.

In the wild they are found in West Africa, in Ghana, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Togo, Nigeria and Cameroon. The ones in captivity most likely originate from Nigeria and Ghana, as well as the Ivory Coast, as the import of these snails for the pet trade, and for Brixton Market is usually from these countries.

As well as some physical differences between snails from different countries (Achatina achatina from the Ivory Coast usually have more slender shells than other A. achatina) there are several subspecies and forms of this species, at least one of these forms are kept in captivity at the moment, more may be kept unknowingly as Achatina achatina ssp. achatina, and since the different subspecies and forms can crossbreed this may also have happened in captivity.

Achatina achatina ssp. achatina f. (form) depravata are one form that is definitely kept in captivity at present, they are a plain yellow shelled form of the most common, nominate subspecies, ssp achatina, more on them can be found in the subspecies/forms pages linked to below.

Achatina achatina are fairly easy to identify, and yet, large specimens of Achatina (Lissachatina) fulica and Archachatina marginata (usually var. ovum) has both been sold as "tiger snails" in the past, not so often anymore though, some of the obvious differences between Achatina achatina and Achatina fulica is that Achatina achatina has a purple or pink columella, while Achatina fulica has a blue or white columella, Achatina achatina also has a raised "V" on the tail of the snails body, while fulica does not, Archachatina marginata also has a raised V on their tail, and may also have a pink or purple columella (in the case of Archachatina marginata var. suturalis) but has a much blunter apex (point of the shell) than Achatina achatina, and so are fairly easy to tell apart from them.

Since these snails can get so large, very large housing is needed a 3ft x 2ft tank is ok for 3 snails, extra large storage containers can also be used.

These snails require very warm, humid conditions to be active in captivity, if the temperature isn’t warm enough, and the humidity too low the snails will stay inactive, and seal themselves into their shell (aestivation.) The temperature should be around 28-30c, and the housing should stay very humid at all times, a water bowl, moss, moist substrate and limited ventilation, as well as daily spraying help keep the humidity high.

These snails are mainly nocturnal, but will sometimes be active during the day, especially if kept in the correct conditions.

A heatmat is required for keeping them, and should be on the outside of their housing, and cover around 1/3 of the back of their container/tank, positioning the heatmat under their housing should be avoided, as this would dry the snails substrate, they should also be kept in a fairly warm room, that doesn’t fluctuate much in temperature.

A deep substrate is needed, so the snails can burrow, coir can be used, also peat, soil, moss etc.. I use a layer of moss covering a base substrate of coir mixed with rotting oak and beech leaves, a large water bowl is a good idea, as this would raise the humidity.

Decorations can be used, plant pots, pieces of bark, plastic plants etc.. real plants can be used, but care should be taken when selecting plants, many garden centres use pesticides on their plants, and if ingested by the snails could cause problems, as they would eat many plants.

This species is usually fussier than other GALS, and refuse certain foods, so its worth trying them on a variety of fruits and vegetables, cucumber, sweet potato and corn on the cobb are usually accepted, even by newly wild caught snails. They must have a source of calcium, they may refuse cuttlefish bone, especially if wild caught, so it’s a good idea to grind the cuttlefish bone over the food items, and mix liquid calcium into the spray bottle and spray the snails, and their housing daily, after a while the snails may accept cuttlefish bone.

Achatina achatina lay fairly small eggs in high numbers, their eggs are slightly larger than that of Achatina fulica, at around 8mm long, they can lay up to 300 eggs at a time, though around 50 or so is more common, the eggs can take up to a month to hatch, depending on temperature, they hatch well at room temperature, kept moist. The young snails are fairly slow growing, and can be kept in the same conditions as the adults, though in smaller housing, keeping the young with the adults isn’t advised, as they could be accidentally crushed.

 Achatina achatina ssp. achatina f. depravata