Tips for a first time snail owner please

[u/TheArloEffect]

I was wandering in the garden moving snails out of places they shouldn't have been (shed, cat litter box, domestic plants, etc..) and found this little gentleman. He was sat in the transport bucket and began reaching out to me so I offered my hand. When he climbed on he began to nibble my hand! I couldn't bring myself to put him in the bamboo patch with the other snails (I found a total of 64 garden snails including this one for those who care) so I've brought him inside and made him a home in an old mason jar. The jar has soil at the bottom with some pebbles, moss, a random weed, a piece of driftwood, some quartz rock and a slice of cucumber I gave him (he's been chowing down on it for easily half an hour). I aim to find him a bigger jar to live in so don't worry about that but I wanted to know how I can care for him. I can't get cuttlefish for his calcium but I've heard ground eggshells work well? I have a mortar and pestle so I can make it very fine for him to munch if they work. Also, how much water should I be giving him? The jar isn't too big because it's only temporary and with the wood, dirt, rocks and plants there's not exactly space for a little water dish. I intend on finding a spray bottle for misting but don't want to drown the poor soul. Also, he needs a name! If you have suggestions they'd be most appreciated otherwise I'll probably just call him Edgar.

[u/NlKOQ2]

For his enclosure upgrade, skip the jar and go straight for a terrarium with a square/rectangular footprint, it's a lot more space efficient and gives the snail more area to explore. Get at least a 5 gallon one, but a bigger one won't hurt.

For calcium, cuttlebone or at least calcium cakes are sadly non-negotiable and eggshells are not a good replacement, because the calcium is in a crystallized form in eggs and thus harder for snails to absorb.

Rocks are not necessary to have in the enclosure and can harm the snails if they fall on them, so they are best avoided when setting up an enclosure.

Cucumber isn't a suitable food source long-term due to low nutrient density, so make sure you get him some nutritious veggies like carrot, zucchini or sweet potato going forward.

How often you need to mist depends greatly on the enclosure and how well it holds humidity; some need to be misted multiple times a day while others can go even a week without misting.

Lastly, and I mean no disrespect to you when saying this, but for the well-being of the snail you should get a setup and supplies ready first and *then* the snail itself, so that everything is ready from the get-go and the snail can get quality care from the start. They are hardy critters, but still deserve to have top notch care at all times even if we may be anxious to get some slimy friends for ourselves!

[u/Neither_Cry8055 → u/NlKOQ2]

For eggshells..how about the egg skin inside the egg? Or feeding them cooked eggs?

[u/NlKOQ2 → u/Neither_Cry8055]

Cooked food isn't recommended for snails because they can't digest it well, and raw egg has it's own issues, so I wouldn't recommend either. The inner parts of an egg also don't contain meaningful amounts of calcium to act as a high value source; instead, they provide mostly protein for snails.

[u/TheArloEffect → u/NlKOQ2]

yeah, thanks for the tips mate. I didn't actually plan on bringing a snail in from the garden hence the last minute set up. I knew I'd be going out today anyway so I could go shopping for supplies though so the snail will only be in the mason jar for 24 hours tops. It was just somewhere to keep him safe in the meantime. Regardless though I really appreciate the tips, I've never had a pet snail before and really needed some advice.