Ewww! What is that?

It’s a snail! Have you ever seen a snail on a trail before? When you saw the snail did it leave a trail of slime? They leave a trail of mucus (slime) behind as they move – gross! But it’s very necessary. That slime trail protects the snail as it moves and allows them to stick to surfaces. These are known as ‘snail trails’.

Mucus also comes in handy when the snail hibernates. They cover their bodies with mucus to help hold the moisture in. They will hibernate during the cold winters and dry summers.

Snails can’t hear, but can see with their awesome eyes on top of their retractable tentacles. They can move their eyes up and down, and can see behind their shell.

All snails lay eggs. They are hermaphrodites – cool!

When a snail hatches out of the egg, it has a shell. It doesn’t have much color and is very soft. As it grows, the shell gets harder. You can estimate a snail’s age by counting the rings on the shell; start in the center and count out. How old is the snail in this picture?

To find out more cool information about snails go to our catalog, type in snail and hit search – it’s that easy!

We promise you won’t get slimed 🙂