How Do You Package Snails To Post?

[Curiosity101]

I have had alot of ramshorn eggs and recently a large clutch of apple snail eggs. Obviously I'll ring around some fish stores and try selling there. But if I'm selling online chances are I'll be posting them. How do you go about it? I understand they must be kept moist with enough air, but I saw someone posting them in a padded envelope? This worried me as I imagined the poor lil guys getting squished.

 

[Colin_T]

Snails are easy enough to send out.
Use a plastic fish bag and put a little bit of water in the bottom. You only need enough water to cover the snail, eg: if the snail is an inch in diameter then put an inch of water in the bottom of the bag.
Fill the rest of the bag up with air and seal it up with a rubber band. Put that bag inside another plastic bag and seal it up too.
Put the bag of snails into an esky (insulated foam box). If necessary, put a couple of air bags (bags with air only and no water) into the esky to stop the bag of snails from rolling around. You can use scrunched up newspaper instead of air bags.
Seal the esky up, label it and send it off.

The only other thing to do is do not feed the snails for 24hours before they get sent off. This will give them time to clean out their gut and they won't poo in the bag and cause water quality problems.

 

[Curiosity101]

Surely they're very expensive to post then? And how come I have seen quite a few people just posting them in envelopes?

My plan had been to get small pots, such as the type you get coleslaw in etc, fill with enough water to cover the snails if they were ramshorns (as they're barely 1cm big), then put them into an envelope.
With the apples I was thinking the same, but with lots of moist kitchen towel instead and a few holes in the lid. Then into an envelope. They're currently just over 1cm large.

 

[JenCliBee]

Surely they're very expensive to post then? And how come I have seen quite a few people just posting them in envelopes?

My plan had been to get small pots, such as the type you get coleslaw in etc, fill with enough water to cover the snails if they were ramshorns (as they're barely 1cm big), then put them into an envelope.
With the apples I was thinking the same, but with lots of moist kitchen towel instead and a few holes in the lid. Then into an envelope. They're currently just over 1cm large.

I recieved my apple snails the other day in a cut up ice cube container filled with very wet kitchen roll and then into a zip lock food bag then placed into a small box and posted to me 1st class post, recieved within 2 days of purchase and all were fine and happy when put into the tank

jen

 

[Littlemonkey]

Dear Curiosity101,

I am going to do the same when my baby Apple snails are big enough. I was going to use plastic cups with damp kitchen paper in the base with perferated cling film on top, then placed in a box with shredded paper. Everybody has been keeping and collected small boxes for me, safe for the snails and recyling too.

 

[pippoodle]

apple snails are fine to send with only damp kitchen roll as they can live out of the water for a week or so
i put them in tiny cups or empty fish food containers with some wet floss or kitchen roll with clingfilm with holes in over the top and in jiffy bags
every one have arrived safe and well

 

[Sarah5098]

My apple snails came in a little plastic box, like you get the chinese in There was damp kitchen roll in the bottom and a few holes in the box. They can survive out of water for about a week or so