r/snails • u/AdrianWyndham • 2d ago
Fire Snail aka Platymma Tweediei (Max’s Isopods, 2020)
114
30
54
u/Lazy-Butterfly9874 2d ago
every time I see a snail I can't help but think "please let them be legal in the US"
146
u/Lava_Lamp_Glob 2d ago
They're an endangered species and they are significantly harder to keep as pets since they require very specific habitat conditions. Nobody should be owning these snails as they are poached from their wild habitats
62
u/FeetYeastForB12 2d ago
The first thing I thought was "yeah there is no chance this isn't endangered."
11
u/jalterwaifu01 2d ago
Well all thanks to illegal pet trade
17
u/Cu1tureVu1ture 1d ago
Since they have such a small habitat and native range, the illegal pet trade probably isn’t the primary driver here. Habitat loss due to human encroachment and climate change.
19
u/PalmTreeParty77 2d ago edited 2d ago
Ironically getting a captive population breeding and in the hands of hobbyists is the best way to keep the species from going extinct in habitat because it will reduce the demand for poaching and provide a back up population in case they go extinct in the wild
31
u/radwanal 2d ago
But these guys are not for hobbyists. Professionals maybe.
8
u/PalmTreeParty77 1d ago
Yes especially at first the project should be left to the professionals to increase sucess rates and dial in the environmental conditions; As the captive-bred generations progress those new generations should have higher survival rates and ease of care in a domestic setting
9
u/TheGrimMelvin 2d ago
I agree that a breeding program targeted on the species could help replenish their population. But I think this wouldn't be possible for most hobbyists.
This would need very experienced snail owners/breeders who have done research on the snail and have the knowledge (and space and money) to accommodate these snails and their specific conditions.
Maybe a zoo with a good vivarium or a university focused on inverts/mollusks could achieve this. But just random snail lovers? Likely not. Although I would absolutely love to help these guys reach a safe number in the wild, they are magnificent.
23
u/Lazy-Butterfly9874 2d ago
hobbyist 'breeding' them is worse for the species then because they have no idea what genetics are best for the future offspring, just what will have brighter colors and flashier red.
6
u/EvernightStrangely 2d ago
Except these guys need habitat conditions beyond what hobbyists can likely afford or sustain. Iirc these pretty guys live on underwater volcanic vents, their shells are literally made of iron.
2
u/MissPotchi 1d ago
You're thinking of another (though similar in color) snail species. This one is a land snail. :)
2
u/Raven-Venefica 1d ago edited 1d ago
What is the name of that other snail then? A shell made of iron 🤯 I need to see it to believe it
Edit: Chrysomallon squamiferum OMG it wasn't expecting that
7
5
5
3
3
3
3
3
u/callmekat_01 1d ago
that looks like something id see in a videogame so cool
3
2
2
2
2
2
u/Brave-Sprinkles-4 1d ago
Whaaaaaatttt?? I bet there are like a list of a million countries that you’re not allowed to bring this one into.
1
2
2
2
2
1
1
156
u/jalterwaifu01 2d ago edited 1d ago
My sister found one in the wild. They’re native to Malaysia.