Oreo and Odessa's Friends of the WWW Pet Snail Stories:

Story #1: The Speedy Snail Wins the Race

Photo courtesy of Stijn Ghesquiere AppleSnail.net

True story:

I once kept a 25 gallon tank at work with about 15 large golden Pomacea bridgesii running about. One day, out of sheer boredom, I wrote numbers on the shell of each snail with a permanent red marker. Then I dropped in a piece of freshly sliced apple into the tank and made a bet with my boss to see which one would get to the fruit first.

Within seconds, the snails were dropping off the sides of the tank and gliding toward the fresh apple. It was all over in under two minutes, but the mess of snails trying to get a bite of the apple was amazing.

The event became so popular I began to race the snails on a regular basis. My co-workers each took a number for their own and we would take bets in M&Ms.

Sarah