Types of Snails Snails come in two main varieties. There are aquatic snails and land snails. If you find yourself asking the question What do snails eat or what do you feed a pet snail, you first have to find out what kind of snail you have. In general it is easy to know the type of snail because of where you found it. If you found the snail in a marshy area, along a river bank, or pond it might just be better to return the snail if you are not 100% sure of its type. If you know what kind of snail you have there are two ways to find out what they like to eat. You can go the trial and error route or you can bring your snail to a local animal store to find out exactly what your snail wants to eat. Being that you are at this site the trial and error approach might suit you better.

What do land snails eat? Land snails are mainly herbivorous, which means they eat plant life. There are a few snails that are carnivores, but chances are that your snail in not. Snails love to eat just about anything you would put in a garden salad. My recommendation is to start with some romaine, green leaf or even ice burg lettuce. Snails tend to like the softest and wettest part of the plant. If you have an herb garden that produces far more herbs than you need then try picking the newest leaves off of some of your herbs to see if they like them. Apples and carrots can also be a favorite of your pet snail. The key to their diet is to see what grows naturally around the area where you found your snail and bring that to them. During the winter you will have to rely heavily on the produce in your refrigerator to keep them well feed. Remember if the snail is eating all the food you gave him or her then you need to leave more out for them. Slightly rotten food is just fine. They are not terribly picky as long as you give them a food they enjoy. One last tip: During the spring and fall when your grass is the greenest make sure to cut a big handful of grass for your snail to eat. Both land and the common garden snail love grass and most leaves.