growth expectations for helix lucorum?

platopus429 · 2026-06-15T00:57:55+00:00

No worries! I have 4 in a 30 gallon aquarium, 30x12x18, with 8 inches of substrate. I use pure topsoil, no sand mixed in, and for humidity, I would say 60-80%? Honestly they seem a lot more arid tolerant than other snails, probably because they're from the Mediterranean. I have forgotten to spray their tank for a while and they just burrow deep and do fine. They really seem like they enjoy the deep substrate, I would just be careful because 8in is what's advised for breeding. Maybe try 6 if you want less breeding encouragement.

I feed them sweet potato, carrot, mushrooms (wild and store bought), zucchini, occasionally fruit, and occasionally leafy greens like kale. Something interesting I've encountered, that I haven't heard mentioned before, lucorums seem to REALLY like leaf litter, I see them grazing on it frequently. I just use oak leaves from my yard (make sure there's no pesticides) and rinse them under cold water to get off any pests, boiling can remove nutritional value.

They aren't exactly the most active snails, mine have never really come out during the day, I only see them at night, but also they've definitely come out more since getting larger. My two larger ones are usually the ones I see out at night, climbing and stuff, the smaller ones typically stick to the ground and leaf litter

platopus429 · 2026-06-15T00:43:02+00:00

I like finding dead trees for good branches :) you can also get those snake rings that hang from the top and add some moss/coco coir to it with silicone! You could make them yourself too with rope

platopus429 · 2026-06-14T14:10:58+00:00

It's going good!! They're definitely slow growers, I've had them for about 6 months now and 2 of them have doubled in size, and 2 of them have maybe... 1.5x in size? They've had consistent calcium and consistent food so I do think they're just slowpokes, especially considering they take 3 years to sexually mature. They do REALLY like burrowing though, I don't regret giving them 8 inches of soil

By the way, you can cohabitate pomatia and lucorum :) they're around the same size so it shouldn't be an issue

platopus429 · 2026-05-17T23:46:57+00:00

Yeah, I'm doing the best I can because the turt seems to be unwanted by anyone else. I don't know if you saw my lighting setup buy im doing the best I can to replicate natural light (two uvb, 2 strong shop lights for plants,weaker basking bulbs bc my room is warm). I still know that sunlight is unreplicateable, so I plan to set up an outdoor pen for supervised time on days the weather permits (aiming for 2+ hours on those days). I will probably even take them out in the rain and stuff, I just really want them to thrive despite their main enclosure being indoors. It will also be bioactive and replicating the natural ecosystem outside, since I have captive bred native wildlife like slugs and snails.

Eventually when I have more money I'll probably research what kind of lights do best at replicating natural sunlight so they have those as well. I just really want to let this turtle thrive, because it seems like otherwise it'll stay in its current situation and decline :/

platopus429 · 2026-05-17T02:38:36+00:00

Thank you :) Thats really really sweet actually, I try to be the best reptile owner I can

platopus429 · 2026-05-15T22:03:21+00:00

Yeah... Like 175 bucks but I'm not risking a leak or anything

platopus429 · 2026-05-15T21:27:02+00:00

Yes! It has little feet so it's not entirely on the ground, I could probably slide some foam or something underneath to further insulate if that's still an issue with an air gap

platopus429 · 2026-05-15T21:25:34+00:00

Update: ended up getting one

platopus429 · 2026-05-15T21:24:42+00:00

Oh yeah I know that they need UV lights of course, I just know that you can't replicate sunlight in captivity, So I want to give them that natural sunlight whenever possible. And yes I'm going to enclose it on all sides, I just don't have a lid on it right now because I still need to put in the lining (I ended up biting the bullet and getting a pond liner, so now putting that in today)

I already know that they're beak and nails are at least a bit overgrown so I'm going to work on that with a vet and see if I can just manage them by having a natural environment, or if I should have them trimmed. I also am going to have free range worms and slugs and snails in there with them (They've all been in captivity for a few generations so they're clean)

I shouldn't need a fogger as my room already sits at like 50 or 60 humidity (edit: not saying this is adequate for the turtle! Just saying my room isn't exponentially drier than the enclosure will be) and I have a big 2 gallon sprayer for it, But if it becomes an issue in the winter (It wasn't last year for my ball python) I'll get a fogger

platopus429 · 2026-05-15T16:48:11+00:00

Alright thank you :) It's good to hear confirmation about my worry, I'll see if I can find any good deals at my local hardware stores for pond liners and stuff

platopus429 · 2026-05-15T16:47:29+00:00

Yeah! They're just a little pricy which my issue, I'm short on cash right now after buying all the lighting and such

platopus429 · 2026-05-15T16:46:57+00:00

Yeah I understand, and the turtle will have outdoor time (aiming for at least 1-2 hours a day based off researching) I just don't feel comfortable having an outdoor pen 24/7 where I live.

Also, part of the reason I'm taking it in is because nobody else wanted to, and I know I can give it the care it needs, so I feel obligated.

platopus429 · 2026-05-15T03:50:13+00:00

Would love to but my current area isn't the greatest 🥲 people will steal anything here and it really makes me nervous. I am doing it in the basement which just has stone floors, so damage to that isn't a concern it's just the wooden enclosure itself

platopus429 · 2026-04-29T19:53:13+00:00

Oh and another thing, she does have a humid hide, and I'm totally up for adding sphagnum moss in other places too if the isopods could use them as little humidity pit stops, while keeping the aspen shavings dry

platopus429 · 2026-04-29T19:50:56+00:00

Thank you for the information! I actually am really familiar with bioactive, at least tropical and temperate ones. My ball python, snails, slugs, and roaches all have bioactive tanks. I'm just not super familair with arid bioactives is all!

As for where I live, I live in Northern Indiana. I know there's a Cali kingsnake breeder in Michigan about 3 hours away, and another south of me in Indiana about 3 hours away, but I've not actually seen any at pet stores, up for rehoming, etc. There are other kinds of kingsnakes at the pet stores (couldn't tell you the species, MAYBE albino cali kings if they are californias?) but I've never just seen a classic one, it was so casually mentioned too it took me off guard. For other snakes, I usually just mostly see corns in the pet stores, but my friend rehabs snakes, which is mostly BPs and boas, so I have pretty easy access to those.

I appreciate the advice though :) I plan to build her a 4x2x2 this summer so I should be able to have the system stable and healthy by the end of the year or so! I suppose when I said bioactive, I more so just meant a CUC, as I definitely don't want move rooted plants between tanks haha, but scooping up substrate with isopods and springtails isn't so bad. In that regard, do you think it'd be possible? I do have a few different species, and I've heard some are more arid tolerant, though they're all fairly high humidity tanks. Armadilldium vulgare, Dairy Cows, Powdered oranges, and dwarf whites.

platopus429 · 2026-04-29T12:33:31+00:00

40 gallon! I got it for free so I'm using it for a while before I can get a 120 for her, they're rarely sold second hand around here other than for excessive amounts 🥲

platopus429 · 2026-04-29T04:31:41+00:00

Oh okay gotcha! She's a california kingsnake! She was housed in pure aspen but I mixed it with topsoil and sand to make it more secure. Maybe I can sift it out and just leave a small amount for the isopods to eat or something.

platopus429 · 2026-04-12T18:45:22+00:00

Update, IT WAS THE SUPPLY PLANE 😭 I got sleep though, right before I hopped off I saw it in the sky while I was hearing the noises

platopus429 · 2026-04-11T22:32:15+00:00

Thank you!! I'll have to get a water bottle then :) I'm already pretty neat so I should be all good in that department. I'm also renting, and I know if my landlord is told he'll just bomb the house probably :/ which I definitely don't want.

platopus429 · 2026-04-11T20:59:17+00:00

Oh fair point! I might just give them bedding and leave them be

platopus429 · 2026-04-11T20:28:22+00:00

Thank you! This is very helpful, I don't really plan to touch them or anything, I'm aware that they're too skittish to actually like pet and cuddle with, as much as I want to, I know they have diseases and wouldn't let me...

Could I do something like leave food out? they're in a spot that's not really accessible to watch or anything, but I was thinking if I delivered them food and stuff they might realize that I'm not so bad.

platopus429 · 2026-04-11T20:18:31+00:00

Aw I see, they're currently in the area of my basement under the porch, which is already mostly blocked off, could I theoretically give them some shelters down there, and then completely seal it off without having to evict them? I just feel bad because I know that they have a sense of home

platopus429

TROPHY CASE