Back from hibernating

While the snails outside probably start to think about hibernation(the nights are getting much cooler now)this blog seems to have to come out of it.I blame my other interests,especially the tinkering with old equipment and building all kinds of devices.I have been scaling down in the snails department a bit,currently I have 4 tanks.
In the past months I lost all my Tigers because of some mysterious illness,and I'm not the only one.The Margies,however, are doing great.They haven't laid any eggs this year,which was strange but not unwelcome.I've also sold some of the snails,so the species I now have are:
Achatina fulica(of course),Arch.marginata ovum and suturalis, and Achatina immaculata.

Arion ater or vulgaris

A long time I thought that the slugs in my garden are mostly Arion ater,but now(after seeing some pictures on the Snailtales blog)I starting to think these slugs are Arion vulgaris(lusitanicus).
As usual with slugs these are sometimes not easy to tell apart because of the similar coloration.
I did see a few small black Arion aters though yesterday.

Escape from snailcatraz

When I was watching TV the other night but my eyes got attracted by something shiny on the wall.Immediately I saw that it was a slug trail,which can mean only one thing:one of the yellow slugs had escaped.After a careful searching of the area I came to the conclusion that the escape from the tank has been (so far) successful.
The other slug is still in the tank.I've noticed grayish markings on the body,so it seems that it is Limax flavus after all.

Yellow slug:part II

Awhile back I wrote about the yellow Limacid slug I found in one of my tanks.And today I saw number 2!So this could mean that they are in fact not albino forms after all,and make the identification easier.All I need to do then is type in the Google search box:yellow limacid slug and up comes the answer.Well.....if only it was that easy.There is,however,a Limax species which is called the Yellow Slug(Limax flavus)but this has usually darker markings on the body and bluish tentacles.
The search continues...........

New Margie clan arrived from Scotland

Today I received four new Archachatina marginata ovum from Scotland which arrived safely after a journey of 12 days(!).Just in time it was too,as I was leaving in a hour for a short trip to the USA.
For now they will share a tank with the reticulata's,remaining Brixton Margie and fulica's.
Pictures will follow later.

"banana" slug

This yellow slug has been living in the Tiger snails tank for awhile now.I never put it in there so it probably hitched a ride on some greens I put in.I haven't found out the species yet,the breathing hole is located in the second half of the mantle which means it belongs to the Limacidae family.It could possibly be an albino form,slugs of this colour are usually not found in my area.

Margie R.I.P

Well....the biggest Margie died last night,its weight was only 277 grams.As there wasn't any sign of illness I think it must have been it's age.I got him last August from Brixton Market in London.
The other,remaining,one is still healthy,but sealed up at the moment.