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Why do snails leave a trail of slime?

Posted on 02. Nov, 2010 by raiders1 in Nature

All slugs and snails need moisture to survive. They travel on the ground over a layer of  slimy mucus. This mucus is what causes the trail that is left behind. The body needs to have a higher then average water content to produce this mucus. they eat rotting vegetation and even eat the bodies of other dead slugs. They have a breathing hole behind its head on the right hand side and they use there tentacles to smell and touch food.

Garden snails survive dry spells by finding dark and damp places then they retreat far inside their shell to preserve their moisture. They leave a layer of mucus around the edges of the outside that dried and sticks tight to the surface it is on. It also seals off the outside with dried mucus, leaving a door for themselves. The snail’s shell gives them more then enough protection from the outside world.  Their vital organs are protected within and the shell grows in a spiral as the snail continues to grow.  Gastropods are like the garden snail and have one part shell so they are called “univalves”.  Like other gastropods, slugs lay eggs. When they hatch, baby slugs look similar to a  miniature adult slug. All mollusk shells are made from a tough substance called calcium carbonate. In  Asia, the giant land snail is the most destructive pest for the farmers.  The biggest land dwelling snail in the world is the giant African snail which can get up to 2 pounds in weight.

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Tags: featured, moisture, shell, slime, slug, snail, trail