 BackResearch Article ScienceAsia 14 (1988): 025-040 |doi: 10.2306/scienceasia1513-1874.1988.14.025
CULTIVATION OF THE GIANT AFRICAN SNAIL, ACHATINA FULICA
E. SUCHART UPATHAM, MALEEYA KRUATRACHUE and VIROON BAIDIKULABSTRACT: Effects of various types of food on growth, the systematic cultivation, and the food analysis of snail meat of Achatina fulica, the giant African snail, were studied. Growth was found to be best in the snails fed with a combination of food such as lettuce leaves, chicken feed and synthetic snail food. The life-cycle, growth characteristics and reproductive activity of A. fulica were studied in the laboratory culture. Sexual maturity was reached as early as 5 months of age. Egg clutches contain 80-100 eggs and the incubation period was 7-10 days. Food analysis study revealed high protein, fat, Ca and vitamin contents in snail meat of A. fulica. Center for Applied Malacology and Entomology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand Received 19 August 1987
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