View Full Version : Snail Sex
greencreeper
13-05-2007, 21:13
Get yourself out in the garden when it's raining (like it is here in Leeds) - see if you can catch a couple of them at it. Fascinating to watch. I've got three of them doing the rubbing and tenticle waving on my garden wall. I'm a bit wet but it's remarkable - so gentle and intimate.
Snails - quite cool, so far as molluscs go, but a shame they have to litter the path and steps.
Like this? Although I'm not entirely sure what money has to do with it...
Download Failed (1) (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a7/Snails_mating_2996_05_02.jpg)
This is the most random topic I have seen on here in a while.
Still, all in the name of education of the planet I guess lol.
greencreeper
13-05-2007, 21:24
Sort of, TheNorm, but your average garden snail is bigger, so you can see the gentials more clearly. The £1 coin is there to provide scale.
... so you can see the gentials more clearly. ....
That's clear enough for me, thank you very much!
Cobbydaler
13-05-2007, 21:28
Like this? Although I'm not entirely sure what money has to do with it...
Download Failed (1) (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a7/Snails_mating_2996_05_02.jpg)
It's obvious that the one on the right is the client... ;)
greencreeper
13-05-2007, 21:32
It's obvious that the one on the right is the client... ;)
:LOL:
They're hermaphrodites - so finding a mate is much easier :D
budwieser
13-05-2007, 21:44
:LOL:
They're hermaphrodites - so finding a mate is much easier :D
Can`t they just go and **** themselves then? lol;) j/k.:D
greencreeper
13-05-2007, 21:56
Not really, Bud, no - it's a matter of genetics and ensuring healthy offspring
papa smurf
13-05-2007, 22:00
snail doging i've seen it all now:hugs: :rofl:
OK, this is for a nameless member of the Forum (you know who you are, Miss J)...
From http://www.petsnails.co.uk/care/breeding.html
Copulation
Some species actually inject a calcified dart into the other snail to stimulate copulation. This "love" dart has been shown to actually increase the chance of success by effectively injecting a chemical which retards the sperm-resisting abilities of the receiving female reproductive organ. It has no doubt evolved as part of a sexual arms race. You may see this occurring but it's nothing to worry about. You may also find the darts themselves.
...
Mating can last from a few minutes to possibly many hours, with owners awaking to them still mating. Whether this is the same coupling or a subsequent one has yet to be determined, though the former is more likely.
... A mass of greenish jelly surrounded each genital aperture, extending some distance along each penis, and both snails were busily ingesting this material.
... Each penis was estimated to have had an extended length of 12-14 cm.
Yea, right...
greencreeper
13-05-2007, 22:20
The bit about the darts is true - though their aim can often be a bit off the target. Not sure about the 12-14 cm though - not your average garden snail. Maybe larger molluscs.
homealone
13-05-2007, 22:35
The bit about the darts is true - though their aim can often be a bit off the target. Not sure about the 12-14 cm though - not your average garden snail. Maybe larger molluscs.
at 2.54 centimetres to the inch, I can see why you feel challenged, gc :angel:
Get yourself out in the garden when it's raining (like it is here in Leeds) - see if you can catch a couple of them at it. Fascinating to watch. I've got three of them doing the rubbing and tenticle waving on my garden wall. I'm a bit wet but it's remarkable - so gentle and intimate.
Snails - quite cool, so far as molluscs go, but a shame they have to litter the path and steps.
care to tell us why snails make you excited? :erm:
in fact don't :Yikes:
ik
greencreeper
13-05-2007, 23:11
at 2.54 centimetres to the inch, I can see why you feel challenged, gc :angel:
:rofl: It wasn't so much challenging me, as challenging belief.
care to tell us why snails make you excited? :erm:
in fact don't :Yikes:
:rofl: You know full well I meant "wet" from the rain, and nothing else :D I just find this sort of thing interesting - watching wildlife in the garden.
I think snail are cute. At one time the family pet was an African Land Snail called Terrence.It was very fond of slurping beer out of my hand...:)
greencreeper
13-05-2007, 23:32
I think snail are cute. At one time the family pet was an African Land Snail called Terrence.It was very fond of slurping beer out of my hand...:)
Awww, bless :) Are they really big? It's a strange sensation when a snail moves on your hand.
Some of the ones in the garden had sort of gone to sleep. I'm not sure what they were doing. The head and tenticles were retracted, but the "neck" and "tail" were still exposed. Almost as if sleeping, but when they sleep, they usually totally disappear into the shell, and a thin seal is formed, pending rain. I tried nudging one of them - no response at all. Strange.
Awww, bless :) Are they really big? It's a strange sensation when a snail moves on your hand.
Some of the ones in the garden had sort of gone to sleep. I'm not sure what they were doing. The head and tenticles were retracted, but the "neck" and "tail" were still exposed. Almost as if sleeping, but when they sleep, they usually totally disappear into the shell, and a thin seal is formed, pending rain. I tried nudging one of them - no response at all. Strange.
It's the human male equivilant of turning over afterwards and going to sleep.If you are hermaphrodite I guess your male half takes over. ;)
Yep Terrance was big..it filled my whole hand.And no obvious comments please...
greencreeper
13-05-2007, 23:52
It's the human male equivilant of turning over afterwards and going to sleep.If you are hermaphrodite I guess your male half takes over. ;)
Ah :D That'll be why it made no response :D
Yep Terrance was big..it filled my whole hand.And no obvious comments please...
Crikey! Could be a bit scary if he got out and you found him raiding the fridge :erm: :D
Ah :D That'll be why it made no response :D
Crikey! Could be a bit scary if he got out and you found him raiding the fridge :erm: :D
Sadly Terrance only lived for 4 years..which was quite a record apparently..lucky if they last 2 years normally.:erm:
greencreeper
14-05-2007, 07:34
A good age then. The smaller pets (compared to cats and dogs) do seem to have short lifespans.
It's good having a cellar - the garden is level with the window, so I see them wandering about the garden wall and the top of the steps. Snail traffic. One or two make it down to the bottom of the steps. Even had one working its way up the uPVC window frame - they do seem to like plastic :erm:
joglynne
14-05-2007, 07:47
All I can say is that the snails in my garden must sure have a healthy sex life. Was out gardening yesterday and I seemed to be knee deep in them. Have also noticed that the toad and the frogs all look extremely well feed. :D
Like this? Although I'm not entirely sure what money has to do with it...
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a7/Snails_mating_2996_05_02.jpg (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a7/Snails_mating_2996_05_02.jpg)
I've seen the one on the right in my back garden. Apparently he'll do anything for a quid.....:erm:
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