Re: Shipping Malysian Trumpet Snails (and plants)

[Beverly Erlebacher <bae at cs_toronto.edu>]

> Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1998 17:13:51 -0400
> From: "Tom Brennan" <brennans at ix_netcom.com>
> 
> Anyone have any suggestions on shipping Malysian Trumpet  snails.  Can I
> just throw them in a zip-lock surrounded by packing peanuts and box em up
> and ship US postal ?.  Maybe 2-day?  How long will they last?  Do I add
> Ammo-Lock or other.  I Don't suppose I need to add food, right?  In addition
> I am planing on sending some plants, should I just through the MT snails
> along for the ride on the plants ? These are going from Virginia to
> Pennsylvania, this should only take 2-3 days US Postal - ground service.

I've been mailing MTSs around Canada for the past year or two, and I can
tell you these guys are tough.  I fast them for a few days, then pack them
as above, without sealing the bag.  I basically fill the bag with water,
drain it, and fold the top over to retain moisture and allow a little air
exchange.  Be sure to use styrofoam peanuts and not the new dissolving 
starch kind!  I put the bag in a flat cardboard box or bubble plastic padded
envelope.  Some got lost and took 10 days to get to an area in the middle
of a 30C+ (85F+) heat wave, but they mostly survived.  Ramshorn snails
seem to be far more delicate than these indestructible MTSs.

I haven't had particularly good results mailing plants, but one method
that seems to be fairly effective is to wrap them in wet newspaper in 
an unsealed plastic bag.  They deteriorate in the dark pretty quickly,
so I'd recommend 2-day service if you can manage it.

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