Effect of the Physical Form of Concentrate Feed on Reproduction, Embryonic Viability, Intake and Apparent Digestibility in Captive Giant African Land Snails (Archachatina Marginata)

This study evaluated the effect of three physical forms of the same concentrate feed - paste, meal and pellets - on reproduction, feed intake and apparent digestibility in captive giant African land snails (Archachatina marginata). Three hundred adult snails, approximately 8 months old, were assigned to a completely randomized design with three treatments and five replicates of 20 snails each. The diets had the same proximate composition and differed only in physical form. Feed intake was significantly higher with the paste ration (0.45 ± 0.28 g/ day/snail) than with the pelleted (0.35 ± 0.40 g/day/snail) and meal (0.30 ± 0.00 g/day/snail) rations (p < 0.05). Dry matter excretion and apparent digestibility coefficients of nutrients were not significantly affected (p > 0.05). The paste ration improved reproductive performance, with the highest mean number of eggs (83.77 ± 6.98), fertilization rate (96.09 ± 0.49%), hatching rate of fertilized eggs (96.58 ± 0.97%), total egg hatching rate (92.82 ± 1.12%) and mean hatchling weight (1.04 ± 0.04 g). Snails fed the meal ration showed the lowest performance, whereas those fed pellets showed intermediate values. Total embryonic mortality was higher in eggs from snails fed the meal ration (11.00 ± 2.27%) than in those from snails fed the paste ration (3.26 ± 0.95%). Overall, feed intake and reproductive performance increased significantly when feed was offered as a paste, without significantly changing apparent nutrient digestibility.

Keywords: Archachatina Marginata, Feed Presentation, Apparent Digestibility, Reproduction; Hatchlings.