Last night I spotted a tiny baby Rabbit Snail eating algae as he slid up the side of the tank. In this photo, he looks huge compared to his actual size which is maybe a quarter of an inch long.
What surprised me, besides seeing the baby snail, was that he’s a perfect replica of a full-grown Rabbit Snail. Like he’s a miniature.
Unlike many snails which are hermaphrodite, Rabbit Snail are either male or female. They usually have only one baby at a time, although they can have up to three. I’ve read that you can see the fully formed baby snail in its egg sack, which is transparent. And a female snail can keep sperm in her body for months waiting for the right time to give birth.
Baby Rabbit Snails come out of their egg sack hungry and start eating immediately. I think that’s what I witnessed last night.
Although I’ve named my two Rabbit Snails after a male (Hazel-Rah, from Watership Down) and a female, (my friend and artist Abrah Griggs) I don’t really know which sex they are.
And even though we now have a baby Rabbit Snail in the tank, I still don’t know. The snails may have mated or one of them may have already had the fertilized eggs inside of her when we got her.
The good part is that Rabbit Snails, unlike Mystery Snail don’t have a lot of babies. So they won’t overrun the tank.
I decided to call the baby snail Peter, as a few people suggested when I asked for a name for the adult snails.
I couldn’t find him this morning in the tank, but I’m not worried. He’s so small he could be anywhere.
He is so cute!
Isn’t he!?!