Frequently Asked Questions about Snails and Snail Caviar
What is the nutritional content of the egg?
Nutritional value of the snail egg | Per 100 g |
Energy | 119 Kcal |
Fat | 1,8 g |
Carbohydrates | 1,5 g |
Protein | 24,30 g |
Sodium | 91 mg |
Calcium | 17 mg |
Iron | 1,6 mg |
Phosphorus | 40,2 mg |
Magnesium | 10 mg |
Vitamin A | 140 μg |
Vitamin B3 | 7.10 mg |
Vitamin B12 | 10 μg |
The snail and its reproduction
It’s one of the most interesting and complex creatures of the animal kingdom and is an incomplete hermaphroditic animal.
Why incomplete?
The snail has both reproductive organs but cannot fecundate itself. It needs another animal of the same species to be inseminated.
If it has both sex organs when is it female or male?
During the courtship, each animal will decide which role will play in that courtship, but it’s even more interesting when in the same courtship they change their roles giving way to the opportunity that both animals fertilize each other and can lay their eggs. It is believed that this phenomenon is due to the capacity of this gastropod to ensure its survival and perceives which role is in demand at a time in particular. They recognize during the courtship, which role is in demand at that particular time and with this ability, ensure their survival.
What time of the year do they reproduce?
They mate during the night when the temperature is warm, and the humidity of the environment is high, the typical weather of Mediterranean spring. For this to occur in nature, the snail must be approximately 8 months old. In the snail farm, the time it takes to reach sexual maturity is briefly shortened due to the type of feeding and care it receives.
How is the courtship?
They begin the courtship by performing a dance where they curl their heads and rub them against the tentacles, their organs of feeling. The dance takes them to a point of excitement that culminates when both individuals launch a calcareous dart through a rapid ejection. The dart penetrates the couple, increasing the excitement of both gastropods resulting in the evagination of the penis. The copulation begins when, in a reciprocal way, both individuals penetrate their partner’s vagina, thus depositing the sperm. The courtship stage lasts approximately 12 hours. Fertilization of the eggs can happen immediately, and they will be buried about ten days after that courtship. The snail can also hold sperm for a year without fertilizing its eggs. It is understood that this ability of the snail exists to enable him to only deposit his eggs when he considers is propitious.