Snaily Goodness

There is something about trapdoor snails that I love. I love how they look fuzzy in the water, algae-covered shell billowing in the current. I love how they peacefully inch along, harming nobody but the algae they come across. I love that sometimes they surprise me and live through a very cold winter--something that isn't supposed to happen.


We always have trapdoor snails in our pond. They call them that because they have a little door that pushes their squishy self into their shell should they get turned over, picked up, or otherwise frightened by a predator. And when the trapdoor falls off, you know you got yourself a dead snail.

These snails are pretty large and are about the size of a quarter to a silver dollar. Their shells grow like your fingernail--with the new part growing off the part where their little bodies stick out. You can sort of see it in the picture if you enlarge it.

Some snails have little air tubes for breathing and they need to come up to the surface every now and then, but I have never seen these guys do that. They just stay in the depths munching away on pond algae, doing their thankless job day after day. While they are munching, they can work themselves up into a plant or on a rock, and sometimes they can walk right out of the water and dry up--so, I guess they aren't too bright. We have a nice ledge on the pond though, so I haven't had that happen lately. Whew, 'cuz that would bum me out.

My favorite part of trapdoor snails is that they actually give live birth, which is sort of cool. And I find little pearls of life every so often, but they are extremely hard to notice. I found one in the skimmer the other day, which of course caused a huge fuss in our house.

What I love most is their subtle existence in the pond, there only to be helpful in keeping the water clean. And you don't see them often, but it is treat when we do. It's what I call Snaily Goodness.