I Snailed the Halloween Costumes

Meet Jaspi and Eglantine, giant African land snails turned into Halloween bats.

This year, I snailed the Halloween costumes. I have my husband to thank for it as he came up with the idea of bat wings. Of course, I can also thank my pet snails for posing with the wings.

Giant African Land Snails as Pets

Some people call the giant African land snails pests. I call them pets.

Giant African lands snails are one of the largest terrestrial gastropods. These magical mollusks crawled their way into my heart years ago. 

I’ve kept giant African land snails as pets for over 20 years. At the moment, I have 16 snails. They happen to be very active in reproducing. Because of that, my flock has grown more than I expected.

Being a snail mom is a lot of fun. Snails are friendly animals. It’s easy to take care of them. Giant African land snails eat all kinds of fruits and vegetables. They like it when I bathe them. In the summer, I take them outdoors sometimes. Giant African land snails have adapted to a warm climate, so you can only walk them outdoors in the summer when the weather is warm.

My snails enjoy climbing and burrowing into the peat in their tank. They are very social animals. My snails are always “hugging” and playing with each other. They are very gentle and never seem to fight.

How I Snailed the Halloween Costumes

The anatomy of snails is quite different from the anatomy of mammals. That makes it challenging to dress snails in any costume. I knew I would have to attach the accessories to a snail’s shell. Their body is slimy, so you can’t stick anything to them. 

Bat wings seemed like a good idea because you can attach them to a snail’s shell. 

I only used two materials for the bat wings: Steel wire and black duct tape. Duct tape is a good material for a snail’s costume because it’s waterproof. If I had used fabric, it would have gotten slimy because snails constantly produce mucus. I didn’t want to use glue or anything like that to make the costume because I don’t want to expose my snails to chemicals.

I bent the steel wire into the shape of bat wings. Then I covered the wires with black duct tape. 

The Photo Shoot with Snails Was a Breeze

Snails are very cooperative models. They are curious about everything around them. Introducing snails to new situations like a Halloween photo shoot doesn’t stress them out at all. My snails always get excited about new experiences. So, posing with bat wings on their shells was a fun situation for my snails, not something that frightens them or causes them stress.

My husband and I took the time to prepare the decor for the photo session. My hubby collected some autumn leaves and rowan berries. I bought the Halloween pumpkins.

I attached the bat wings to the snails’ shells with adhesive tape. Then we put Jaspi and Eglantine in the photo set.

As soon as I placed Jaspi and Eglantine on top of the leaves, they started crawling and exploring their new environment. Eglantine even took a bite of a dry leaf! Taking the photos was a breeze.

Arranging a photo shoot with my husband and pet snails was an excellent way to spend quality time as a family.

Snails are probably one of the most cooperative animals to work in a photo shoot with. It was a lot of fun for all participants.

My snails wish you a happy Halloween with lots of tasty pumpkins!