Hope MartinComputational Biology Senior This year has been a very different experience for everyone. From online classes to job changes, things have been a lot to handle. One really exciting experience I got to try during all of this was becoming a proud pet owner! I figured since I will be remote and at home so much it was the perfect time to welcome someone new to my apartment! I did a lot of research and decided on getting a pet land snail. This made a lot of sense for me because my favorite part of biology classes was always learning about plants and animals, and snails are a pretty unique pet to have and observe. Now I’m not recommending everyone just go out and adopt a pet because a lot of care and commitment goes into that of course! Never become a pet owner just for fun; you have to be ready for it. That being said I thought it would be nice to share some interesting facts I’ve learned about snails and share some cute photos of my snail to hopefully brighten up this post as well as your day. My snail’s name is Poyo and they were mailed to me from a snail breeder online! I was a bit worried about them getting here safely, but they were awake and healthy as soon as I opened my package. Snails are actually hermaphrodites, which means that they have both female and male reproductive organs. This means that they can reproduce with any other snail, so I only got one snail because I am not ready to be a mother of many baby snails just yet. When mating, the kind of snail I have actually produces calcium deposits called “love darts” that are sharp and pointy and they stab the snail they are mating with. There is not a consensus on what this does, but it is thought to possibly make it more likely that the snail being stabbed will be the mother and have to lay the eggs. The mating is really a competition of which snail has the better sperm. Beyond snaily sex, snails are also interesting because they can survive pretty harsh environmental changes and can go without food for extended periods of time. Snails are also born with their shells and require calcium supplement to keep them strong just like we do for our bone health. My snail specifically loves to sleep upside down which is cute but concerning because sometimes I feel like they are going to fall after the 10th hour of slumber. Poyo also has a favorite food! They love to eat cucumber and their antenna make a funny face when they are eating it because it is so tasty. I also give them kale to eat because it has more vitamins than cucumber but Poyo really prefers the cucumber.
For more information about Poyo, or biological sciences advising please stop by my office hours on Tuesdays from 1-2pm! Maybe I’ll let Poyo say hello on Zoom.
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January 2022
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