International Journal of Mol. Ecol. and Conserv 2015, Vol.5, No.6, 1-4
1
A Letter Open Access
Assessment of Growth Rate of Juvenile African Giant Land Snail,
Archachatina
marginate
, Under Three Feeding Treatments
Ukpong, E. E.
1
, Jacob, D. E.
Nelson, I. U.
2
, Jackson, S. E.
1
1. Forestry and Natural Environmental Management Department, University of Uyo, Nigeria
2. Biodiversity Preservation Center, Uyo, Nigeria
Corresponding author email
International Journal of Mol. Ecol. and Conserv, 2015, Vol.5, No.6 doi: 10.5376/ijmec.2015.05.0006
Received: 10 Jun., 2014
Accepted: 16 Jul., 2015
Published: 28 Sep., 2015
© 2015 Ukpong et al., This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use,
distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Preferred citation for this article:
Ukpong E.E., Jacob, D.E., Nelson I.U. and Jackson S.E., 2015, Assessment of Growth Rate of Juvenile African Giant Land Snail,
Archachatina marginate,
under Three Feeding Treatments,
International Journal of Mol. Ecol. and Conserv, Vol.5, No.6, 1-4
(doi
Abstract
This study assessed the growth rate of snailets of
A. marginata
under three feed treatment. Ninety snailets
divided into
thirty snailets per treatment were used for the study. Data collected include Shell Length, Shell Width, Aperture Length and Weight
gained. The results indicate that Treatment C (T
C
) had the highest value for all the growth parameters assessed, while Treatment A
(T
A
) had the least values. The mean Weight gained varied between 16.01±1.92g (T
C
) and 12.55±0.90g (T
A
) and was significantly
different between the treatments (
p
<0.01)
,
mean length and shell width varied between T
A
(4.24±0.40, 6.50±0.40) and T
C
(4.48±0.13,
6.92±0.30) and were not significantly different (
p
<0.05). The mean mouth aperture of
A. marginata
fed with T
C
(4.90±0.19) was
greater than and significantly different form T
A
(4.35±0.30) and T
B
(4.58±0.28) at
p
<0.05. These findings indicate that local farmers
who feed their snailets with only vegetable leaves and fruits obtained locally could obtain mature snails with good weight and shell
growth even without combination with any other feed material.
Keywords
Growth rate; Snailets;
Archachatina marginata
; Feed treatment; Nigeria
Introduction
Snails reared in captivity are regarded as a
mini-livestock (Ukpong et al., 2013). It is a source of
protein, income, and employment, hence, a means of
poverty alleviation for the rural people. However, due
to slow growth rate, prolonged maturity period of 18
months, long incubation period of about 30 days
(Awesu, 1980; Ogogo, 1989; Akinnusi, 2004),
cannibalism, termites, rodents, soldier ants, shortage
of feeding materials and improper watering in dry
season (Udedibia et al., 1987; Cobbinah, 1993; Deekar,
1997; Ogogo, 2004; Akinnusi, 2004), successful snail
farming has been limited.
In Nigeria and in some West African countries
including Ghana, studies have been conducted on the
performance of
A. marginata
on compounded rations
in with a view to providing steady snail food supply
especially during the dry season for consistent snail
farming as well as providing rations for optimal snail
growth (Awesu, 1980; Ogogo, 1989; Akinnusi, 2004;
Ogogo, 2004; Ukpong et al., 2013; Nyameasem and
Borketey-La, 2014). Production of
A. marginata
can
be sustainable and economical when both qualitative
and quantitative feed requirements are known and
established. This could be made possible by
formulating and preparing of nutritionally balanced
and least-cost diets for the snails using locally
available ingredients. This study therefore aims at
evaluating the growth performance of
A. marginata
hatchlings fed with three different feed materials with
a view of making adequate recommendation to farmers
to ensure maximization of profit in their business.
Materials and Methods
Study Area
The experiment was carried out in the Snailery Unit of
the Department of Forest and Wildlife. University of
Uyo Annex, Town Campus, Uyo. Uyo is located on
Latitude; 4°58 - 5° 05’N. Longitude 7°45’ - 8°00E in
Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria with a mean temperature of
29°C, mean rainfall of 3000 mm and a mean relative
humidity of 75%. The state is located in the rainforest
agro-ecological zone and covers an area of 15,750
