I 'm a 23 year old girl, living in Tromsų in Northern Norway. Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved snails. On my vacations at my grandparents, I used to collect snails in my little wheelbarrow and wheel them around the garden. When I started school, I collected snails on my way home, because other children used to trample on them for fun. As a child I wasn't allowed to keep them inside the house, but as a grownup I can keep them as pets, although they are quite small. Norwegian snails are not used to room temperature, so they easily begin to hibernate and dry out. Besides, the native snails are less than five cm, actually most of them are less than one cm! The small size is probably caused by the hard climate. This country needs a scientific research on landsnails! I have only Tromsų in north and Bergen in west to refer to myself. In Bergen I found Cepaea hortensis (Norwegian gardensnail), Ariante arbustorum (Scrubsnail) and a small snail with a pointy shell (may be Coclodina laminata). Both in Tromsų and Bergen I found a snail with a flat shell, witch I have not managed to identify. Ariante arbustorum were also found in Tromsų, very common. Now I have finally managed to get hold of larger snails.
In April 1999I went to France and came back with 19 lovely french snails. Later I bought some Helix aspersas (maxima) from a norwegian breeder. I started the Snail enthusiasts assosiation in Norway and came in contact with a guy who gave me some Achatina fulicas
My pictures of snails are to be found HERE , but the text is unfortunately only in norwegian.
Please sign or at least view my GUESTBOOK