# Scrubsnails (*praticolella*)

Scrubsnails are tiny, colorful creatures that love to explore their surroundings! They move slowly and can be found munching on leaves and plants.

- **Category:** [Invertebrate](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/invertebrate)
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Danger:** 0/5 · No known danger
- **Habitat:** Scrubsnails live in gardens, forests, and grassy areas where there are plenty of plants to eat.
- **Also known as:** Colorful Snails, Garden Snails, Leaf Snails

![Scrubsnails](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Redirect/file/PraticolellaBerlandieriana.jpg&width=800)

Photo: Tim Ross, Public domain · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PraticolellaBerlandieriana.jpg)

## Appearance

The Scrubsnails has a glossy, spiral shell that can be reddish-brown, yellow, or banded. Its soft body is typically dark gray or brown, often with subtle patterns, making it well-camouflaged among damp foliage.

## Taxonomy

- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Mollusca
- **Class:** Gastropoda
- **Order:** Stylommatophora
- **Family:** Polygyridae
- **Genus:** Praticolella

## Interesting facts

- Scrubsnails have thousands of tiny teeth called a radula for scraping food!
- Some Scrubsnails are hermaphrodites, meaning they have both male and female parts!
- Their eyes are on long tentacles, helping them see the world around them!
- They can 'sleep' for months during dry spells, sealed inside their shells!

## Special abilities

- **Slime Trail Navigator:** Scrubsnails can glide using a mucus trail that helps them move and deter predators.
- **Shell Retreat Defense:** Scrubsnails has a strong spiral shell that helps them hide from danger.
- **Estivation Power:** Scrubsnails can seal their shell with a mucus plug to survive dry periods.

## Measurements & details

- **Size:** 2.5 cm
- **Weight:** 5 g
- **Lifespan:** 2 years
- **Clutch Size:** 30
- **Incubation:** 20 days
- **Speed Cm Per:** 1.5+

## Diet & Feeding

Scrubsnails munch on decaying plant matter, fungi, and soft leaves.

- **Primary Foods:** decaying leaves, fungi, algae, soft plant material
- **Foraging Method:** Foraging

## Ecological connections

- **Eaten by:** [American Robin](https://www.snappit.app/explore/american-robin) (*Turdus migratorius*) — Common bird predator
- **Eats:** Rosy Wolf Snail (*Euglandina rosea*) — Larger predatory snail
- **Eaten by:** Eastern Grey Squirrel (*Sciurus carolinensis*) — Occasional prey item

## Traits

- [Solitary](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/solitary): Solitary animals live alone for most of their lives, only interacting with others for mating or parental care.
- [Burrowing](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/burrowing): Burrowing animals dig tunnels and chambers in the ground, using these subterranean structures for shelter, hunting, or breeding.
- [Colorful](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/colorful): Colorful describes organisms or objects displaying a wide range of bright and distinct colors.
- [Herbivorous](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/herbivorous): This trait characterizes organisms whose diet consists entirely or primarily of plant material.
- [Decomposer](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/decomposer): Describes organisms that break down dead organic material, recycling nutrients back into the ecosystem.

## Collections

- [Invertebrates](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/invertebrates)

## Safety

**Danger:** 0/5 · No known danger

No special safety notes yet.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How to identify Scrubsnails?

Compare body symmetry, shells, segments, legs, tentacles and how the animal moves. Invertebrates span many unrelated groups, so start with body structure. Invertebrate Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

### How big is Scrubsnails?

2.5 cm

### How much does Scrubsnails weigh?

5 g

### How long does Scrubsnails live?

2 years

### What does Scrubsnails eat?

Scrubsnails munch on decaying plant matter, fungi, and soft leaves.

### Where is Scrubsnails usually found?

Scrubsnails live in gardens, forests, and grassy areas where there are plenty of plants to eat.

### How does Scrubsnails hunt?

Foraging

### How many eggs does Scrubsnails lay?

30

## Where to spot

- [Doctor I. Sylvester Hankins Park](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/doctor-i-sylvester-hankins-park) — Florida, US · Park

## More Invertebrate

- [Coral](https://www.snappit.app/explore/coral)
- [Crab Spider](https://www.snappit.app/explore/crab-spider) (*Mecaphesa asperata*)
- [Garden Spider](https://www.snappit.app/explore/garden-spider) (*Araneus diadematus*)
- [Brown Recluse Spider](https://www.snappit.app/explore/brown-recluse-spider) (*Loxosceles reclusa*)

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Source: [Scrubsnails: Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/scrubsnails)