Utilisation of common leafy vegetables in the diets of giant West African snail Archachatina marginata (Swainson, 1821) (Stylommatophora: Achatinidae)

A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of utilisation of three leafy vegetable diets (bitter leaf Vernonia amygdalina, fluted pumpkin leaf Telfairia occidentalis and pawpaw leaf Carica papaya) on the growth performance of giant West African snail Archachatina marginata. A total of 90 A. marginata were used for the study. 30 snails were also subjected to three different dietary treatments in three replicates of 10 snails per replicate and fed with the fresh leaves of these vegetables over a period of 12 weeks. Results obtained recorded significant differences (P < 0.05) in terms of weight gain, shell length, shell circumference and shell thickness. On the whole, Archachatina marginata fed on fluted pumpkin leaf performed better in terms of mean weight gain when compared with those fed on bitter and pawpaw leaves. On the other hand, snails fed on pawpaw leaf had the best mean shell length gain, mean shell circumference and mean shell thickness when compared with those fed on bitter and fluted pumpkin leaves. The result clearly showed that the tested leafy vegetables can be successfully utilised as diets for rearing of A. marginata. For farmers to achieve better result, the inclusion of fluted pumpkin and pawpaw leaves in the diets of Archachatina marginata is highly recommended in snail rearing businesses.