gsp - can you feed them garden snails?

[MrRed]

There are a lot of garden snails around my garden at the moment in (not so sunny!) Scotland. Can anyone advise me - is it okay to feed these to a GSP even if they are not pond snails? Would the snail itself poison the little brute because it is not a water snail? My suspicion is that puffers would eat opportunistic food that passed their way, like insects that get washed into their territory by rains etc - but I don't want to take the chance until I get some feedback from you guys... thanks.

[Nick]

If they are clean it's fine, but are any pesticides or fertilizers used by yourself or your neighbors? Even trace pesticides or fertilizers might kill your puffer.

[MrRed]

thanks for that info, Nick - a good point! We don't use any pesticides, But I will check with the neighbors tho'... I suspect that they may put down snail pellets - so that would be a no-no, I guess.

[manutius]

Well any snails that wat pellets would be dead and you only want to feed live ones. You can check with the neighbours for sure and then harvest the snails and keep them in a tub with plenty of nutrient rich vegetables. Spinach, carrots, herbs etc and feed them for a couple of weeks. Hopefully any harmful chemicals will be clear of theer system and make them a great food for your puffer

[MrRed]

thanks, Manutius - my mind was wandering towards that kind of a set up.... You've made up my mind for me, cheers!