The Puffer Forum

I've heard / read conflicting information about whether porcupine puffers have the eternally growing tooth issue ... or not. I have grown very attached to my little puffer during the months that I've had him and would hate to develop any problems in the future!

I thought of this issue again after he displayed interest in the all-you-can-eat snail buffet I presented for his pleasure. He grabs the tiny snails entirely into his mouth and appears to roll them around, but eventually spits them out with the shell uncrushed. (and repeats this over and over!) Should a porcupine puffer be able to handle crunching down snail shells? Or do I not have to worry about this because they do NOT have the tooth issues of other puffers?

Thanks for the clarification,

-minerva

They are able to eat crunchy foods and often feed on snails in the wild (about 40-50% of their natural diet). However, captive specimens that only have been fed soft foods in contrast to Arothron and Canthigaster puffers (just to name two genera) develop no overgrown teeth.

Try crushing the snails, before feeding them (I know, it's a little gross).

My porcupine loves snails and usually crunches on them and blows the shells out through the gill openings. She has no problem crunching on small to medium MTS snails as well. I crush the bigger ones by hand.

Thank you for replying to my question! The only snails I have actually seen him eat, shell and all, are those little half-shell snails. Vermetid, I think? If it's a normal snail in a full shell, he seems to somehow eat the snail body while he is rolling it around in this mouth and leave the shell behind.

You think as long as he gets a balanced diet of soft foods he'll be healthy?

-minerva

I do.