Garden snail

The garden snail is a small, soft creature that carries its home on its back. Its shell is curled into a neat spiral, and the snail can tuck its whole body inside to stay safe and cosy.

A snail moves by gliding on one big, muscly foot. As it goes it lays down a trail of slippery slime to help it slide along — and that is why you can see a shiny line wherever a snail has travelled.

Garden snails come out mostly at night and after rain, when the ground is soft and damp. They nibble leaves, flowers, and fruit, so gardeners often find them munching the plants and think of them as little pests.

When the weather turns very hot and dry, or very cold, a snail hides inside its shell and seals the door with a thin, dry lid of dried slime until kinder days come. Every garden snail is both a mother and a father, so any two grown-up snails can lay little round eggs in the soil.

You can find garden snails in gardens, hedges, and parks in many parts of the world. Slow and gentle, a snail is a friendly little creature to watch on a rainy day.