One fine day some months ago, I took some parsley out of my fridge. It was in a thin, flat package made of two rigid plastic panels that fit into each other. I opened it, set it on the counter, then turned around to get something from the table behind me. I turned back to find that a little brown snail had popped up out of the greenery and was crawling along a leaf.

As I looked more closely, I saw that it had a badly broken shell, undoubtedly from being packaged into that flat container that I bought at Carrefour. More than half of its original shell dropped off. Remarkably, it had survived some unknown number of days at the store, and then several more in my fridge before I discovered it.

From previous experiences with snails, I knew they could regenerate their shells. So I decided to give this one some rest and relaxation in the aquarium I bought a couple years ago for another snail that I had released awhile earlier. I also still had some pieces of cuttlefish bone (one of them purchased at a pet shop and the rest found on a beach), which snails love because of the calcium they take from it to build their shells.

In quite a short time, the snail not only regenerated its shell but also grew quite a bit! I attribute this mainly to the cuttlefish bone, but the continual supply of fresh organic greens and vegetables must have played a role too. I like to think the happiness made possible by a predator-free living space also counted for something, but who can say?

However happy it may have been, I thought it would be even better off with a friend. And not being sure whether its shell was as solid as it could be quite yet, I decided to keep it awhile longer. So the next time I went to my friend’s mother’s house (where lots of snails live in the yard), I looked for a snail that seemed down on its luck. And I found one. As it also had a damaged shell, I figured it too could benefit from a stay at my snail bed and breakfast.

The new one was smaller and kept to itself a lot at first, but it wasn’t long before I would notice them engaging in their favorite activity (clinging to the side of the tank!) alongside each other. They would often gather in one corner, pulling themselves completely inside their respective shells, and just stick there for hours and sometimes days.

I added a dish of dirt to their habitat. They greatly enjoyed burrowing into it and then spreading the dirt everywhere in their tank. Here, they’re sharing a snack of raw carrot. Did you know that snails have tiny little teeth? If you listen closely enough, you can actually hear them crunching.

Every so often, I would take them out to clean their habitat, gently rinsing the dirt off of them on the same occasion. I had to work quickly, because once out of their habitat, they would just begin crawling and never stop. Incidentally, they are not in the process of making more snails in this photo (but more on that in a moment).

Fresh, clean habitat with a new dish of dirt, two shell pools, and a week’s supply of cucumber for each.

Sometime later, thanks to their habitat’s transparent walls (sorry, snails!), I became an eyewitness to a new, more intimate phase of their relationship. This was easy enough because like most things snails do, this activity too is very . . . slow. One morning when I checked on them, it was in progress (the snails motionless throughout) and didn’t end until sometime in the mid-afternoon. How exactly they do it is complex and would take a while to explain, but this video will give you an idea! My impression was that the larger snail, my original little guest, had ended up becoming the mother in this situation and afterwards began searching for a place to bury its eggs. It escaped from the habitat a few times, but I would always easily find it.

It was usually on the countertop, the shelf above it, or one of the items nearby, like this container of turmeric. I added more dirt to the dish in the snail habitat, but something about it must not have been right. It probably wasn’t deep enough. I realized it was time to release the snails back into the wild. Before I could do this, though, the large snail made its most impressive escape yet. One morning it was gone but completely unfindable. A friend and I searched all the likely places, but to no avail. As the days passed I despaired more and more, thinking about how snails in the wild will often cling to a surface waiting for it to rain. If it was in some hidden, inaccessible cranny of my kitchen, where rainfall is admittedly scarce, it could very well dry up and die. I felt quite guilty and continued my fruitless searches.

One day there were a lot of nice items on the local organic shop’s 50% off produce shelf, so I got a bunch of things. Since the weather had already turned cold and my place has no central heating, I left them on the kitchen counter overnight. The next morning, guess who was back? And not only back, but seeming to knock on its habitat’s door. The above photo shows exactly where I found it, on the tank’s not-very-secure top. My theory is that it smelled the fresh cucumber and cabbage and came out from wherever it had lodged itself.

After that I was resolved to release the snails at the next opportunity, which came a few days later when I was invited to lunch with my friend’s family. I brought the snails along in a paper cup with a farewell cucumber gift at the bottom. The small one, who had never showed much personality, stayed on the bottom like a lump but the other one, who was far pluckier and more adventurous, was determined to see where we were going! In reality, snails don’t really see anything more than shadows, but I couldn’t help thinking of a dog excitedly leaning out the car window during a family trip to the beach.

In the yard, we walked around looking for the best spot to release them. Not too close to the compost bin, where there were lots of snails but which presented a crushing risk, and not too near the corner known to be frequented by a hedgehog either. We finally settled on this spacious flowerpot close to the back door. The large snail stayed inside the paper cup for a while, getting its bearings in this strange new world. After lunch, I checked on it and found it had moved to a spot behind the cup. Its friend still sat on the cucumber.

That was the last I saw of them, and I can only hope that they’re living their best snaily lives in that yard. A few days before releasing them, I happened upon a snail that I can keep forever without feeling guilty or worrying about escape attempts. By chance, it’s the same exact size as the larger snail. And almost as cute. It clearly wonders what all the fuss is about with these cucumbers.

The snail from the parsley package was the third to come my way over the past few years, always as a stowaway in some organic vegetable or other. I take that as good proof that the produce really is organic! I’m holding on to the tank and the cuttlefish bones because another one will surely appear before too long.

Goodbye, snail!

After the snails returned to the wide wild world, a thoughtful colleague sent me a surprise gift of this lovely book about another Elisabeth and her snail! It’s full of interesting facts about our slimy little friends but also offers various contemplative musings on life. Highly recommended!