Feeding pattern and gut enzymes activity of Giant African land snail (Archachatina marginata) during growth phases

Snails are multivarious feeders that eat different kinds of food present in their habitat. The feeding pattern, occurrence of gut microbes and gut enzymes (proteinase, lipase, cellulase, glucosidase and α-glucosidase) activity of the three stages of development of the Giant African land snail, Archachatina marginata were examined in this study. Results showed that the snails at all growth phases fed at night period (19:00 to 4:00 GMT), while the juvenile stage spent more time on feeding and had significantly higher feed intake than in the other two growth phases. The activities of the gut enzymes were significantly affected by the growth phase as the adult stage recorded the highest activity level for all the five enzymes followed by the juvenile stage, while the snailet stage recorded the lowest one. The stomach region of the gut had the highest enzymes activity while the oesophagus had the lowest. There was presence of many microbial species in the gut across the stages of development but, more bacteria than fungi species were isolated. These findings suggest that the adult stage of A. marginata is better equipped to hydrolyse its numerous diets.