Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hello,

My daughter wants to make a project that requires the Lymnaea stagnalis snails. However we have been trying to get them without any luck. Do you happen to know of any place where they sell them? We live in South Florida.

If not, maybe you know of any other snail she could use for her project? She wants to do the conditioned taste aversion (CTA) method on them and she found many research being done with only Lymnaea stagnalis. Do you happen to know if it'd be possible to use this method in other types of snails?

Thank you so much

Hello!

It seems that Lymnaea stagnalis is a little hard to find in the United States. I think transporting live snails across Florida state lines is illegal unless you have the proper permits, so getting them shipped to you would be an issue. I can't find any studies where CTA research was done with another type of snail besides Lymnaea stagnalis, but I don't see why it couldn't work in other types of snails. All snails have taste receptors, so I think it's reasonable to believe that they'd be able to experience taste aversion. I think your best option would be to go to your local pet store or garden store and check out what types of freshwater snails they have there. You could even look for snails in your own backyard. They like to come out when it's damp outside, so you could probably find them after a rain shower.

I hope this helps!