EFFECT OF CHANGES IN RELATIVE HUMIDITY AND AMBIENT TEMPERATURE ON HATCHABILITY OF AFRICAN GIANT LAND SNAILS (ARCHACHATINA MARGINATA) REARED UNDER INTENSIVE MANAGEMENT DURING DRY SEASON

Abstract

Forty eight growing African Giant Land Snails (Archachatina marginata) with average weight of 400 to 600g were used to evaluate the effect of relative humidity and temperature on egg hatchability. The experiment lasted for 20 weeks (December-April) with eight snails per cage. Higher average daily temperature (31⁰C) was observed in the afternoon (12pm) compared with the 8am in the morning (22⁰C) while, the average relative humidity (92%) was recorded in the morning 8am compared with (61%) in the afternoon (12pm). A zig-zig egg laying pattern was observed across all the cages throughout the experimental period which suggest that snails observed a break period in egg laying. Fluctuation in relative humidity and temperature had a great influence on egg hatchability of A. marginata. For optimum egg production and hatchability, relative humidity of above 80% and temperature 25–30⁰C are recommended. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the number of eggs incubated, hatched eggs and % hatchability of experimental snails across the cages. It was concluded that snails provided with high humid condition during dry season can attain optimum
reproductive performance in terms of hatchability under intensive management system.