As more and more people take to caring for their garden snails or just keeping snails as pets, we have noticed a steady climb in the number of people that we see reaching out and asking for advice on what the snails that they care for are able to eat.
We have seen a number of people specifically reaching out and asking if snails can eat tomatoes recently and with tomatoes being a controversial food for snails, we wanted to publish our own article going over them.
With tomatoes being controversial, there is a large number of strong arguments on both sides on social media.
This can make it very difficult to workout if you should be giving your snails tomato or not and although we would consider tomato safe for snails when fed in moderation, there are plenty of other suitable options that are not controversial that people can feed their snails instead.
Now, before we go any further, we just want to confirm that no single food should ever be the primary food type for your pet snails as they will end up being nutritionally deficient.
You should always try to feed your snails a mix of kitchen scraps or a specialist snail food if possible to ensure that they are getting all of the nutrients that they require.
Can Snails Eat Tomatoes?
Snails can eat tomatoes as a part of a balanced diet and the majority of the concerns that people raise about feeding their pet snails tomatoes are based on theory rather than actual fact.
The majority of the concerns people raise about feeding their snails tomatoes have been debunked countless times now with plenty of people feeding their snails tomatoes without issue.
Tomatoes are jam packed with vitamins and minerals too with a small amount of tomato being a great way to top up some essential nutrients in your snail’s diet that it would otherwise struggle to fill.
This is why so many people who keep pet snails are switching over to a specialist snail food that is nutritionally complete rather than feeding their pets kitchen scraps that are often nutritionally deficient.
That said, there are two valid concerns when it comes to feeding your pet snails tomatoes that we do feel are warranted but just like most of the other concerns, they are based on theory rather than actual fact.
This is why they have been debunked plenty of times and although it is good that snail owners are doing their research, it is usually due to people letting their imagination get ahead of them that come up with these theories.
Are Tomatoes Too Acidic For Snails?
Although tomatoes are considered “highly acidic” this is in relation to edible foods rather than the industrial acids and many snail owners misinterpret the highly acidic classification of tomatoes for snails.
Tomatoes are more acidic than many other foods but they are still well within the acceptable acidic range for your pet snail.
Due to snails having issues with other acidic things commonly found in a garden, it can be easy to think that a tomato will be too acidic for your snail. In the grand scheme of things, the acidic levels of tomatoes don’t even come close to the levels that are required to be considered dangerous.
There have been a number of tests from snail owners to prove that the acidity level of tomatoes is well within the range that snails are able to safely eat.
On top of that, there are countless snail owners all around the world who feed their pet snails tomatoes on a regular basis.
Are Tomatoes Poisonous To Snails?
Some people do theories that tomatoes can be toxic or even poisonous to snails due to being closely related to the nightshade plant.
Although the two are closely related, there is enough difference in the DNA makeup of both plants to reduce the toxicity level of tomatoes to a level that is acceptable for snails to eat them.
We never really understood this argument in all honesty as nightshade is also poisonous to humans and can actually kill a human child.
Tomatoes are one of the most commonly consumed fruits on the plant with hundreds of millions of people eating them every day without issue.
This should be evidence enough that the toxicity level difference between nightshade and tomatoes has diverged enough to not be an issue.
We understand the argument that snails are considerably smaller than humans and are more sensitive to certain foods but if tomatoes had even a fraction of toxicity that nightshade does humans would not be eating them in such large quantities every day.
Are Tomatoes Good For Snails?
Tomatoes are a great source of Vitamin C, Vitamin K1, and Vitamin B9 while also providing a nice amount of potassium too.
This can help to top up the levels of some essential nutrients in your snail’s diet with a food that is very common that the scraps from your own meals can often be used for your snail’s and still provide plenty of these nutrients.
As we mentioned back at the start of the article though, no single food should make up the majority of your snail’s diet on any given day. You should always try to be feeding your snails a mixture of different food types if possible to try and offer a nutrient-rich diet for your snail.
If you are feeding wild garden snails then you can just throw some tomato out to the feeding spot in your garden though as the snails will wander off to find their own supplementary food sources after eating the tomato anyway.
It is only really important that you mix up the food supply if you are keeping pet snails that are not able to go and find their own supplementary foods.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over if snails eat tomatoes to an end. We hope that we have been able to help as many of our readers as possible and that we have helped you understand that you are able to feed your snails tomato without issue. There are a huge number of people who keep snails and feed them tomato without having any problem so we see no reason to do the same yourself.
