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Who am I?
So who am I, indeed? Well my name is Christabel Ruth Ashby. I graduated from Oxford Unoversity (I was at Keble collete) in 2002. I tried my hand at training to be an English teacher, also at Oxford. I got 2 thirds of the way through that before realising it wasn't for me! I've had several jobs since then, and have gained a certificate in management with the Open University, but eventually settled on law - I work for a firm in Oxford and am training to be a lawyer. My training is set to take me several years as I am working full time as well. I also have a job in a local pub, The Kite Inn, where I work one or two evenings a week.
Why Snails?
I've always had an interest in snails. They have such beautiful patterns on their shells for a start, each one seems to be a work of art in its own right. Also because they tend to move slowly, they seems to look at the world in a bemused, wondering sort of way which really appeals to me. Giant African snails are also cool simply because they get so big. There is an element of the "freakish" about them that intrigues me. I guess I am about as wierd as people say I am then!! I'm not only into snails though. I have a soft spot for most creatures to be honest. My family have 3 cats which live with my parents, - Charlie, Ozymandias and Olivia. There have also been guinea pigs, rabbits and hamsters, sea monkies and a wormery. My current companion is a Syrian "teddy bear" or "angora" hamster called Tameron.
My Snails
I keep a wide range of species of African snails. Achatina fulica which are probably the easiest to keep, used to be my most common stock, but recently I have concentrated on finding more unusual species to keep. I now only have one fulica.
Achatina Achatina and Achatina Marginata are the other two species most likely to be found kept as pets. Of these three species, fulica is the smallest, but can still measure up to a whopping 20 centimetres in a healthy fully grown adult. London Zoo tells me that Achatina achatina, believed to be one of the largest snails on earth, can grow up to 30 centimetres long! To be honest these are the record-breaking sizes, - its likely that pet snails won't generallyt get quite that big! In my own experience, Archachatina marginata marginata are the biggest snails I have, followed by my Achatina achatina and then my Archachatina marginata suturalis.
I also keep or have kept Achatina immaculata, Achatina smithii, Achatina iradeli, Achatina albopicta, Achatina stuhlmani, Archachatina puylaepti and a large number of species which I have never been able to identify. I would love to find some Metachina Krausii to add to my collection. I am currently working on trying to breed my Achatina achatina (Tiger snails) and my Archachatina puylaepti. I have a lot of success with breeding margies and usually have quite a few available for sale in the late spring to late summer.
This Website
This site was primarily set up so that I could share info about snails with other likeminded individuals. It has grown and grown however, and I am told is regarded as something of an institution on snail care. I am trying to add in loads of other fun stuff about my other pets and goodness knows what else as well! The site was redesigned by Alastair Kay in early 2003, - I am very grateful to him for all the work he put into it. I am now building on the basics that he left me, and gadually expanding my knowledge of programming at the same time!
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