There are a lot of snails where I live at the moment, some have a shell while others don’t! I don’t know how they acquire their shell, what it is used for, and why some don’t have any.
In: Biology
Snails are born with their shells!
When a snail hatches from its egg, it already has a tiny, soft shell. As the snail grows, it adds new material to the edge of its shell, making it larger and stronger over time. The shell is made of something called calcium carbonate, which the snail gets from its food and the environment.
The shell serves as the snail’s home and protection. It helps keep the snail’s soft body safe from predators, harsh weather, and other dangers. When threatened, a snail can retract its body completely into its shell and seal the opening with a layer of mucus to stay safe.
Snails grow their shells by secreting calcium carbonate; so they don’t “get” them like a hermit crab would get a shell, rather they’re a part of the creature itself. Much like turtles and tortoises too – they’re all joined and now I have no idea how much more text I need to write to let this comment not get automodded for being too short and simple!
You’re noticing 2 different creatures: snails, who are born with shells and always have them throughout their lives, and slugs, which resemble shell-less snails but actually have an internal shell that we can’t see.
Snails are born with their shell. It is transparent and very soft. They’ll eat their egg casing, and the calcium from the egg will harden it.
The one without shells are slugs. Some of these mollusks do, in fact, have a shell, but those that do have internalized the shell and use it to store minerals.
Source: Google.
Snails grow their own shells by secreting a shell-making substance from their bodies. The substance has many special chemicals in it, but the major part of it is usually calcium carbonate (a common material we encounter as chalk, and in our antacids in the drugstore). These shells grow gradually in layers.
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