GThere are plenty of beautiful snails! Probably the most well known one is  Polymita picta, also known as the ‘Painted Snail’ or ‘Cuban land snail’

As you can see, the colors on their shells vary wildly, and no two shell is ever the same pattern or exact color. The only common trait is that they all have bold spiral patterns. 

Here’s what they look like alive. They are rather rare to get a hold of, and I can’t even find any live ones for sale. Sadly because they are so beautiful, there is illegal smuggling to get the shells to sell them for collectors. Right now they are at endangered status due to poaching. You can help by not buying these shells! 

Here is a Papustyla pulcherrima, known as the Manus Green tree snail. They are ONLY found on Manus island, part of Papua New Guinea. They are currently in Near Threatened status due to the demand for their shells for jewelry. 

Cepaea Hortensis : White-lipped snail or Garden Banded snail. They are closely related to  Cepaea nemoralis (Grove snail/Brown-lipped snail) and can share the same type of colors and region. Now you can get these from some breeders, but they aren’t offered so much.

They are originally from Eastern Europe, but now can be found in parts of USA and Canada. 

These guys also have an insane range of colors!

Not only are there snails that live in land, but some live in water! AND SOMETIMES IN BOTH! These species listed below are able to be purchased regularly from most aquarium stores.

Planorbis corneus/rubrum : Caramujo Red Ramshorn 

A beautiful red color with nearly translucent shells, these guys are TINY but so PRETTY!

Pomacea bridgesii : Spike-topped apple snail / Mystery snail

These guys are known as Mystery snails because they come in an ungodly amount of colors, so you never know what you are going to get in a clutch of eggs. They can be dull brown or even pitch black, and go all colors in between all the way up to white. Some people breed and sell specific colors, and give them different names like ‘Gold Inca’, ‘Ivory’ or ‘Peppermint‘. These are the most common ones you are going to find in the pet trade.

Note that many snail species today are targeted for their shells, which are dropping their numbers. If you like to collect shells, please make sure they are ethically sourced.

These are some of the really colorful ones, but me? I think all snails are beautiful and adorable! I hope you all can appreciate them as much as I do :3