Acta Scientifica Malaysia (ASM)

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of relative humidity and temperature on egg production and hatchability. Forty-eight growing African Giant Land Snails (Archachatina marginata) between average weight of 400 to 600 grams were used for this experiment, with eight snails per cage for a period of 20 weeks (December-April). Records of the temperature and relative humidity of the ambient environment of the snail cages were taken in the morning and afternoon using Omsons dry and wet hygrometer. Data obtained were subjected to descriptive statistics such as charts, percentages, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) with general linear model of SAS (2011) and Duncan’s Multiple Range Tests were used to detect significant differences among the hatchability parameters. Lower average daily temperature (22°C) was observed in the morning (8am) compared with the 12pm in the afternoon (31°C) while the average relative humidity (61%) was obtained in the afternoon (12pm) compared with (92%) recorded in the morning (8am). A zig-zag egg laying pattern across all the cages throughout the experimental period suggested that snails observed a break period in egg laying. Egg production and hatchability of A. marginata were greatly influenced by the fluctuation in relative humidity and temperature. Relative humidity above 80% and temperature 25–30°C are recommended for optimum egg production. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the number of eggs incubated, hatched eggs and percentage 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 egg production and hatchability under intensive management system