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Would red ramshorn snails be suitable as a protein source for a 4" RES? I have a bunch of them in my planted tank. I used to feed them to my crayfish. I figure the extra calcium from the snails shell would be good for a turtle. That is of course assuming a turtle is able to eat snails without problems. The only issue I can see is sharp pieces of shell doing internal damage to the turtle. Any thoughts?

I'm not sure what a red ramshorn snail is, but snails in general are fine for turtles to eat. There are some tiny black ones in my tank that came in by accident on a strand of anacharis and Spot snacks on them. Another person on here, Scripta Elegans, put a number of big snails in her turtles' tank and they've been having a good time eating them. You can see pictures of them in the Photo section, I think the thread is called "Jungle Tank." Snails are not only a good source of protein but the shells are good sources of calcium.

Thanks for the input. This is a ramshorn: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramshorn_snail. I think I'll toss a few in Ozzy's tank and see if he likes them.

SpotsMama I was hesitant to get those little black snails, because I though they might get into my filter and muck it up. Will this happen or am I just brining paranoid??

The tiny snails that come in on plants are very parasitic and can take over tanks. That's why I always wash any plants I buy.
If you bought a larger mystery snail that would be fine to feed, and I think they're easier to keep track of.

I've gotten larger snails from the petstores - don't know what they're called, but they have ivory, black, & 'blue' varieties (mystery? Could be). Anyway - I got them for the pond cause they looked pretty & I wanted to show my kids snail eggs. Well, they didn't last that long. I ended up going back for more as a turtle treat. I now have a good sized pile of snail shells by the pond.

Odd though - the shells aren't damaged really...they're just empty. Not sure how the turtles do it, but mine at least don't eat the shell.

I've heard about snails taking over a tank and making a big mess. So far though, in Spot's tank it hasn't been a problem, maybe because he likes to eat snails and I'm pretty diligent about cleaning the filter every month. Given a choice, I wouldn't have them in there, but once you get them, you've got them for life, I believe.

I am sad! I thought I could have a few mystery snails in the tank for good, but now it looks as if they will be "for good eating"!

If you're attached to them (some people are), you could always keep them separate.

True! Tim has taken well to the turtle tank (my husband), but can I convince him I need a snail one, too?? We'll see . . .