EFFECTS OF Telfairia occidentalis AND Cnidoscolus acornitifolius SUPPLEMENT ON THE GROWTH OF AFRICAN GIANT LAND SNAIL (Archachatina marginata - Swaison)

The experiment was carried out to determine the effect of Telfairia occidentalis and Cnidoscolus acornitifolius on the growth of African giant land snails (Archachatina marginata). A total of thirty six (36) juvenile snails were used for the feeding trials which covered a period of eight weeks. There were four treatments which were replicated thrice with each replicate having three snails. The control experiment, treatments 2, 3, and 4 were designed with 0%, 15% of Telfairia occidentalis, 15% of Cnidoscolus acornitifolius and mixture of 7.5% Telfairia occidentalis and 7.5% of Cnidoscolus acornitifolius respectively. Weight gain, feed intake, feed efficiency, shell length and shell circumferences were part of the parameters assessed. There were significant differences in average weekly weight gain, feed intake, final weight gain as well as dressing weight. Snails in treatment 2 with 15% of Telfairia occidentalis had the highest average weekly weight gain of (6.20g), while treatment 3 had the lowest (3.80g). Treatment 2 also had the best result in shell length and dressed percentage.