Monster slug!

[Thais]

Yesterday I spent the morning helping an environmental group of volunteers clear the reedbeds here at Claybrooke's Marsh on the outskirts of Coventry - it used to be a small colliery.

We found a brown slug...and I'm not exaggerating...5/6 inches long and as fat around as a man's thumb!! No-one had ever seen one that big before & we were all taken aback!

We also found rabbit droppings that were as big as sheep droppings (no sheep ever graze there) & laughingly commented that if the local slugs were that size - the first person to see a rabbit should warn us all quick!!!

Has anyone ever seen a slug as large as this, or is it a record?? I could have kicked myself for not taking the digicam!

[MarkuisMellvile]

Only on the Government's anti-salt health advice ads just recently!

Sounds like the slug you found has little competition for food, few predators and is simply a better fed version of the ones in many British Gardens.

I blame the adjacent allotment as a great environment for slugs to breed in.

Did a google search and came up with this big boy:



Bigger than this?

[Thais]

Slightly bigger, yes! That looks like a dessert spoon the slug's on - the one we saw was the length of the tip of my little finger to the bone where the hand joins the wrist! I have an average woman's hand. The 'fatness' looks about the same though.

[Andrea]

Wow, that's a big ol' slug there. Do you still have it?

[Thais]

No, we didn't touch it, Andrea - just all crouched down & goggled at it in amazement!

(We never did see one of the local rabbits!)

[Andrea]

Originally Posted by Thaïs

No, we didn't touch it, Andrea - just all crouched down & goggled at it in amazement!

(We never did see one of the local rabbits!)

Don't blame you, it sounds like a monster slug

[Empath]

As the forum weirdo, I must announce that I keep a tankful of snails and slugs in my bedroom. I have 5 species of british snails (and a couple of Giant African land snails) and several species of slug. My biggest one (called Gloria) is a 7 inch long Leopard slug.
They are fascinating to keep as pets... as theraputic as fish, but without the hassle. They happily much their way through 3 lettuces a week, along with a bucketful of other salad stuff, don't smell and are virtually noiseless.
Young ones available to caring UK homes (with free care sheet)...

Jan

[chrissie]

hehe.... maybe you had a trip from Harry Potter overnight and the slug was magically enlarged.

[Thais]

I'm afraid I just can't get my head round anyone wanting to keep a slug as a pet I have plenty free range ones in my garden - and they can stay there.