Slugs are gastropod molluscs which, unlike their cousin snails, are devoid of shell, or have small shells within their bodies. Gastropods are the second largest class in the animal kingdom, so these animals have so many relatives that one should not confuse slugs with the others.
What Do Slugs Eat?
So what do slugs actually eat? Most slugs are generally plant-eating molluscs, and they abound near gardens, so most of them can really be very annoying and damaging to the farmers’ crops. But we don’t easily notice them because they feed during the night. Some slugs eat fungi and some, carrion. Others are carnivorous, an of the examples is the Ghost slugs and they are earthworm eaters.
Some take slugs as pets so one has to pay attention to this segment: one very important factor in dealing with slugs is that their bodies are water-saturated. Anything that dries them up must be avoided if you don’t want them to die. So think about all those food that dries your tongue and makes you thirst for water: look up for the contents of each food you’re going to give to them and if you see a considerable amount of sodium, or salt, then don’t ever think of giving it to them. You know, animals aren’t very good at choosing which food is good for them and which should be avoided, so you do the sorting out. Lettuce, cabbages, strawberries, etc. are observed to be popular treats for the slugs. Some have the practice of dissolving minerals into the water where the slugs dive in, to help in nourishing them.
But one can notice that slugs aren’t picky eaters; they love to eat flowers, beans, and leaves and stems from different species of plants. There aren’t many popular species of slugs which are carnivorous. Again, moisture is very important.
The problem with slugs is that they can be very annoying to the lives of those who depend on agricultural means. Many popular species are regarded as pests. But some of them also eat fallen leaves and decaying matter, which is equally good for the speedup of mineral reabsorption in the soil.
Other Facts About Slugs
So what are the fascinating things about these sluggish creatures? One is that these are hermaphrodites: they have two fully developed sex organs which are identified as both male and female parts. Well, that is if the slug tries mating for the first time. When they copulate, their male organs get spirally-attached to each other, and one has to sacrifice its male part for their bodies to be separated again. Another is that they have elongated ‘feelers’ which are retractable. They have two pairs of these; one is for sight and the other is for smell.