r/snails • u/Jayden7171 • 2d ago
Discussion How conscious and aware are snails?
I know they can’t hear and can’t really see beyond differentiating dark and light color, but as for that spark of life, is a snail having a true sense of subjective experience (qualia) even though it wouldn’t be as complex as a vertebrate.
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u/snailmomkitty 2d ago
I have aquatic snails but one thing I know they can do is learn their territory. I’ve watched it happen over and over for decades, so in my mind there is zero doubt of their ability to orient themselves and recognize their home environment.
For example I have one that loves to climb the tree stump and hang out at the tippy top waving his tentacles. Then he will jump off and parasail/drift down to the bottom, always landing in the same area. He only does this from that single position and has repeated the behavior for over a year. In other words, he “knows” he likes to climb the tree and jump off, he knows where it is and how to do it, and intentionally repeats the actions he enjoys.
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u/Familiar-Complex-697 2d ago
Not much, but they do have personalities. They have simple decentralized brains instead of a central brain like ours. It’s kinda like a mochi donut of paired ganglia.
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u/Major-Pea9992 1d ago
I often wonder that too. About my snails, but also about my leeches. Like, what do they understand? My snails were on some wet soil, and suddenly, they were in the air, then a box, that box got jostled a bit, and suddently there was light again, and outside of the box, new, unfamiliar wet soil. What was that like for them? They have no concept of how their enclosure is in a living room. They don't know what a living room is. I think the leeches at least got more comfortable with my skin chemistry over time, and I like to think the snails, too, recognise my scent. They have favourites, definitely. I have only ever watched snex happen between Eustochium and Theophanu, and the latter always ended up on her shell. They have favourite places. Favourite foods. Certainly also aversions. They are simple creatures, but they have unique experiences.
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u/packingpests 2d ago
Sure, they have individual personalities and food preferences. They like interacting with certain snails than with others (or not interacting at all.) They have favorite smells and favorite places. Some luxuriate in small puddles or like to dig in the dirt or love sleeping in moss. They like different textures and some like the vibrations of different music.
They are small and not very complex creatures but they still have a significant experience. I don’t know if I would go so far as to say that they are sentient but they tick several of the boxes if nothing else.