So I've recently gotten into foraging and found a site called eattheinvaders.org that encourages people to eat invasive species. One of the most invasive species here in California is the common Garden Snail (Cornu aspersum). I've practiced identifying them so I don't accidentally mess with any native species and I've found a few hotspots from where to pick them.
After doing some research online I found out that you are supposed to purge the snails in case they've eaten anything like snail traps or pesticides. To do this, you basically keep them in a container for a couple days and feed them some clean food.
I want to do this in the most sustainable way so I am trying to use foods or food waste like egg shells or old vegetables. My question actually has a couple parts to it, but basically I want to know:
- What specific plants do snails eat in the wild?
- How much will what I feed them affect their nutritional value?
- Is there any foods that might cause them to produce toxins or diseases? I have some old celery that's going bad. Can I feed them that?
- What is the best food, sustainable food for me to feed them? Can I just go outside and pick up some leaves? Would a diet of old vegetables and egg shells be good enough?
I'm having trouble finding resources and studies on this aspect of heliculture.