# How Long Do Garden Snails Live?

> Garden Snail lifespan is typically 2–5 years (longer in captivity). What shortens or extends life, life stages, and status (Least Concern).

- **Species:** Garden Snail (*Cornu aspersum*)
- **Conservation status:** Least Concern
- **Diet:** Herbivore (leaves, fruit, vegetables)
- **Habitat:** Gardens, woodlands, hedgerows, and farmland
- **Lifespan:** 2–5 years (longer in captivity)
- **Top speed:** About 0.05 km/h (very slow)
- **Canonical HTML:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/snail/how-long-do-snail-live/
- **Parent profile:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/snail/
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-07-16

## Quick answer

The garden snail is a small land mollusk that carries a coiled shell on its back and glides on a single muscular foot over a trail of mucus. It is a slow-moving plant eater common in gardens across much of the world. Garden snails are hermaphrodites, breathe air through a simple lung, and usually live 2 to 5 years.

## Who should skip this page

Skip this if you need a prognosis for one named animal. This page is a species lifespan range.

## Shell and body

A garden snail carries a coiled, calcium-rich shell that it can withdraw into for protection and to avoid drying out. Its soft body has a single muscular foot, two pairs of tentacles on the head, and eyes set on the longer upper pair. The shell grows with the snail throughout its life.

## Help protect the Garden Snail

Even familiar animals lose ground as wild habitat keeps shrinking worldwide.

[Donate to wildlife protection](https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/donate/)

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Source: Global Animal Guide (https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/snail/how-long-do-snail-live/). Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0 — free for non-commercial reuse with attribution.