Bonrat Slug

Bonrat Slugs are gastropods native to the planet Snarsis.

Appearance

When fully grown Bonrat slugs are small, often only two or three inches long, and chubby with very round bodies with yellowing coloring. Their tail end tapers to a point while their head has a set of small eyes and a set of antennae.
The Slugs are hermaphroditic meaning that they all share the same sex traits and each can lay eggs and provide genetic material for other snails. Reproduction involves two slugs exchanging reproductive material before going off to use the material to fertilize their eggs.
Bonrat Slug eggs themselves are small, round, and partly see-through often with a brown color to them.

Biology

Diet

Bonrat Slugs are mostly detrivores meaning they eat decaying materials like rotting vegetables, fruits, or meat among other decaying materials. They also may eat regular plants and vegetables -especially the roots- without them being decayed.

Behavior

The Slugs are solitary creatures who spend most of their life alone, really only seeking out other slugs during the mating season.
In order to reproduce, the Bonrat Slugs lay eggs in their burrows -burying them underground- often in batches of up to a hundred eggs. To protect the egg they wrap them in silk threads that they secrete from their mouths, forming a cocoon made out of one length of thread. After laying and cocooning the eggs the parent will leave and abandon the eggs to survive on their own.
When they hatch, the hatchlings will eat the silk threads that they were cocooned in and even eat their siblings before heading off to find their own food. The hatchlings are considered fully mature at around six months.

Uses

Snarsisians will often farm the slugs both to use them as a food source and a source of Textile Materials. The snails are often kept in cages with multiple pens that the farmer can move the snails between. They may also be kept in larger enclosures like greenhouses or other enclosures that allow them a bit more space. They are often fed on compost.
The eggs are gathered for the silk-like threads they are encased in, which can be processed and turned into fabric. The process of separating the threads from the eggs traditionally involves boiling, which kills the egg and unravels the thread. This allows the farmer to gather both the silk for fabric and the eggs for food.
The adults and hatchlings may also be eaten but are not considered as much of a delicacy as the eggs. The adults are eaten much more than the hatchlings, who are often kept and raised to adulthood.

Planet of Origin
Snarsis