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Trotting Snails (designated as Entity 28) are a group of gastropod entities in the Backrooms resembling terrestrial snails, albeit with four defined limbs that extend below the base foot. Primarily inhabiting damp and lush environments, these entities are abundant in nearly all outdoor levels containing life. Trotting Snails are slightly larger than the typical snails that inhabit Earth, scaling to approximately 5 inches in height. Trotting Snails are peaceful omnivorous scavengers that majorly feed on leaves, detritus, fruit, and lichen.
Trotting Snails play an important role in the ecosystem for lower-scale biota residing in the Backrooms; due to their increased mobility as opposed to regular snails, they contribute heavily to recycling nutrients throughout different environments via waste. Typically, this means that a concentrated abundance of nutrients (such as corpses, fungal growths, etc.) can be spread across an area through the excreta of Trotting Snails after feeding from the source. As a result, much of the microscopic life in a specific environment remains at a consistent rate and variety, which — as life is preyed on further up the food chain — helps to stabilize the ecosystem of their inhabited levels.
Trotting Snails are best known for their unusual affinity with engaging with wanderers in friendly interactions. This behavior is believed to be a consequence of their high social tendencies among themselves — often branching out to other non-aggressive species in fulfilling exchanges. Friendly encounters between different species tend to be short-lived, however, as they are quite vulnerable while outside of their shell. Trotting Snails are likewise skittish and unpredictable upon sensing the slightest notation of a potential threat. Social encounters between Trotting Snails occur for various reasons; most often for sharing resources or fending against predators. To earn trust between individuals, Trotting Snails will find "gifts" for others, consisting of leaves, rubble, carpet tufts, and other natural items in the Backrooms.
Trotting Snails are known to reside in Level 1, Level 3, Level 5.1, Level 9, Level 9.7, Level 10, Level 112, Level 126, Level 144, Level 199, Level 224, Level 231, Level 297, Level 300, Level 370, Level 416, Level 427, Level 488, Level 518, Level 594, Level 601, Level 660, Level 833, Level 997, and an unidentified sublevel of The ████.
The four legs of Trotting Snails are the sole major feature distinguishing them from typical gastropods. These legs are an extension from the base foot, reaching under the entity's body and enabling them to move via walking or running. As opposed to the snails of Earth, Trotting Snails have a far higher metabolism which allows for swift locomotion; consequently, their demand for energy is comparatively much higher. The bottoms of the limbs possess a lesser form of traction used for scaling steep surfaces.
Author: Lemon
First image by user "melanocetuss" on Tumblr