Quick answer: To tame an Achatina in ARK Survival Ascended you knock it out with tranquilizer darts to the soft body and feed it Sweet Vegetable Cake, the only food it accepts. A level 150 Achatina needs 17 cakes, about 37 minutes and around 38 Narcotics at official 1x rates; on Tharyon, with 8x taming, 3 cakes and roughly 7 minutes are enough.
Updated October 2026 for ARK: Survival Ascended (ASA).
The Achatina is a giant snail that is useless in a fight but works like a small factory: while wandering it produces Achatina Paste (cementing paste) and Organic Polymer. That is why many bases keep several of them so they never have to go out for those materials.
Achatina quick facts in ARK Survival Ascended
| Diet | Herbivore (only eats Sweet Vegetable Cake) |
|---|---|
| Temperament | Passive |
| Taming method | Knockout (knock it out, then feed it) |
| Preferred kibble | Does not use kibble to tame |
| Best food | Sweet Vegetable Cake |
| How to immobilize it | Bola, Bear Trap, Plant Species Y Trap and Net Projectile |
| How to knock it out | Tranquilizer darts to the soft body; the shell takes 0.1x damage and the tail 0.5x |
| Saddle | No saddle: it cannot be ridden, but you can carry it in your arms |
| Maps (ASA) | The Island, The Center, Scorched Earth, Ragnarok, Extinction, Valguero, Lost Island |
How to tame an Achatina step by step
- Craft Sweet Vegetable Cakes before you go: you need Sap, Giant Bee Honey and crops such as Savoroot.
- Bring Narcotics: it loses torpor very quickly and will need quite a few.
- Shoot the soft body, never the shell. When its health drops it hides in the shell, so finish quickly.
- Once it is asleep, put the cakes in its inventory. After it finishes a stack it waits about 30 seconds before eating again.
- Feed it Narcotics often and make sure it does not wake up.
Achatina taming food and taming calculator
These numbers come from ARK’s taming formula for a level 150 Achatina. The 1x column is the official rate and the 8x column is Tharyon’s rate. They are estimates: hitting the sleeping creature or a game patch can change them slightly.
| Food | Amount 1x | Time 1x | Amount 8x (Tharyon) | Time 8x (Tharyon) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweet Vegetable Cake | 17 | 37 min | 3 | 7 min |
Achatina taming time by level with Sweet Vegetable Cake
| Level | Amount 1x | Time 1x | Narcotics 1x | Amount 8x | Time 8x |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | 6 | 13 min | 6 | 1 | 2 min |
| 60 | 9 | 20 min | 12 | 2 | 4 min |
| 100 | 12 | 26 min | 21 | 2 | 4 min |
| 150 | 17 | 37 min | 38 | 3 | 7 min |
A level 150 Achatina has about 497 torpor. With the amounts in the table you usually do not need narcotics on Tharyon, but bring a few in case it takes longer than expected.
Where to find the Achatina in ARK Ascended
It prefers damp areas: redwood forests, conifer forests and swamps. On Extinction it shows up in Sanctuary city, and on Scorched Earth there are high-level ones inside the caves. It is slow and does not attack, so it is easy to follow.
Official ARK Survival Ascended maps where it spawns: The Island, The Center, Scorched Earth, Ragnarok, Extinction, Valguero, Lost Island.
Achatina abilities and uses
- While wandering it makes 1 Achatina Paste per minute and 1 Organic Polymer per hour, up to 100 of each.
- Cuts the weight of Organic Polymer, Corrupted Nodules and paste in its inventory by 90%.
- Keeps Organic Polymer and Corrupted Nodules fresh three times longer.
- At low health it retreats into its shell and takes almost no damage.
Achatina variants
The Aberrant Achatina lives on Aberration and Fjordur; it looks the same but glows, and is tamed the same way.
Achatina breeding
Gestation takes 7 h 56 min and the baby needs 3 d 20 h to reach adulthood at official rates. On Tharyon (25x hatching and 35x maturation) that drops to about 19 min and 2 h 39 min.
Tips and mistakes to avoid
- Once tamed it only eats Sweet Vegetable Cake: do not tame one unless you can make cakes steadily.
- Leave it wandering inside an enclosure so it produces without running off.
- It has no gender: breeding two Achatinas produces two babies.
Tame your Achatina faster on Tharyon
On Tharyon taming runs at 8x: a level 150 Achatina is ready in about 7 min instead of 37 min.
- ARK Survival Ascended with crossplay: PC, PS5 and Xbox.
- 8x taming, 2.5x XP and harvesting, 35x maturation and 25x hatching.
- 11 PvE maps: The Island, The Center, Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, Ragnarok, Valguero, Lost Island, Genesis 1, Astraeos and Forglar.
- Automatic events (a supply crate every 60 minutes and an event creature every 70), quests and an in-game shop.
To join, hop into our Discord and use the /link command. See every rate in the rates section.
Achatina taming FAQ
What does the Achatina eat for taming?
Only Sweet Vegetable Cake, both for taming and afterwards.
How long does it take to tame an Achatina?
A level 150 one takes about 37 minutes at 1x with around 38 Narcotics. On Tharyon (8x) it takes about 7 minutes.
What do Achatina eat after taming?
It still only eats Sweet Vegetable Cake, so always keep some in its inventory.
How do you get Organic Polymer from an Achatina?
Set it to wander: it produces 1 Organic Polymer per hour in its inventory, up to 100.
Where can I find an Achatina?
In damp areas such as swamps and redwood or conifer forests.
Why is my Achatina not taming?
It is almost always one of these: it is not hungry yet (it only eats when its food bar drops, so the first bite can take a while), the food in its inventory is not one it accepts, it woke up because torpor ran out, or something is attacking it. Check that the taming bar goes up every time it eats.
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