There are many approaches to housing snails. They can be kept in plastic or glass tanks, or even reptile tanks. Personally, I prefer to use glass fish tanks. They are fairly cheap to buy, sturdy, and easy to clean (although heavier than their plastic counterparts). Even if you opt for a glass terrarium, it is worth having a plastic criter-keeper type box to keep the snails in if you need to travel, or while you are cleaning out the tank.
As for size, I am a firm believer that the more space you can give snails, the better, and be aware of exactly how large your snails will be when they are fully grown. Think about whether or not you intend to let them breed. You may need space for their babies! A good guide is that you will need at least a 60 x 30 x 30 tank for 3-4 adults. (Depending on species!)
Whatever type of accomodation you decide on, you need to make sure that it is well ventilated, as snails require plenty of fresh air! A plastic or mesh top to the tank will be ideal. Take a look at my small tank HERE, and note the mesh top is placed between the plastic rim and the tank. This way it is removable and washable. I just picked up some cheap mesh material from the market and cut it to size.
Decoration
Snails are farily easy to please when aesthetics are considered. You can make them feel more at home by putting an aquarium backing on the rear of your tank. Click HERE for a picture of the effect you can achieve. Snails also like somewhere to hide. Ceramic plant pots are good when they are young, and you can even buy bark tunnels that are intended to be reptile dens for your snails as they get larger.
You can use plants (real of plastic terrarium plants) but ensure that these are not toxic and that you're not going to mind them getting chowed down on when your snails feel like a nibble!
Avoid putting rocks and stones in your tank, but you can put branches for them to climb up.
Substrate
Most snail keepers tend to use a chemical-free, peat-based compost, to a depth of at least 8 cm, to enable their snails to BURY themselves in it. Do not use a treated compost, or a loam-based one, but opt instead for general purpose potting compost. Bark chippings can also be used. Some people find this less messy, but it can make burrowing harder for them. It is entirely a matter of preference, however.
You can also use sphagnum moss in your tank, but I would not advise using this exclusively. They do seem to like burying themselves in it when I put some in the corner, though!
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