Snail

He loves snails. He pops them on his hands and arms and watches them crawl about him.

The snail, a symbol of Perseverance,
Determination, Continuity, and Eternity.

Appearing mostly at night, snails are a lunar symbol, therefore a symbol of feminine energy and the cycle of death/rebirth, ending/beginning, continuity, and fertility. Because of its shell, it is linked to the symbolism of the spiral and to self-sufficiency...... represents slow and steady progress made in the journey 'home'(towards enlightenment)
The Egyptians used the snail to symbolize eternity and the vastness of the universe. Also the tendency of life to start off broad and grand and to eventually spiral down to it's basics as we get older.