Mesodon zaletus is a terrestrial snail (Pilsbry, 1940). This means that it occupies an environment on land and not in freshwater or marine environments. Mesodon zaletus inhabits deciduous forests, or forests where the leaves fall yearly (Hickman et al., 2012) within areas up to 1500 meters above sea level (Emberton, 1993) and they typically do not live at elevations higher than 2000 feet in the southern mountains (Pilsbry, 1940). They tend to dwell within regions of hardwood forests (Coppolino, 2009). An example of a hardwood forest where Mesodon zaletus inhabits is within the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in Tennessee.
Like other Mesodon species, Mesodon zaletus prefer to live in an area where they may be able to consume calcium, which can be found throughout their environment of wooded forests (Pilsbry, 1940). This is probably why they are present in the Great Smoky Mountains. This may be below talus or within the soil (Dourson, 2006). They also live underneath logs and leaf litter, because is a well-liked place for them to lay their eggs (Dourson, 2006). This is why it would be important to live in a deciduous forest environment that provides many resources for survival.
Along with many other snail species, Mesodon zaletus reside in woodlands across northeastern North America (Pearce, 1997). This snail is distributed throughout areas ranging as far west as Oklahoma and Texas to the northeast coast through Maryland, Pennsylvania, Maine, and southeastern Canada (Perez, 2008). They also inhabit states in the Midwest, including Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, and Wisconsin (Perez, 2008). Mesodon zaletus live east of the Mississippi River throughout this range of the United States because they favor living on slopes and below rock-talus that possess a plentiful amount of dead leaves in which can be a nutritional source.
