My oxychilus alluiarus changed behavior

[vallery]

My Oxy blue has been acting very differently lately. He always hung out on his favorite stick or bark but recently has stayed on the surface of vegetation on the tank bottom and not moving. Several times I thought he was dead and moved him then he came out for a while. Does anyone know why he would suddenly start doing this. He has never been this way before. I'm worried.

[inky]

I'm not sure! Has anything happened to him lately?

[vallery]

No nothing has happened and nothing has been changed. He just sort of sits on the bottom now in his shell. Unless I move him then he will come out for a while but then I just find him laying there again.

[fasti]

Hi,

is it possible to post photo?

[vallery]

I will try to get photos when the sun comes up it's 5:30 a.m. here and pitch black at this time of year. He really blends in with his habitat. Unless he is out and you can see his blue skin.

[vallery]

I really hate too loose him. Other than two other smaller empty shells he has been the only one I have been able to find here so he is special to me.

[PennyFarthing]

Could he be bored? I read somewhere that snails need stimulation... Maybe it's lack of change that's the problem?

I hope it's nothing more serious than that. I'll have my fingers crossed for you both.

[inky]

Try soaking it in water. Maybe he hurt himself? I have all my fingers and toes crossed for him! If he DOES go though he'll be guarenteed a spot in snailie heaven, but let's not think like that. How long have you had him for? If you've had him for a while, he may be growing old, I'm sorry to say.

[vallery]

Hi thanks everyone,

Yes I was worried about his age. But as I told fasti, he was there again on the bottom again. So I put some gold fish flakes near him and gave them a little spray of water. He immediately came out of his shell and crawled over and ate a lot of it. He was on his regular diet of rotted vegetation and awful to say... cepaea eggs but maybe with age he needed something more. I don't know but he is back to his old self .I just don't know how much or how often I should feed him gold fish flakes. Could anyone help there? Still worried Thanks.
Vallery

[fasti]

Hi Vallery,

I talked with my wife and searchedsome info on Russian snails forums but this kind of snails is pretty unusual for Russia therefore nobody can tell any useful info. If I find smth interestinf later I'll inform you ASAP.

With cross fingers, Pavel.

[vallery]

Thank you Pavel and your wife that would be great. Thanks for trying as well.
vallery

[shaydeesnail]

I was looking everywhere for some of these, and eventually found a few hanging out under wet cardboard! You might be able to find him some friends there, mine seem to enjoy each others company but they tend not to spend much time with the Cepaeas! Glad he is back to himself! Maybe he had a fishfood craving the way people get chocolate cravings, and was not happy until he got what he wanted haha!

[vallery]

You know what shaydeesnail the other day I was out collecting some stuff up for my cepaeas and I found a little baby oxychilus alluiarus, I was thrilled. I have always kept my oxy seperate from the cepaeas so yesterday I made my two oxys a nice new tank. And yes my first oxy must have really had a craving for fish food he is always so slow and when I put that in for the first time he just zoomed over to it and ate quit a lot. And talking about chocolate I think I will go and eat some right now. Thank you Shay.
val x

[pinkunicorn]

It does sound like he needed some pepping up with the protein in his diet!