Post by pinkunicorn on Jun 18, 2012 13:26:21 GMT
I couldn't find an existing thread, so if there is one that I missed in my search, this can be combined to that thread. And if not, then feel free to use the topic to discuss malformations in your snails, too! To make searching for references easier in the future, you know, when they're in one place. 
Anyhoo, let's get to the topic.
In my first Deroceras baby batch (which came from two or three adults, max) I noticed one individual with just one eyestalk, but both lower tentacles intact. I believe this babe didn't make it to adult, though, as he was a slow grower and then one day I didn't find him anymore (RIP, little one).
Now in the next generation of babies, that come from.. I don't even know how many individual adults as I don't know how many of them have mated and laid eggs so far, but let's say at least 15 individual slugs. I have three babes with one eyestalk and both lower tentacles intact. All three have grown pretty well, one is a bit smaller but I suspect he's also a bit younger. I'm not sure if they're siblings or cousins.
Here's one from a few weeks ago, already has the fleshy colour and is about 1,5cm when extended, so he's grown nicely.
A few days ago I spotted something even stranger. I mean, one missing tentacle isn't going to hurt the slug alone, it's a minor malformation. But this babe is missing ALL FOUR tentacles! I can't believe I've not seen him before, but then again it took me some time to spot the three uni-stalks, too, so...
Here he is, the second from the top where the sluglets are bunched together in a pile, facing to the right (never mind the poo; I flipped the cuke slice over and it's been there for two days, so naturally the underside is covered in tiny piles of poop...):
And if you think he's got his head in the substrate and thus his tentacles aren't visible, have a look at this. Yesterday, the sluglets are gorging on fish pellets. The one that looks like he's making a face with his tentacles drawn in... yep, that's the poor babe without tentacles. He was munching away as the photo was taken, I saw his little mouth move and rasp hungrily at the pellet.
As you can see, he's not the runt of the bunch, either. He's quite well in the mid-sized department, not the biggest baby but clearly not under-developed. In fact, since I don't know their exact ages as they come from several batches of eggs laid at different times, hatched at different times, he could as well be large for his age. In any case he's developed normally for this species, except for the missing eyes AND the missing tentacles that are critical for smelling food.
That's what puzzles me about this baby. I've been under the impression that if a snail or slug doesn't have the lower tentacles, or if they are damaged... the snail cannot find food, because they find their food by smelling it and their smell sensors are located in the tentacles. So, the logical conclusion is that the animal will not recognise the edible and nutritious stuffs and will starve eventually. That's not what is happening here.
Anyway, tl;dr: what's up with a sluglet that is missing all his external sensor organs growing and developing like any other sluglet? Has anyone seen a snail/slug that lost its lower tentacles or all its tentacles, and what happened to it?
I suspect there is some genetic variant involved that causes these missing tentacles in my slugs. The first time could have been a misfired command at embryonic stage, but since it's happening so often it seems more like a feature instead of an accident.
Anyhoo, let's get to the topic.
In my first Deroceras baby batch (which came from two or three adults, max) I noticed one individual with just one eyestalk, but both lower tentacles intact. I believe this babe didn't make it to adult, though, as he was a slow grower and then one day I didn't find him anymore (RIP, little one).
Now in the next generation of babies, that come from.. I don't even know how many individual adults as I don't know how many of them have mated and laid eggs so far, but let's say at least 15 individual slugs. I have three babes with one eyestalk and both lower tentacles intact. All three have grown pretty well, one is a bit smaller but I suspect he's also a bit younger. I'm not sure if they're siblings or cousins.
Here's one from a few weeks ago, already has the fleshy colour and is about 1,5cm when extended, so he's grown nicely.
A few days ago I spotted something even stranger. I mean, one missing tentacle isn't going to hurt the slug alone, it's a minor malformation. But this babe is missing ALL FOUR tentacles! I can't believe I've not seen him before, but then again it took me some time to spot the three uni-stalks, too, so...
Here he is, the second from the top where the sluglets are bunched together in a pile, facing to the right (never mind the poo; I flipped the cuke slice over and it's been there for two days, so naturally the underside is covered in tiny piles of poop...):
And if you think he's got his head in the substrate and thus his tentacles aren't visible, have a look at this. Yesterday, the sluglets are gorging on fish pellets. The one that looks like he's making a face with his tentacles drawn in... yep, that's the poor babe without tentacles. He was munching away as the photo was taken, I saw his little mouth move and rasp hungrily at the pellet.
As you can see, he's not the runt of the bunch, either. He's quite well in the mid-sized department, not the biggest baby but clearly not under-developed. In fact, since I don't know their exact ages as they come from several batches of eggs laid at different times, hatched at different times, he could as well be large for his age. In any case he's developed normally for this species, except for the missing eyes AND the missing tentacles that are critical for smelling food.
That's what puzzles me about this baby. I've been under the impression that if a snail or slug doesn't have the lower tentacles, or if they are damaged... the snail cannot find food, because they find their food by smelling it and their smell sensors are located in the tentacles. So, the logical conclusion is that the animal will not recognise the edible and nutritious stuffs and will starve eventually. That's not what is happening here.
Anyway, tl;dr: what's up with a sluglet that is missing all his external sensor organs growing and developing like any other sluglet? Has anyone seen a snail/slug that lost its lower tentacles or all its tentacles, and what happened to it?
I suspect there is some genetic variant involved that causes these missing tentacles in my slugs. The first time could have been a misfired command at embryonic stage, but since it's happening so often it seems more like a feature instead of an accident.