are they ok

[donna12]

last night i decided it was time to transfer my 3 snails to their tank, the 2 i had got for my preschool buried themselves right away and dylan just sat on top of the soil
today i noticed that some of the green grapes had bite marks in and i managed to find one of the snails who rapidly buried himself, i couldn't find the other one, and dylan hadn't moved. i picked him up to have a look at him bit because he is so small i cant see inside his shell

will the snails that are buried ever come out so that i can see them and do you think dylan might be deceased, is there any way i can tell

[shaydeesnail]

Try holding his shell up with a light behind him- I usually just use the light from the laptop in a dark room, if he's deeply retracted you should be able to see how far in he is, fingers cross he's just sleepy! My baby snails are never as active as the older ones, hopefully it's just that!

[donna12]

he did this last week, my mate has just looked at him and said hes still damp as the substrate is sticking to him,is that good ?
i wish he wouldnt keep doing this annd i wish he was a little bit bigger

[shaydeesnail]

It is good that he's being kept damp, I find keeping hatchlings and babies really hard to be honest, hopefully when he's bigger he'll be easier to look after!

[PennyFarthing]

Yes, baby snails are hard! It sounds like you're doing everything right, though. Three tiny snails really shouldn't eat as much as three adults, so don't worry if they don't seem to have much appetite. I suppose the thing to look out for is poo, but I know how hard that is when they're so small.

Good luck.

[donna12]

ok silly question but what does snail poo look like

[PennyFarthing]

It's not a silly question! It looks of like a little snake, coiled up. I haven't got any pictures, though.

The poo is usually the colour of whatever the snails have been eating - even white, if they get hold of paper! On the other hand, snails do eat some soil to help their digestion, too, so it might not be that easy to spot.

[donna12]

thank you i will look out for it

here is a photo of them on a bit of cucumber, the 2 bigger ones crawled off, but no sign of life from dylan

[PennyFarthing]

I'm sure he'll be ok. He's probably still digesting the eggshell - he won't want much if that's the case.

If he was moved before he could eat the shell from his egg he will be much less likely to survive, but I don't think it's likely that that's happened. He must have crawled away from where the eggs were layed to be scooped up, I would have thought.

[donna12]

well i ran a little warm water over all 3 of them and half of his shell is now see thru, theres something definately in there but i would say that half of his shell is empty

[PennyFarthing]

Snails can make themselves very small, so it isn't necessarily anything to fret over... I don't know what to suggest, though.

[donna12]

i guess i just have to wait, i have no patience lol

[PennyFarthing]

Dylan its your first snail and you're anxious to get it right - it's natural. You're doing all you can - in fact, you're doing a great job. The only problem is that such a young snail is difficult to care for at the best of times, so it really isn't the best age to have when it's your first snail.

[donna12]

well after 2 weeks of going out and buying them veggies and fruit, and never really seeing them eat, tonight i decided to just get them some grass and dandelion leaves from outside and the 2 bigger ones haven't stopped eating all evening ;D

[PennyFarthing]

That's great! They just wanted something different.