Big red worm in snail. It's out! See pics attached

[pinkunicorn]

Me too! Until very recently I was certain the gut must end somewhere just inside the pneumostome which is why it looks like it does... but the pics I managed to get of this snail pooping confirmed the existence of a snail's anus lol. ;D

Of course the snail's nose is not where it breaths. Lucky them.

[shaydeesnail]

Of course the snail's nose is not where it breaths. Lucky them.

That's exactly what was going through my head when I was writing my last post!

[jembolina]

It must have been the breathing hole then. I thought they pooped out of the big hole, thanks for posting that picture, Pinkunicorn. It was definitely the big hole that the worm was in.

I wonder why the snail couldn't eat then. I guess he just felt too awful, poor Claude. The worm died while I was still unsure what it was and thought it was a parasite.

So do you think it's safe to keep earthworms with snails then? I'm still too afraid but it may help others who have read this thread and gotten rid of their worms.

[pinkunicorn]

I think it's generally safe. Both species try to avoid this kind of "interaction" as it's traumatic for both. It's not a lot better than what getting eaten feels to the worm minus the stomach acid.

[jembolina]

I wonder why it stayed in there so long. Once it was out it seemed perfectly capable of crawling both backwards and forwards. Maybe it was just a jerk.

[pinkunicorn]

I suspect the snail's reflexes closed the pneumostome every time the worm approached it. As a reflex the worm would then back its head, and thus we have a deadlock that lasts until the snail wears out enough to not close the pneumostome as a result of irritation and then the worm got out.

[pinkunicorn]

That also makes me think how it got in... worms usually back out backwards but if there is a simultaneous irritation at their posterior they may try to evade it instead by going forwards. Something like that must have happened.

[jembolina]

That sounds like a pretty logical theory.

I've put Claude in the main tank so he now has 3 friends. Thanks for allaying my fears! I'm sure Claude appreciates having some company.