My Garden Snail - Sammy

[Daemon]

I have one garden snail from California that I picked up (was in hibernation) and took back to Indiana with me. He's going to be moving with me down to Florida and his to-go habitat is great for him. lol I gave him an apple today, which he loves, and I frequently give him eggshells to snack on as well. He's in a 1g plastic bowl with soil and a 'pink star' cryptanthus bromeliad and some type of moss. Can anyone identify the moss for me? It's dark green and very soft to the touch. It thrives in shade and never dies or dries out, even in the winter. I'm thinking about bumping up his home to my 20gL so I can keep him with my crested gecko, along with the bromeliad and a prayer plant.

[morningcoffee]

Hi Daemon, welcome to the forum!

Your snail is lovely, he has a really pretty shell pattern Love the bromeliad too. I'm afraid I know very little about moss species and can't ID it for you, but maybe someone can help

[Daemon]

Thanks! I was also wondering if his shell will patch up? The spot has become more even with his shell, but he's not gaining back any color. It doesn't bother him and it's not a hole, just a chip, but I was just wondering how long it would take to grow back or if it will even grow back at all.

[albertthesnail]

I'm new to this forum and snails as well.
Welcome to the forum! Your snail is gorgeous! Sorry I can't answer any of you questions, but I know someone on here can.

[muddydragon]

hello and welcome to the forum!

Lovely snail

it looks like the spot may have at one point been a hole, they patch up holes and bad growth in the manner you see there but they never redevelop colour and they can't regrow the periostracum on damaged areas (which is the layer that gives the shell its colour)

As for mosses they are notoriously difficult to ID. Unless it's a very distinct species you really need to study them under a microscope and at the very least you need some very clear, closeup pictures to even have a good guess. I'm not familiar with Californian mosses either, so maybe it might be a fairly common species there that someone from the area/nearby may recognise?

[Daemon]

No, the moss is from Indiana, not California. The only thing from California is the snail.

[muddydragon]

well maybe i should have said i'm not familiar with non British or Scandinavian mosses (and even then i'm not too great!)

You'ld be best off seeing if you can find someone in Indiana who knows something about mosses, i don't know if you have an equivalent of the national trust or field-studies council but people like that are always willing to give things a go.

OOOoo i've just thought you get forums for everything i'ld be surprised if there wasn't a plant ID forum or moss forum where you could post pictures for ID

[Daemon]

Well, I'm looking! xD Here's more pictures. Found out that there's two or three types of moss in the patch that I got my moss from. The main green stuff with the red stems is Redshank Moss. I'm still trying to figure out what the blue-gray stuff is, though.

[albertthesnail]

I have similar looking moss where I live, but its prob a different type. Good luck.
-mel

[Daemon]

Well, you never know. Thanks for the good wishes.

[Cashell]

Lovely snail! Wish I could get my hands on helix aspersas where I live.

[Daemon]

Well, a lot of people have some very gorgeous snails that I wish I could find. I can only ever find cuban tree frogs and brown anoles. Florida has a lot of reptiles.