All my snails are dying! NEED HELP!

[Liguus]

I'm hoping someone may be able to help me out because I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

I started with 20 pet Helix aspersa snails, and now I'm down to 5. They were wild caught snails someone sent me.

I keep them in a 10 gallon clear plastic box with holes drilled into the plastic lid on top. I put in an ultrasonic fogger to raise humidity because i thought they were "drying out" (I found them upside down on the substrate many times dead in their shell.) I use a coconut fiber substrate.

I also feed them organic and thuroughly washed lettuce and dandelion greens, sometimes sprinkled with calcium powder.

The death rate has dropped since I added the fogger, but some have stilled slowly passed.

Any body see what the issue might be?

[etana]

There could be an infection spreading, was my first thought. How active are the rest of your snails lately?

Also general advice: rather give them a piece of cuttlefish bone or limestone than calcium powder sprinkles, so they can choose when and how much to have it. They'll know what their shell needs and accordingly rasp the cuttlebone/limestone with their radulas. If you don't live in an area where those can be naturally found, pet stores will help.

There needs to be more variety in food, different fruit and vegs. Many snails that mostly eat vegs in the wild still feed a little bit on carrion for protein, so in captivity, well soaked up puppy/kitten biscuits or fish flakes will be happily eaten. (If this species is one that doesn't need it, I hope someone else points that out.)

[morningcoffee]

Jul 20, 2014 23:09:29 GMT Liguus said:

I'm hoping someone may be able to help me out because I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

I started with 20 pet Helix aspersa snails, and now I'm down to 5. They were wild caught snails someone sent me.

I keep them in a 10 gallon clear plastic box with holes drilled into the plastic lid on top. I put in an ultrasonic fogger to raise humidity because i thought they were "drying out" (I found them upside down on the substrate many times dead in their shell.) I use a coconut fiber substrate.

I also feed them organic and thuroughly washed lettuce and dandelion greens, sometimes sprinkled with calcium powder.

The death rate has dropped since I added the fogger, but some have stilled slowly passed.

Any body see what the issue might be?

How much ventilation is in the tank? Aspersa should not need a fogger to keep humidity up if the tank's being sprayed regularly enough, so it might have far too much ventilation if it's drying out especially in summer. Snails don't need a constant large flow of fresh air - a few small holes in a tank lid are sufficient.
Is the tank kept in sunlight or in a hot place? In summer they prefer somewhere cooler and the tank should never be left in direct sunlight.
Do any of the snails have visible mites on their bodies? Any visible parasites or worms in their poop?
Is the substrate dry, damp, or wet?
Are the snails active? Do they eat? Do any of them regularly aestivate in their shells?
They need to be fed more than just lettuce and dandelions - they need a varied diet. Snails have nutritional requirements as does any other creature. Give them a greater variety of fruit and veg, plus an occasional protein snack like wet fish flakes, boiled egg or a bit of meat.
There is a good food guide list here: petsnails.proboards.com/thread/9416/feed-snails
Don't sprinkle calcium powder on their food. Give them a constant source of calcium to help themselves to - limestone flour or cuttlefish are fine. They are perfectly capable of regulating their own calcium intake at the correct levels.

[Liguus]

Ventilation- just four holes drilled into the plastic lid.

I looked this morning and there are white mites on them. I'm not sure if thats the issue or how to kill mites.

The substrate stays damp now because of the fogger. i originally just sprayed them everyday but am unable to do so since I am frequently away for 4 or more days.

I also used to have a cuttlebone in there, but switched to the powder because I thought it would be more effective. And as for diet, alright I will have to vary it for them & I'll read that food guide.

I would like to get more, I just need to fix the issues with my current set up so I don't kill them all.

[morningcoffee]

Jul 21, 2014 13:24:24 GMT Liguus said:

I looked this morning and there are white mites on them. I'm not sure if thats the issue or how to kill mites.

Do the mites look like the ones in this video?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-cd7GG2mEM

If yes, then your snails are infested with Riccardoella mites and this could easily be what's killing them. These are very common in wild snails and slugs.

There is a good page on the PetSnails website which deals with these mites. www.petsnails.co.uk/problems/mites.html

From Wikipedia: "Slug mites are a concern for commercial and hobbyist breeders of snails; as little as six mites can sicken an individual and make it susceptible to infection by threadworms and bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa."

The only fully effective way to get rid of them is to completely clean the tank and everything in it, soak it in boiling water, throw away the substrate. Bathe the snails, put them back in the tank on a thin layer of sterile substrate without any ornaments etc, and introduce Hypoaspis miles predatory mites. You can get these from various online stores including www.defenders.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/25/products_id/47 . These will eat the harmful mites on your snails and should end the infestation.
There is no other fully effective way to eradicate a Riccardoella mite infestation as they can hide inside the snails' pneumostome and mantle cavity where you cannot reach them, and they lay their eggs inside the snails' shell. Bathing the snails under running water may be a temporary solution to remove the worst of them but it's very likely they will return unless the tank is treated with Hypoaspis miles.

[Liguus]

Yes! the mites look/run around on them like those.

I will try to sterilize the terrarium the best I can, and as for the predatory mites i will look around if any US seller has them. I imagine there might be a problem trying to import those mites to the US, although I'm not certain.

As for bathing snails, Do you guys use regular tap water? I have tried to avoid using tap water because I thought the chlorine would harm them.

[morningcoffee]

Jul 21, 2014 16:20:51 GMT Liguus said:

Yes! the mites look/run around on them like those.

I will try to sterilize the terrarium the best I can, and as for the predatory mites i will look around if any US seller has them. I imagine there might be a problem trying to import those mites to the US, although I'm not certain.

As for bathing snails, Do you guys use regular tap water? I have tried to avoid using tap water because I thought the chlorine would harm them.

A quick Google shows that the Hypoaspis are available in the US from various places:

www.evergreengrowers.com/stratiolaelaps-scimitus-womersley-hypoaspis.html
www.biconet.com/biocontrol/hypoaspis.html
www.everwoodfarm.com/Organic_Pest_Control/Beneficial_Insects_Listing/ENTOMITE-M_Hypoaspis_miles

I'm sure you should be able to look around online to find the best value

In the meantime I would start bathing your snails straight away and throw out the substrate right away too. A coir brick soaked in boiling water (and left to cool) would be ideal as a new substrate once you've bathed and washed the snails thoroughly. Don't use compost, potting soil or anything like that as it could have more mites or bugs in it. You want something as sterile as possible. Use boiling water to clean the tank and any ornaments (you can let them soak for a while to remove any nasties).

I use tap water to bathe my snails without any problems though it could potentially depend on what your local water supply is like. I used to put my huge margies in the bathtub and let them slime about under the shower and never had any problem with them If you're worried you can always use bottled water instead.

[Liguus]

Thanks for the links!

Now that I think of it...I was trying to maintain a relatively clean environment for them. I wash the whole terrarium and replace fresh coconut coir weekly. But a while ago I added some Bark/sticks/moss I found in the forest. I'm guess this may have introduced some nasty parasites.

[morningcoffee]

Jul 21, 2014 16:38:00 GMT Liguus said:

Thanks for the links!

Now that I think of it...I was trying to maintain a relatively clean environment for them. I wash the whole terrarium and replace fresh coconut coir weekly. But a while ago I added some Bark/sticks/moss I found in the forest. I'm guess this may have introduced some nasty parasites.

You shouldn't do a full clean that regularly. Snails need natural bacteria and microbes in their environment and some studies suggest that they actually require these to be able to digest food, and this is why snails sometimes eat soil/substrate. You can do a "spot clean" every couple of days or every few days to remove poop, any uneaten food and wipe the tank walls but you should only be doing a full tank clean once a month maximum and probably even less frequently than that. When you do change the substrate normally (not while harmful mites are present!) you should add some of the old substrate in to keep the natural bacterial flora going. If you keep a tank environment too clean it can be detrimental to snails' health and they can actually stop eating and die because of this.

Adding things from outside could have introduced mites but it's possible as the snails are wild-caught that they may have been present when you got them and you just didn't notice as they were hiding (or in egg form) inside the snails' shells.
If you want to put in twigs, bark, leaves or anything from outside, it's best to soak them for a while first to remove any bugs or nasties.