Intro and request for advice - cracked shell juvenile

[seattlesnail]

Hello, I'm John from Seattle...  

I discovered this forum after finding a (juvenile?) garden snail crossing my path.  I've seen snails before- but not frequently, and usually it is just their shells I find.  I decided to investigate what I had almost stepped on, and realized that the small creature had a cracked shell.  I know that the landlord had just cut the grass, so it may have been injured by a foot or machine, but it may also have been a crow, or a fall...  anyhow, I decided to bring it inside and see what I could find out about helping this little tyke out.  

I have already searched the forum and other websites for information about cracked shells, but I may have missed information specific to the situation I am facing.  Perhaps someone with more experience could provide me with a link or information that would pertain to this snails individual needs?

The snail's shell is approximately 3/4" wide, and there is at least one very long fracture, possibly two.  As far as I can tell, no shell has come free, but if I gently touch the shell on both sides, it is flexibly and feels obviously broken almost as if it is split down the middle from front to back.  Other than this damage, the snail seems fine, active, curious, and VERY hungry.  This was probably it's first experience with cucumber and lettuce (washed with spring water) and I was amazed at how much it ate (and pooped).  I will go today to purchase additional supplies for a habitat, substrate, snail salad, and sources of calcium.

My specific question is this:  is there ANYTHING I can or should do to strengthen the shell and prevent further damage?  The snail is certainly just a few months old by the looks of it and the shell seems very thin, so any suggestions for supplements or particularly beneficial food would be appreciated, as well.

Thanks!

[snailboat]

Can you get the snail some cuttlebone from the bird section of a pet store? Hopefully they can repair the shell themselves with enough calcium!

[etana]

Snailboat is right, the best thing would be if the snail learns how to use your calcium supplies and repairs the shell himself. Cuttlefish bone and limestone flour are the most commonly used.

Sometimes wild-caught snails get a little confused at first about what to do with the cuttlebone, but all of mine have eventually learned to rasp it, sometimes with the help of me rubbing an attractive taste to it (a favourite food, a little drop of dilute beer, etc) - once they learn what it is, they'll know exactly how much they need it, and won't need any additional tastes on it either.  

As far as preventing further damage, make sure that the snail can't fall on anything hard in his habitat. This is done easily, have substrate at the bottom (which I see you'll be doing ) and don't use decorations made out of rocks or ceramic.

It's a good sign that the snail is active and hungry. Haha, my wild-caughts have all been like that too, like "Oh GOODNESS this much food!!! Must binge now!" on their first day with me, but they'll calm down a little bit when they learn their days of looking for food in many dangerous places are over.

Good luck!

[cliath]

I'd also invest in a sweet potato. They're very high in nutrients. Just feed a variety of fruit and veg alongside it.

[muddydragon]

also whilst healing try to reduce handling, new shell repairs are very delicate so handling can redamage them.
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