Bad snail day :( :( (pic added)

[etana]

Man..... sorry to make yet another thread bu I'm just so sad

First I found a gorgeous snail who had mites, well that'll be okay I think/hope...

Then I was pampering my lovely rodatzi Taavetti, put him back into his tank, and...my fingers were cold and wet and snail slimy, I dropped the lid right ON him!!! 

He survived, luckily he had the front of his shell facing up. Now it's sellotaped together (I didn't find all the pieces though) and he won't let go of my hand. He's investigating the damage right now.

I'm so sorry for him. I was just looking at him with my housemate and we were agreeing over what a wonderful shell he has.


Now he's looking at me, moving his lower tentacles and lips. Too bad I don't understand.

[slinky]

Aww I understand how you feel, I have actually killed a snail with the lid, I was devastated! He was only about a week old
Glad to hear your fella is ok though and I'm sure with a lot of extra calcium powder he will fix it right up in no time.
I had never thought to check wild snails for parasites, I just grab em and stick en in the box!

[etana]

I've lost a few snails due to my own ignorance or stupid mistakes, but this would have been the first one I'd really have killed, had me and the snail had worse luck. Goodness, those seconds when I thought he died, when I'd just been bathing him and he was so happy.

Sorry to hear about the baby snail. They're so tiny though. I always fear I'm throwing them away with rotting leftover food.

I think Taavetti is already starting to repair his shell, he's positioned his mantle so that it shows a couple mm from the biggest hole, just like how he always grows new shell. I put him into an empty box with food and calcium, and he's snailing around very fast. I had him sit on my hand for a very long time after the incident, and I tried to offer him all kinds of treats but he just wouldn't take a single bite. Maybe after he's done running, he'll have his stress levels a bit more balanced and be able to eat.

Yeah, this snail is the first one of mine ever that has had harmful bugs on it, and the first one I didn't quarantine first. I suppose that mites are not awfully common, not around here at least, but it only takes one snail that has mites on him. :/

[Zorst]

I'm real sorry to hear about Taavetti, but his shell should repair quickly, I to have killed a few baby snails with lid's I'm just really extra vigilant now.

Mites are more common than you think on wild snails, just a few good baths with Green tea should cure that, I tend to do about 3 to 4 baths on the first day, as the mites tend to come out of there hiding places pretty quickly followed by a couple of baths daily for the next few days that usually sorts them out but repeat as necessary.

Also change any soil etc n wash everything in the tank with hot water as they can hide anywhere.

Zorst

[cliath]

We all make mistakes, so don't beat yourself up about it. At least Taavetti is still alive and by the sounds of things he is feeling better already!

Nearly every wild caught snail around here has mites, it's a pain really, but I gather up loads of wild snails for mass baths from time to time. Just to help them a bit.

[bronwen]

Oh no! Poor Taavetti! Poor you! I hope he continues to show signs of improvement and all is well.

I dropped a baby I was holding above the tank the other day but luckily he fell right into half a tomato which cushioned his fall.

[etana]

Thanks for the support and advice, everyone. I'm very tired here after first worrying over Taavetti all evening, then there were plumbing problems, meh, these and a few other things combined, there's truly been something about today

Taavetti is sleeping now, finally. For a very long time he just sat still with one eye pushed all the way out. I put baby Tauno in with him so they don't miss each other, Tauno's reaction was to instantly run to him and gently touch his foot & face ("heyyy! I was looking for you all around home!") and Taavetti patted on Tauno's shell with the eye he had out.

Poor little fellow. I hope he'll eat at night and feel better tomorrow.

[Zorst]

Having Tauno with him should help him as it also gives him company n something to focus on. I find that an injured snail tends to heal faster n better if it has a companion.

Zorst

[etana]

Zorst, yeah, I remember you mentioning having a healthy snail in your 'hospital tank' to keep the patients company, that's also why I put Tauno in with Taavetti.

Ahh, right now they're attempting an escape together, pushing at the locked down lid, no wonder as it's a super boring box. The piece I sellotaped on Taavetti has fallen off. I guess I'll just tape it back.

edit: On a second thought & closer look around the hospital box, Taavetti seems to have done a lot of good, careful smoothing of the rough edges and someone's also eaten a lot of calcium (I doubt it's the baby ), and the damage doesn't look quite so bad anymore. Most of it has a perfectly straight edge now and his mantle is in shell growing mode along the entire straight bit. Maybe he's in fact better off with me not taping the piece back, I'll let him eat it to get the calcium and just grow his shell the way he wants it. Any thoughts on the opposite?

[etana]

On yet another note, Taavetti looks very good now concerning the original situation. With the piece out of the way, he is able to retract completely & comfortably, and he's having a nice snaily nap right now.

PHEW, things aren't quite so bad as they looked at first. I think that by the evening, I'll be releasing him back into his home tank, because his shell edge is so smooth now that I don't think doing his favourite pastime of digging, bulldozing and turning things over is going to harm the healing process.

[cliath]

Glad to hear his shell is getting better

[Zorst]

Sounds good.

Zorst

[etana]

All right, Taavetti is back in his home tank. His shell looks quite good indeed.

Today I got a tiger snail called Ewert for an early birthday present, and when I had Ewert and Taavetti meet each other, they just hugged, kissed and stroked each other with their tentacles for minutes (they're nearly the same size). It was so heart-warming. Though after that, Ewert just snailed away, dug a hole and disappeared under the substrate.

After that Taavetti and my lovely A. balteata Mauno had a kissing session, a lot like the famous Cepaea on cherries photo, they stretched from very far just to kiss. Though Mauno had to spend the next while trying to escape from Taavetti's slimy embrace, because the lovesick rodatzi ran over to him and wrapped his foot around poor Mauno's shell! Once Mauno managed to escape, he disappeared into his very own space behind the root again.

Little Tauno is much too small for that kind of big snail affection, so he didn't join in (and wasn't dragged into this either), lol.

So, Taavetti was left alone, and he retracted right there. </3

I bathed him once more to make him feel better.

[cliath]

Poor Tauno probably doesn't know what to think!
I'm glad Taavetti has such an exciting love life!


And congrats on the new tiger!

[Zorst]

Congrats re the new tiger snail, sounds like the Giant Snail soap opera, can't wait for the next episode.

Zorst

[etana]

Thanks both. I think it ain't Bad Snail Day anymore.

Taavetti probably finds his love life still isn't exciting enough, as he still can't get past the hug & kiss stage with anyone. Poor fellow. And yes little Tauno must be very confused!

Snail soap operas are just the best. I only hope that the Giant Snail one won't feature furious fights like the Cepaea soap opera has!

The tiger snail is so adorable, and he seems even crazier about digging tunnels than Taavetti is!

[etana]

Ummm, Taavetti hasn't pooped since his shell broke. I don't see him eating either. I only think he rasped at the calcium that night when he was in the "hospital box" with baby Tauno and I thought it'd been eaten more than what Tauno could do alone.

I just had him on my hand, I bathed him and offered him different foods, and he touched it with all four of his tentacles and moved his lips over it, but wouldn't take a bite.

Should I be worried?

[moon]

I'm not sure about your breed of snail but I know helix aspersa always go off their food for quite a few days when they have a broken shell. When they are feeling better & their shell begins repairing itself they start eating again.

[etana]

Moon, that's comforting to hear. Snails have so much in common after all. Thanks. 


Taavetti tonight. He almost ate cat food, he had the "om nom" look in his eyes, but then...no. 

He seems afraid in his home tank. He's so inactive there. Could he have a snaily version of post-traumatic depression, a fear of the location where he got hurt? Should I move the tank decorations around or just have him live in the hospital box (but make it more homely)?

[bronwen]

His shell doesn't look as bad as I had imagined. Good to see a photo of it. He is a lovely snail. I love rodatzi.
I am not an expert but I wouldn't worry that he hasn't really eaten for a couple of days. Sometimes mine don't eat hardly anything for a day and they haven't suffered any trauma.
Looking forward to a pic of Ewert (great name).

[etana]

Thanks He's done a lot of work on the shell, it looks much smoother now than it did at first.

I will post Ewert's pictures soon, lol I have many pictures to post here (of my Cepaea too), life's been getting in the way of snail obsessing lately. 


Also, Taavetti is eating right now, but it's a big, very hard scallop shell he's eating. He's biting at it big time, so that his eyes go in when he bites. He's never done that before, he's always eaten the much softer cuttlebones.

We were laughing here though, "you prepare a bath for a snail, he eats the bath tub "

He's in his home tank, but I placed him away from the site where the lid fell on him, and at least he didn't just freeze & retract.

Why would he choose the harder way to get calcium though?  

[Zorst]

His shell looks a lot better than I thought and I've a couple of Gal's here who have had worse damage and there shells have grown back fine. His instinct will be to eat as much calcium as pos and mine also eat there scallop shells so I wouldn't worry to much.

If he seem's happier in a different part of his tank to where his accident happened then that's a pretty good thing you can always change the tank around a bit so that he can hang there more.

Zorst

[etana]

Thanks Zorst.
Taavetti got so lucky, the glass lid could have killed him had he not been on very soft substrate & in that exact position.

Also, I never thought I'd be happy about this kind of thing, but apparently after trying to eat the bath tub shell, he's used it as a toilet. Looks like he ate a bit of Tradescantia and of course some soil. He's the only big snail who's been awake during the time that the poop appeared. I'm just so relieved his gut is functioning and he's eating a bit.

I'll re-arrange the decorations.

[Cashell]

Wow I'm glad Taavetti survived it. I had a somewhat similar situation where I had snails on a lid that fell off when I opened the container a little too fast, causing one of them to fall on the floor and have the top part of its shell break off... Thankfully, a good diet of calcium dusted produce hardened the hole, but it never quite returned the same way it was before.

[etana]

Cashell, glad to hear your snail survived too. I've had one wild-caught snail die from having the tip of his shell break, I didn't even see how it happened and I was a snail newbie at the time too.

I woke up a couple times last night, and as I did, I checked on the snails. Taavetti spent ages first doing something with his mouth all over himself (smoothing edges yet again, and investigating remaining damage, I think), and then sitting on top of a cuttlebone eating it.

Also, the tiger snail Ewert is doing a good bit of re-decorating already, it seems. Wow, he's so strong and so determined.