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Post by sparrow on Apr 3, 2015 21:33:02 GMT
 Can you see me?? 
Was walking back from posting mail for the day and noticed a nice size loose piece of moss on the ground.
I plucked it up and as always, before putting anything new in my moss terrarium (not Snaggle's tank), I keep specimens separate for a few days to make sure there are no unwanted bugs waiting to hatch.
Normally, I take the moss and soak it in tap water - full of chlorine - for about 15 minutes and watch the water for signs of creepy crawlers.
Since this piece was literally detached from the soil, as it was relatively dried out, I simply put it on a small plastic plate and instead of soaking it, sprayed it with spring water to rejuvenate it and put another plate on top of it to retain the moisture.
After a few hours, I went back to see if any little bugs had emerged and lo and behold, about the size of a pinhead, rested what appeared to be a snail!
Out came the magnifying glass and sure enough, the little prominent whorls could be seen in this clear little tiny body. After resituating baby Sneggle in a more secure environment, I sprinkled a bit of calcium and spirulina and within seconds, little Sneggle was investigating!
I can't buy snails in the US like in the EU and so far all snail hunting efforts have proved futile. So, after 2 years, again, by shear accident, I have finally managed to get another snail!
Now I'm wondering if there are more eggs in the soil and if new little snails will emerge over the next few days. 
Really made my day! And for the time being, this is going to be "Sneggle", hopefully Snagglepuss' new tank mate once he gets a little bigger!
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Zorst
Achatina tincta
Posts: 734 
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Post by Zorst on Apr 3, 2015 23:53:08 GMT
Ahh that's so great and hopefully Sneggle will grow into a nice big snails like Snagglepuss and they become best buddies. Also fingers crossed that you may have other baby snails in that moss, let us know.
Zorst
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Post by etana on Apr 4, 2015 13:19:38 GMT
I spotted the tiny snailie!  Congrats, and good luck! |
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Post by sparrow on Apr 5, 2015 2:00:01 GMT
Thank you! Yes!!! We have another new little friend! Maybe we'll call this one Snuggles?! I've never seen snails this teensy - it's amazing to me! How quickly do they grow after they are born? I'm not sure if the larger one is the newly found one. The one above was pretty active yesterday, but could he double in size in 24 hours? One is as small as the head of a pin and the other about twice that size and quite active. I used a potato peeler to put a super thin bit of apple and "Snuggles" went straight for it! I have to use a magnifying glass to watch them, but I can see the familiar gnawing motion and teensy bits of food going down! I feel like a new mum again! Hooray! Mum, Snaggle, Sneggle and Snuggles! (Perhaps with more on the way?!) I'm getting Easter snails instead of bunnies! |
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Post by Jade on Apr 5, 2015 12:40:54 GMT
That's great, congratz on the new snailies |
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mangoandlemon
Achatina tincta
Animals are not a choice for me. They are a lifestyle!
Posts: 671
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Post by mangoandlemon on Apr 5, 2015 13:29:50 GMT
Congrats!
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Post by sparrow on Apr 5, 2015 16:36:14 GMT
Another better view of the babies. The larger snail is the second discovery and "Snuggles". The little one near the read arrow is "Sneggle". Frankly, I'm not 100% sure if Sneggle is alive. He moved a bit last night, but he's so small, even with a magnifying glass, I'm not sure if I saw movement today or it was a distortion of the magnifying glass.  |
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Post by etana on Apr 5, 2015 16:51:57 GMT
Aaaw look at that tiny little translucent snail face of Snuggles!
I hope Sneggle is just resting. If they're Cepaea babies though (hard to say yet as there's no pigment on even the body), their baby mortality rate is pretty high and they grow very slowly at first. Often very gentle misting will wake up baby snails that are sleeping for too long.
Also it may be a good idea to get them a poop from Snagglepuss for a dose of gut bacteria. Fingers crossed that all goes well!!
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Post by sparrow on Apr 5, 2015 17:15:48 GMT
Snuggles is all over the place! Very, very active today! I hope so too. He managed to find the calcium speck and has stayed there since last night. I'm misting them from about 12" above their enclosure to ensure only a super-fine mist falls on them. They could drown in the smallest drop of water. Just finished cutting and cleaning Snaggle's food for the day, so it's perfect poop harvest time! Glad I checked back before cleaning Snaggle's tank. Thank you! Leaving bits of food in the mini-enclosure is bringing out a couple of other little bugs in the moss, so it's helping rid the moss of "undesirables" as well. Will the little ones eat the moss as well? I made a mix of spirulina, one fish flake and a dusting of calcium, added a drop of water, mixed it and put a drop here and there on the moss. |
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Post by Liguus on Apr 5, 2015 20:30:15 GMT
These are not cepaea, They are adult snails and will not grow much larger.
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Post by sparrow on Apr 5, 2015 20:57:22 GMT
These are not cepaea, They are adult snails and will not grow much larger.
Well, whatever they are, I hope they live. They are adorable.
Actually, looks exactly like this: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Vallonia_pulchella.jpg
I guess I won't be needing a new tank for them, but may need a better magnifying glass and worse, no mate for Snaggle.  |
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Cashell
Archachatina puylaerti
Posts: 1,124
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Post by Cashell on Apr 6, 2015 0:55:19 GMT
My... it's impossible to find anything in the first picture!  |
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Post by sparrow on Apr 6, 2015 1:22:55 GMT
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Post by cliath on Apr 6, 2015 21:40:00 GMT
What cute little snails! You must have great patience to try and find them! I wish you the best with them.
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Post by sparrow on Apr 7, 2015 14:12:53 GMT
What cute little snails! You must have great patience to try and find them! I wish you the best with them. Thank you! LOL! I didn't find these little guys, they found me! They hitched a ride in on a piece of moss. Since I know exactly where I found the moss, I am going back to see if I can find more mates, magnifying glass in hand. Have several 2.5 gallon terrariums that were purchased for moss, but set one up for what appear to be "Vallonia pulchella", the lovely Vallonia! Such a wonderful name for such tiny creatures. |
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