Post by etana on Jun 18, 2015 17:58:20 GMT
Sweet little Ewert, my 30th birthday present, just arrived to live with me, so scared and with such a bad shell from a wrong diet and rough handling. He took weeks to attach to my hand at all and never was social, except for one little exception.
This day not long ago, he was so fat and looked the happiest he'd ever been, and his shell was growing with only very little trouble compared to what it was at its worst. I thought he'd live years and give me many little Tiger babies with his friend Gaius whom I specifically ordered from another country than where he was from.
Gaius was the only snail Ewert ever seemed to like. Everyone else, he rather avoided. Even Gaius he wasn't sure about at first, but the little guy went after him persistently and they slowly built a friendship. Gaius was the only one Ewert would ever knock on when he wanted him to come out of his shell.
With the mysterious condition we know as "deep retraction syndrome" just when the spot on his cheek started to show, his little heart stopped beating 16.6.2015. He was my first giant snail to die.
It wasn't supposed to happen this soon, not this way. It didn't take long, it seemed one day he was so happily playing in the bath with Gaius, and just a couple days afterwards he was shrinking in front of my eyes.
It appears he may have been older than he looked, he'd grown so badly when little. The last day when he still could move a little and push his eyes out, he gave Gaius a very long kiss straight on the mouth. I'd never seen Ewert kiss anyone before.
There will be more snails called Ewert I'm sure, I love the name.
You will always be remembered, poor little Tiger. <3 I don't know if I can take in rescue snails again, I'm so heartbroken.
