Help to save an injured crushed shell snail

[helptoall]

hellow, i accidently stepped on a snail today,and i want to help him. I want to do to good things that will help him recover and than release him back. From what iv read,the main thing is to keep him humid and safe so right now he's in a plastic box {ice cream box about 1 litre} with leaves. I want to know What the right things to feed him with,temprature,what is the best way to keep him humid? what about ventilations holes? lighting? box matrerials? cleaning? other essatianls and any information and suggestions that might help ill add photos later TY

[helptoall]

His shell is all crushed but its still connected tto him and in a snails shell shape,his wandering around and not not staying still and another thing is ,that his longer antlers are looking kinda down,theyer half out and "spilled" downwards ,from time to time he raises them and move them them but mostly theyre like this. 

[etana]

I'm on my phone so this will be very quick - but your snail needs calcium (cuttlebones or limestone flour) and good food. No snail can resist sweet potato sliced so thin it's nearly see through. If he's too weak to eat even that, watery purees might help. You can use almost any common unseasoned vegs and fruit, just avoid fruits with citric acids, any onions or their relatives, and lettuces that are white. Cucumber encourages snails to eat but there MUST be other foods in his diet than that as it's the equivalent of junk food to them.

He also needs a bit of soil that has to be free of pesticide and other chemicals. If you can't get any from outside (often a risky idea anyway), coir is always a good option. If he is able to poop, don't clean it up right away as he needs to sustain his own gut bacteria and he does it by nibbling on poop and soil. Old food doesn't need to be removed before it grows hair or attracts fruit flies or other unwanted guests.

A shallow dish of water (a lid or something) will be nice too so the snail can have a drink on his own.

I hope this helps. Best of luck!

Some members here have experience of taping a broken shell together, we might hope they come by.

[etana]

Also, I forgot, sorry! He needs only minimal ventilation (a couple holes in the lid), room temp is ok, and don't worry about lighting for now, just don't put his box in direct sunlight.

[helptoall]

You know from where can i get all those things? and what about other bonesdse as a source for calcium like fish or chicken bones? . idton know what coir is,should i put normal soil? and also i wanted to ask how does snails looks like when theyre asleep? or when they want to rest?

[etana]

Cuttlebones are sold in pet stores, they're instantly ready for use. Just don't get a dyed or flavoured one from the parrot section, but a plain white one. They're nice and soft and proven a good calcium source for snails. Bones from cooking might have salt residue so I personally wouldn't use them.

Limestone flour is sold in horse supply stores and is much cheaper, but also much messier.
Pet stores will know what coir is, too. It's made out of coconut fiber and is sold in dry bricks that will expand a lot when you add water, ending up a nice soft soil-like texture that retains moisture well. Soil is important for snails but if you don't know for sure that it's pesticide and fertilizer free, don't use it (my opinion).

When a snail sleeps, usually the eye stalks (the longer, upper tentacles in the head) will go in, and often he will also look like he's sucking on his foot or curling up his face. It's ok if a snail sleeps in full view with just the eyes in. Normally a snail can also retract into the shell for sleep.

With broken shells a problem often is that lung function is compromised. I have seen snails survive some crazy shatterings and also die from a tiny hole in the wrong place. Fingers crossed for your guy.

[helptoall]

i also heared spinach will do the trick of calcium supply,what do you think? and how does it looks like when he eats? right now he is on a piece of cucumber but i dont know if hes eatting it

[etana]

Oh that's a good thing you asked. Spinach has oxalates so it should actually be avoided with snails who really need calcium, like yours.

The snail has a little mouth at the bottom of the head, you should see a bit of movement and if you're lucky, hear quiet rasping sounds. They have no teeth, only a coarse tongue (called radula) and a slightly hard front edge of the mouth, and they use those to take little pieces of food. Does it seem to you that your snail might not be conscious? Is he moving on his own still, and if not, is he startled if you poke his foot very gently?

[helptoall]

I didnt find any pet store with those things,you have an idea for something i can give homemade?

[helptoall]

is it critical for right now? i read that on the firsr day or two after the shell injury snail often use thyere calcium reserves

[etana]

That's weird, cuttlebone is short for cuttlefish bone, maybe that will help? Coir is sometimes sold as "plantation soil".

Umh... Endive is high in calcium at least. If you happen to use calcium carbonate supplements that are almost nothing but that (no added minerals), it might work. Uhoh. I'm not even home right now so my head is a bit of a mess trying to think of what to say. Others, help us out here!!

[etana]

Apr 12, 2016 17:20:12 GMT helptoall said:

is it critical for right now? i read that on the firsr day or two after the shell injury snail often use thyere calcium reserves

That is true what you read, they do carry reserves if possible. However the injury is quite severe in this case so he'll be needing more calcium if he can get past the initial shock. So um, it's not a question of hours, no. See if he makes it through the night.

[helptoall]

Ok Thank you,if you or anyone have more advices please share them ,or more info about how to repaire the shell,TY

[Borini]

Apr 12, 2016 17:17:48 GMT helptoall said:

I didnt find any pet store with those things,you have an idea for something i can give homemade?

Try crushed egg shells. I'd use a mortar and pestle to grind it down to a powder. Then you can sprinkle the powder around the tub. If the snail is still reluctant you can sprinkle it onto a piece of cucumber that will surely entice it. Curly kale also has a high calcium content.

I'm not sure whether you're in the UK or not but I order from here www.amazon.co.uk/90-100G-CUTTLEFISH-REPTILES-TORTOISES-TERRAPINS/dp/B00KY0JHZU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1460499923&sr=8-1&keywords=cuttlebone when I can't get to the pet store. The delivery is pretty quick in my experience. 

Hope all is well. You've already done more than most after accidentally stepping on this much maligned creature. 

[helptoall]

How do i know if his dead?

[etana]

A dead snail won't react to any touch at all, and will smell really, really bad. :/

[helptoall]

hes head is out is antlers are not,hes bottom is wrinkled and he doesent move or esponding to touch,but there is no smell

[helptoall]

what do you think?

[etana]

Well... I wouldn't get my hopes up.
Put him in shallow water (a couple mm) and just wait if he wakes up. Normally one could check for heartbeat with a flashlight but now I guess you can't.

I really appreciate you wanting to help out this snail, though. Few people would.

[helptoall]

hes in wet and for the last 10 hours didnt move even when i touched him,and he isnt sticking

[HazelSnail]

It certainly doesn't sound good for the poor snail. It's a very severe injury, and just going off the pictures I'd say there's some amount of internal injury as well. He's likely dead if he isn't responsive to touch, and hasn't moved in that long. It is possible that the since the death was recent, the smell may not have come about yet, but if it does in the next few hours...

As Etana said, it is very appreciated and kind of you to try and help him, as not many would bother...

[Cashell]

If it lost its suction and has no movement, then it might be dead... and judging from the pictures above, that injury looked pretty fatal. You did your best, so don't feel too bad about losing it, because you gave it the last bit of love.