Snail Hibernating and weird shell growth? please help <3

[alyssayeahok]

Hi everyone!

I am worried about my snail, Felix. I've had him for 2 months and he is my little shining star, I love him so much! He is a helix aspersa and I keep him in a tank with another named Calvin. When I first got the, Felix was bigger and more active than Calvin - now it's the opposite. I have been keeping a journal of his behaviour to make sure he's doing ok so sorry if this is too detailed. 

Felix went into what I believe was a hibernation/estivation state (including the calcified cover thing) about 3 weeks ago. That lasted several days, but he came out of it (Jan 21). He's been a somewhat inactive since and I haven't witnessed him easting much. Then I isolated him to confirm this (Calvin eats a lot of the food). He did eat a little bit of cucumber and lettuce after that and was a lot more active after a nice bath (Jan 22). He slept a lot in the corner but was okay for a few days.

I put them back in the same tank as I was moving back into school. Felix still spent a lot of time asleep in the upper corner but could be roused easily if I tried. He was doing a lot better! He was a bit more active and still not eating a ton but I watched him eat a huge bite out of a carrot two days ago And he was enjoying the cuttlebone! There was a small incident where I didn't notice that he was stuck to the bottom of the food dish and he fell off, landing on the carpet. He seemed fine, though, no damage and was playful in my hand.

Now here's the issue. He went into the hibernation-like state again 2 days ago, stuck to the wall of the tank. I noticed after a day or so that it seemed like it wasn't his body sticking him there but the rim of his shell. I touched it a bit to see and it easily detached from the wall, it was indeed just the shell. I sprayed him lightly and he came out, but there is a weird white-ish rim around the edge of the shell, like it was growing a new lip. It seems like its very bothersome to him, I can see it sticking into his back and watched him try to rasp it away there. He was slow moving and went back into his little castle and has been asleep there since.

What is this rim - is it good/normal or bad and is there anything I can do to help? He just looks so much smaller than before (maybe just because Calvin has grown but I don't think so) and I rarely see him move and eat while Calvin is very very active and eats a lot. How do I get him to stop "hibernating" and is it not healthy? I want him to eat, gain some weight and be a happy boy. Like I said, I love him with all my heart, he is my little baby - please help <3

Here are some pics of him, the first is just a cute one and then one of him hibernating:

[flowersnail]

Hi alyssayeahok! I know you created this thread a while ago so my reply may not be pertinent.

The hibernation-like state seen on the photo is not actually hibernation, it's a sleeping position snails adopt sometimes. The white film they then show is made of dried mucus and is here to insure that the retracted snail doesn't fall down the lid or wall. This is completely normal. The loss of activity is more worrying, but I think you can palliate the problem by stimulating him a bit, for example by giving him baths or by placing some food beside him.

I wish Felix a fast recovery! Please keep us updated on how he's doing.

[alyssayeahok]

Thanks so much for your reply! I'm so so relieved to know that what he's doing is normal. My concern with it though is that once he takes that position he stays asleep there for days at a time - is this okay? I'm concerned that he's not eating enough in between sleeps (he does this every few days and remains there so far until i am able to easily remove him). Should I try to revive him periodically to keep him active/eating?

My other snail has currently gone into actual hibernation (calcified cover etc) because its gotten colder here. I've left Felix asleep there for nearly 3 days now because I figured it was best - but should I wake him up now and give him some fresh foods?

About the weird white shell lip that was digging into him, I did end up filing it down slightly and he was more active after that! So hopefully that was okay to do as well.

Thanks again for caring about my little buddy

[flowersnail]

You're welcome!😊
I believe Felix's behaviour is ok as long as he doesn't retract deeply. I have a snail that does that too sometimes... I think it can be caused by oldness, especially if the snail was wild caught. When it happens I usually let him sleep a day and then I wake him up. If he retracts often during a long period of time I place a small bit of food beside him just to make sure he eats. As of now he's been healthy, so I'm pretty sure that if you keep him active like this he won't have any problems.