Snails falling when I mist the tank?

[alexandra]

Forgive me if this is rudimentary but I've noticed that my garden snails that have chosen to stick to the wall are prone to coming unstuck and falling when I mist the tank. Sometimes this seems to be caused by bloating of the mantle, but usually it just seems that the 'glue' dissolves by the moisture (or something). It's caused a few minor injuries and now I've made a habit of pulling snails off of the wall and placing them on the substrate if 1) The snail is in the shell and 2) the glue feels weak (i.e. rubbing the shell causes it to come lose from the wall). Snails with a visible foot are secure and never fall when misted.

Since this has possibly claimed one snail of mine and minorly injured others I'm curious if it's universal.

[coyote]

I've had some of my garden snails lose their grip on the wall of the tank now and then, but I've never observed it happen when I misted. It may be just a coincidence.

I've read that snail slime is hygroscopic, meaning it absorbs moisture, so I don't think that the mist is dissolving the slime they're using to stick to the wall. If anything, it would make it become even slimier and stickier.

I'm so sorry about the damage incurred by your snails from falling. I've lost a couple of snails due to falling injuries. I hope yours will be okay.

[alexandra]

Thanks for the clarification. My snails are fine thankfully, only a few have superficial damage to shell, such as a dent or hairline crack on the dome. Most of them fall onto the substrate if they fall at all, or they hit the giant seashell I put in there for them to explore with insuficcient velocity to cause any real damage.

I may upload a video clip sometime to demonstrate what I suspect is my snails all falling off the wall after misting.

[lee2211]

That would certainly help to clarify the problem.
Unfortunately I only keep GALS and they stick like glue, I give up trying to get them off the side of the tank because once they're stuck they're stuck for good, lol.
At least it's not causing any worrying damage
Good luck