Am I a crap mum? :(

[FluffyTheSnail]

The picture is of my 2 young albinos on there first day with me! As you can see they are both out of the shell and enjoying a little bath..

I have had them nearly 2 weeks now and at first they both came out and had a good look around. I get them out every day but for the past 5 days or so they havent been coming out. Fluffy (the larger one) never ever ever comes out, only once in his tank or when fresh food is around. Brain is the braver one.. he will come out and have a look around but only after about 20 mins of being out..

As far as I know I am doing everything by the book.. Damp enviroment, fresh food and cuttlefish, clean home in huge tank, no chemicals and gentle handling..

How can I persuade them to come out and will they ever become more confident? Am I doing something wrong? Are they unhappy?

Any tips and/or advice would be great!!

And if anyone can identify the specie that would also be great!

Attachments:

[Katie]

Don't worry, my Snail is constantly going through fazes of spending all day snoozing in the corner, and occasionally i can't even entice him out with food. Snails are usually more active during the night, so they're probably just wondering around whilst your sleeping. Try getting up during the middle of the night and having a look, thats what I normally do if i get worried.

Or, you could try getting them to come out with a nice warm shower or bath? This works a treat

I'm afraid i can't help you in identifying them though

[FluffyTheSnail]

I give them a bath when I really want them out but it doesnt work, well at least not for ages! I gave them one about 30 mins ago and Brian came out first like normal and finally Fluffy has just decided to show his face. Just worried that they hate me! Do you think they will get used to handling and things?

[FluffyTheSnail]

Picked them up and now they are hiding again wild snails aint even this shy!

[Katie]

Oh yeh, they'll get used to it, i should think. Irony would bubble when i picked him up after i first got him, but now, he'll happily let me handle him

Maybe there just very tired?
As long as the conditions are fine, and all that, then they should be fine (:

I'd do a quick check for mites too, just to be on the safe side. I'v found that snails are incredibly unactive whilst they've got mites, but then, that might just be me :/

Katie x

[FluffyTheSnail]

I think I'm doing everything right. Fluffy has grown loads but I don't think Brian has yet..

I have seen a couple of tiny white mites on them occasionally when I picked them up and I squished them. Haven't seen any recently and I have never seen any running around on them.

I spoke to a reptile specialist and he said a few mites can be good coz they clean the snails.. I don't know what to believe though as these are my first

[Katie]

It depends which type of mites you get, if they are the small, white ones that croud on the shells, then these are the pest ones, and these are the ones that'll cause major problems with your snailies. I'd advise you to wash your snails, and their tanks, if you find these ones. They're like .. vampire mites lool? and'll irritate the snails.

But then, you can get some good mites, that will help clean the tanks. Springtails i think they're called?

Katie x

[FluffyTheSnail]

Yeah I've only seen little white ones. I think about 5 in total now but not all in one go! I havent seen any for about 4 days now but I'll keep a close eye. Thanks for all your advise.

Brian and Fluffy are now both awake and taking it in turns to ride on each others shells

[Katie]

Ooh, thats good then

[crossless]

I have noticed that if peat don't dry little between moisturing again I get mites in snail tanks.

[coyote]

Exactly how clean is the tank? Snails need to re-ingest some of their poop because they excrete beneficial gut bacteria which they require to stay healthy. Keeping their tank spotlessly clean can actually kill them after a few weeks. Leave a little bit of the poop behind for them to re-ingest. A slightly dirty tank is actually ideal for snails.

Also, is it possible they are just being more active nocturnally when no one is around to observe them? Do you see evidence that they have been up and about at night? Nibbled food, tank contents moved slightly, new poop, etc.?

[lee2211]

Are they heated?

Get a hot water bottle, fill it with boiling water, and sit it up against the side of their tank a couple of hours before you go to bed! Works a treat for me.
With the warm baths, hold them tight under a running tap of warm water, no matter how long it takes they will come out if you keep holding them. Or get a jug og boiling water and hold them in the steam.

[lee2211]

Jun 19, 2010 20:41:20 GMT FluffyTheSnail said:

Yeah I've only seen little white ones. I think about 5 in total now but not all in one go! I havent seen any for about 4 days now but I'll keep a close eye. Thanks for all your advise.

Brian and Fluffy are now both awake and taking it in turns to ride on each others shells

OK about these mites.

These are not harmful. Only little extremely fast moving, off-white/tan coloured ones are harmful. You'll see them on the skin of your snail and walking in and out of the breathing hole. The ones you have sound like springtails, they're excellent, they eat poo and gone of food so you don't have to clean out as often!

And as coyote said, keep them dirty!
I spot clean about once a fortnight, I remove some poo, and wipe down the sides and the lid with warm water. I rinse of the decor and plop it back in, job done!
I never completely clean out my tank.

Oh and no, you're not a crap mum. All good mums assume they're crap because they're soo worried about their babies!
You=V. good mummy!

[FluffyTheSnail]

Coyote - I have only had them about 10 days and dont feel their tank is dirty so I haven't cleaned them out yet. As far as dirt and things go I have a bit of smeared poo on the lid and I have a very large tank for the size of my snails (want them to feel as free as possible) so they don't make much mess at all..

I keep the tank quite moist, as soon as it drys out I'm like 'Oh no they must hate it!' and spray it until it looks damp again.

They go through phases of eating a lot. Sometimes I they only nibble on things and other times it all gone by the next day!

I think they are quite active at night, I often wake up to find Fluffy going up the glass side. Brian tends to eat them sleep under his food, lazzyyy!

My tank is normally between 20 - 23 degrees, is that ok? I have no heating or anything on them

Lee2211 - Thank you for the advise about the mites. I have never seen anything on their bodies and I haven't seen any mites on their shells for about 5 days now.

My tank is 24" - 12" - 12" and my nails are about the size of... well when you put ur thumb and forefinger together to make a circle, no bigger then that. It's been nearly 2 weeks since I had them and they aren't dirty. How often do you think I should clean them?

[crossless]

I keep my peat so moist that when you take some in your hand and squeeze and open hand substrate stays in shape in some kind of lump looking thing. While squeeze it little water can come out but not too much put if you have some species that needs really high humidity it's wise to them add more water to it than just what I usually do, so you don't need then too often moisture soil.

I usually after week or two weeks moist peat, when it starts to dry from top.

[lee2211]

I don't give mine a full clean out ever.
I scoop up poo and wipe down the sides and the lid every fortnight.

Sounds like you're doing everything right, they seem happy enough at that temp so I wouldn't fiddle around with it too much. I put a thick wooly blanket over mine during the day and night to help keep the heat in, plus they like it when it's not as light.

[coyote]

Snails tend not to eat the same amount every day. When mine are not estivating, their pattern seems to be eat a lot one day, eat a little the next and eat nothing the following day, and then it starts all over again. So I don't stress over them not eating for a day or two.