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Post by pinkunicorn on Feb 19, 2013 15:23:37 GMT
Haha, I should post a pic of the poop my deros make in a day... ok, there's about 100 of them so 100 piles of poop!
Love the tentacle photo.
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Post by pinkunicorn on Feb 19, 2013 14:48:39 GMT
They look very confused! Six still in eggs, staring at me with their googly eyes... the rest pile up for comfort. Attachments:
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Post by pinkunicorn on Feb 19, 2013 1:41:45 GMT
Thanks!
You can actually see the eyes of some unhatched one in the pic, staring through the egg. These guys' eyes are visible all the time, even when tentacles are pulled in. They are really cute. Weird though!
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Post by pinkunicorn on Feb 18, 2013 20:39:59 GMT
First ones have hatched. Attachments:
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Post by pinkunicorn on Feb 16, 2013 1:07:37 GMT
Heya and welcome to the forum and the slimy world!
H.aspersa seem to really like climbing as high as they can and sleeping attached to corners etc high places. Almost all of my aspersas of all ages do this. They come down to eat. Now that it's wintertime I usually encourage them to come and eat as they are a bit sleepy, yet not properly hibernating. I spray water on them and they wake up and start moving, and go eat. Your snailies sound normal in this regard, and if they eat well they are probably healthy.
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Post by pinkunicorn on Feb 15, 2013 15:02:03 GMT
That is adorable! Hope you had a nice day! We didn't do much else than watched a film, and I did feed my slimers some extra goodies!
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Post by pinkunicorn on Feb 15, 2013 14:35:32 GMT
I counted 50+ in the first batch and 40+ in the second. 40+ have developed in the first, hard to say yet of the second; they seem to be developing a bit slower than the first batch.
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Post by pinkunicorn on Feb 15, 2013 13:44:51 GMT
I also noticed that Leia's shell is a bit odd. She might in fact be only a bit bigger than Libby but due to the new whorl of the shell growing a little too far from where it's supposed to the shell ends up looking much longer and bigger. It looks like it was growing normally as a younger snail but the last 2,5-3 whorls are growing maybe 1cm too far apart. But it doesn't seem to have slowed her down, so I assume she's able to retract fully inside and function every bit like any other fulica. It's an interesting shell for a fuli for sure! I think I saw a pic of her before but I didn't notice it then.
But yeah, if you could measure them as well?
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Post by pinkunicorn on Feb 15, 2013 1:22:56 GMT
I wonder if there's yet more eggs coming... this is the fattest leatherleaf I've seen so far. They are supposed to have a wave shaped curve, flatter sides that raise up a teeny bit at the edges of the body and a little bump in the middle. Well, this sluggy is just bloated and shapeless. Very pregnant! Attachments:
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Post by pinkunicorn on Feb 14, 2013 22:18:41 GMT
Snug/semi-slug is the perfect category for everything that doesn't clearly fit under snail or slug. I think officially it means visible shell which may or may not be covered with mantle, but the animal cannot retract fully into it. Snugs come in so many forms... some have so tiny shells they can't fit in at all, some have mantle covering the shell and might be able to retract halfway and lots of other configurations!
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Post by pinkunicorn on Feb 14, 2013 17:36:45 GMT
That's a snug! (semi-slug). What a beauty. I've seen these guys in pictures and oh boy, would I want some! The beauty of a species evolving in action.
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Post by pinkunicorn on Feb 14, 2013 17:31:22 GMT
I'm also moving this to the identification archives!
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Post by pinkunicorn on Feb 14, 2013 15:39:20 GMT
If they didn't appear to get any negative reactions from the milk, no reason not to give them some if they like it! They might not get it in the wild but if they eat it with good appetite... why not? Or yoghurt, which has had the lactose broken down.
I forgot about this but now that I'm reminded I have to try some yoghurt on a few test subjects. I have some plain Greek yoghurt in the fridge...
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Post by pinkunicorn on Feb 14, 2013 15:24:51 GMT
I've been noticing this for a while now and it's just so funny: my baby aspersas and cepaeas sound like a bowl of rice crispies when I spray them! There's 100+ little guys and they all start coming out of their shells and rasp-cleaning their apertures at the same time... and all that noise sounds like a bowl of rice crispies after pouring milk on it. ;D
Snail sounds are so funny!
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Post by pinkunicorn on Feb 14, 2013 3:26:11 GMT
Chromodoris reticulata nudibranchs apparently have, ahem, disposable penises. They use them once, then discard them after mating. And then they grow new ones and mate again... and discard the penis. Grow a new one. Mate. Discard penis ad infinitum. It regenerates in 24 hours so hypothetically they could do this every day for the entire length of their mature lives! Just imagine all those discarded slug penises somewhere in the bottom of the sea. bbc.in/VTixcY
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Post by pinkunicorn on Feb 10, 2013 18:44:48 GMT
Well certain slugs use their penises as weapons before mating. Perhaps it's based on this observation?
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Post by pinkunicorn on Feb 9, 2013 20:46:48 GMT
Spirulina is a good source of protein yeah, especially for snails. Humans need to eat quite a bit of it to get protein benefit but snails do with less.
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Post by pinkunicorn on Feb 9, 2013 11:05:38 GMT
Hmm, looks like it's simply calcium carbonate in the crystal form of aragonite, which is formed thanks to a protein the animal produces. I've suspected extra protein alongside other food might help shell formation, as it ensures the snail can use all the protein it eats into rebuilding its body instead of wasting it as an energy nutritient. Thus having more resources for building stronger shell. Dunno what amino acids this shell-forming protein is made up of, but a good protein food with all the essential amino acids should be enough. Fish flakes
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Post by pinkunicorn on Feb 9, 2013 10:26:05 GMT
What do you mean with the flaking not improving? You mean the white reappears once the shell dries (like flaky skin) or is there bigger chips coming off?
The oiling helps with the cosmetic side and I think in the long term it makes the shell more "flexible" (not the right word for something hard and slightly bending but not breaking...) by being absorbed into it, but bigger breaks can only be fixed from inside by the snail itself, with enough calcium (and probably other minerals like silicon; I will task myself to figuring out the exact chemical composition of shells on average) in the diet.
I was wondering, btw, has anyone tried beeswax on shells? It is very difficult to apply as you probably need to do it warm and must not burn the curious snail wondering WTF are you doing to her home, sticking her head into it. But it might, once dried and polished, offer a longer lasting protection than oils. And it's nontoxic like oils are so nibbling won't be a problem.
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Post by pinkunicorn on Feb 8, 2013 23:46:21 GMT
I love that name! She reminds me of Garfield when he was smaller. Same pattern. She's a beauty.
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Post by pinkunicorn on Feb 8, 2013 19:15:51 GMT
Another. Attachments:
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Post by pinkunicorn on Feb 8, 2013 19:14:48 GMT
I tried to get some pics under the microscope but I actually get better pics with my cellphone camera! The light coming from underside gives a too washed out image. Attachments:
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Post by pinkunicorn on Feb 8, 2013 16:11:53 GMT
Reptile fogger sounds interesting.
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Post by pinkunicorn on Feb 8, 2013 8:52:55 GMT
I just realised what is it about the L.cinereoniger babes that makes them look so funny compared to the almost-same looking dero babes: the tentacles. These guys have HUUUUUUUUGE tentacles, a bit out of proportion to the rest of the body. The eyetips especially, in the very first pics I took, they are so big it's silly. But oh! So cute.
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Post by pinkunicorn on Feb 8, 2013 8:39:49 GMT
Yeah, that could very well be the case if there's no reason to think it's due to external factors. Perhaps keep oiling it to keep it from getting too dry and brittle, and give the resident inside some granny care. I don't know if he likes fish food (my cepaeas don't) but I've found it to be an excellent food for an elderly sluggy at least. It has kept Ruby the Arion alive for several extra months, which I think is really impressive considering these Arions don't hibernate but die late in the autumn and have about a year's lifespan max. Ruby is still kicking (sliming?), though he sleeps most of the time of course. I wonder if snails dream, and what are their dreams alike. They do have a little brain and it probably has activity during rest just like all other animals' brains. Since they can't see might they dream with smells?
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