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Post by Liguus on Feb 2, 2019 3:19:42 GMT
Feeling them other snails is a necessity, you can supplement their diet with squid and clam meat, but in the long run there must be a good supply of feeder snails for them to eat. Standard snail set up is fine, something humid but it doesn't have to be too warm (so no heat pad is required...can be used if desired).
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Post by Liguus on Jan 25, 2019 23:25:14 GMT
Could you possibly take a picture and upload it as an attachment? (Or to an image hosting website and post a link. We may be able to identify it. Another thing I wanted to ask is does the snail have cuttlebone? This is the easiest method for ensuring they have enough calcium and proper shell growth. If it's being a picky eater sometimes you can soak or blend food with a bit of beer to entice them (beer is a major attractant for snails).
They sometimes retract like that when not used to being handled. I would not worry about that too much.
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Post by Liguus on Jan 12, 2019 1:48:15 GMT
Helix aspersa is an old name for the snail, which is currently classified as Cornu aspersum. It is not part of the true Helix genus, and roman snails (H. pomatia) & gray garden snails (C. aspersum) will not interbreed.
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Post by Liguus on Jan 11, 2019 4:08:12 GMT
Yeah this is pretty rough. Coaxing it back in gently and covering the break would be the best option. Personally I have just superglued eggshells sometimes, but there is also that plaster method, and I've also seen people have success with cellophane tape + superglue. This damage may be irritating, but I don't think breaking off more of the shell off will help anything at this point.
If you are going to attempt a repair procedure it may also be useful to let him eat some oats soaked in beer/sit in some beer for a while to get drunk and therefore less sensitive. It will reduce the shock of trying to just cram him back in as he is now.
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Post by Liguus on Jan 3, 2019 18:02:55 GMT
When snails die they usually retract deep and they will decompose relatively quickly. Especially with a small snail I would not be surprised to find a mostly empty shell after only a few days. With fruit flies/maggots that process will be quicker.
I can't say anything for sure without seeing a photo of the other snail, maybe the Neohelix is a carnivorous Haplotrema? Obviously it's just guessing at this point, but sometimes even a Neohelix will scavenge and could have eaten the snail after it died.
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Post by Liguus on Dec 11, 2018 3:16:42 GMT
It's not aggravating your snail's mantle. I'm inclined to say that coconut substrate is fantastic, but if you are dead set on using soil just collect some and bake whatever you have at about 350*F for 20-25 mins (make sure it's moist so nothing burns).
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Post by Liguus on Nov 26, 2018 1:53:20 GMT
You are still breaking the law, it's illegal to be in possession of one anywhere in the USA. They do not just let people keep invasive species as pets in an area where the invasive species is a big problem, so you will never be able to get one legally. Also news reports were exaggerating the GALS problem in Miami, so I hope thats not where you want to find one since you won't have any luck. If you are going to Hawaii it would be more fruitful though as they seem more common there. The FL control efforts have worked pretty well.
As for the rat lungworm: it cannot complete it's life cycle with only a snail as a host so after a few months in captivity the snail will not have the parasites anymore. People also sell dewormer mixes that may help. There are a few US people who make dewormer mix if that site doesn't ship internationally.
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Post by Liguus on Nov 15, 2018 20:05:02 GMT
In general they eat every 3 days, however if you are keeping a lot of them in one terrarium it’s good to offer food everyday so that they don’t cannibalize each other. There isn’t much to do with feeder snails other than setting up a very large terrarium to sustain a larger population. Clam meat or squid also sometimes work as food items so you can have that in the freezer. I’m also looking in to feeding them live freshwater snails.
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Post by Liguus on Nov 15, 2018 20:00:04 GMT
It’s not an asian tramp snail
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Post by Liguus on Nov 11, 2018 0:23:49 GMT
May be a Monacha species
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Post by Liguus on Nov 10, 2018 0:25:40 GMT
There are no more legally available tree snails, and they are impossible to keep in captivity.
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Post by Liguus on Nov 7, 2018 21:40:29 GMT
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Post by Liguus on Nov 7, 2018 21:35:57 GMT
Plants are not required so it's up to you as to what you want to use. Generally low light plants like ferns are preferred unless you don't mind getting an LED growligqt for the top of the terrarium. Sometimes I leave sweet potato pieces in the soil and let them sprout into vines, another one of my favorite plants is ficus. There should be a list of "safe plants" somewhere on this forum.
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Post by Liguus on Nov 7, 2018 18:58:26 GMT
OK, if it has the white "door" over the shell the conditions may be too dry, or too cold, since this is what they do for longer periods of rest. Still it's nothing huge to worry about. My Helix pomatia sometimes still do this from time to time if though they are indoors and sprayed regularly. I just spray the terrarium a bit heavier so that the extra wet soil wakes them up and then they all go back to being active.
The thin layer of mucus is normal. Almost every snail does this when it's resting to help attach itself to whatever it is sleeping on and help prevent moisture loss (since they don't get rain every day in the wild and this is their natural instinct).
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Post by Liguus on Nov 7, 2018 13:16:27 GMT
Is it just sleeping on the terrarium walls with a thin layer of mucus around the edge of the opening, or is it actually making a solid white cover (operculum) over the shell opening?
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Post by Liguus on Nov 7, 2018 3:25:40 GMT
Looks like a Monacha sp. Possibly Monacha obstructa. It's care should not vary from the standard snail set up and diet, possibly just keep it a bit on the dried side.
What do you mean by it being in a hataching mode most of the time?
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Post by Liguus on Oct 27, 2018 0:18:21 GMT
Well, they didn't form an operculum did they? (solid white covering on the opening of the shell) Helix aways have that bit of dry mucus around the opening when they sleep on the sides of the glass, and will be asleep again the next day until they are sprayed once more.
The dog food should be fine. I just feed mine moistened oats and dog food once a week.
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Post by Liguus on Oct 26, 2018 0:35:30 GMT
67-72 F is not chilly for pomatia. They actually love to be cooler. I had an outdoor terrarium one year and they were still active and crawling around with ice forming on the top of the plastic bin. Warmer temperature will cause them to estivate. I definitely would never recommend a heat pad for H. pomatia.
They actually do much worse in prolonged hot weather without temperature drops at night. I have heard a lot of people in Florida have trouble with them for this reason.
What is more unusual to me is why they were in estivation already for 4-5 months? was this intentional or were they just not coming out when you were spraying them? Sometimes you just have to grab them off the sides and spray them directly if they are not detaching with regular terrarium spraying, or try to keep the terrarium at a more stable humidity with some plastic wrap on top.
The shell just flakes as they age, there is not much to do once it starts. Your snail is still getting regular protein meals correct?
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Post by Liguus on Oct 23, 2018 15:03:21 GMT
They are small but should be visible with the naked eye, especially since they run around very quickly. example: www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-cd7GG2mEMIMO it's most likely due to recent mating.
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Post by Liguus on Oct 22, 2018 23:38:49 GMT
In most cases they are just puffy after mating/while producing eggs. If not, it may be a reaction to parasitic mites. These can be observed by the breathing hole if they are present.
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Post by Liguus on Oct 22, 2018 23:29:02 GMT
Some people told me that maybe he was preparing for hibernation That person was completely wrong.
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Post by Liguus on Oct 17, 2018 3:31:11 GMT
That is not such a bad area for the shell to break and they can recover. It would be better to have kept the broken piece in place and secure it with tape though, they sort of can seal new shell material around it and have it back in place. If the shell piece is gone (in the garbage) you can still try to cover the broken area with plastic wrap to protect the mantle until new calcium is deposited. Sometimes I have seen people just keep snails that were stepped on in separated shallow humid containers with proper diet and the shell regrew without much owner input. Expect it to be very ugly and uneven if new shell material is deposited in the break area though.
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Post by Liguus on Oct 14, 2018 3:30:23 GMT
It is damaged skin/a scar. Neither the pneumostome (breathing hole) nor the genital pore ...(or anything else really) is located in this area.
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Post by Liguus on Oct 8, 2018 21:39:16 GMT
The shell is made from calcium + an outer periostracum layer which is made of proteins. Once that protein layer flakes away and the shells become dull there is not really any way to get the protein layer back. The oil will make it look shiny, and kind of "seal" the outer layer, but oil will not be useful for shell growth or repair in any sense though. It's just a temporary protective layer until it starts to wear off.
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Post by Liguus on Oct 8, 2018 15:13:00 GMT
No, Euglandina will not eat any worms. They eat exclusively mollusk tissue/flesh. You can sometimes get away with clam meat, freshwater snails, even squid pieces, but the preferred diet is live land snails/slugs.
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