Shell is turning green! Help!

[Deleted]

My GALS Steve is about a year and a half old.
Quite a long time ago, he developed a shallow crack in his shell which didn't seem to cause him any problems, so I haven't worried about it. But I noticed today that the shell around the crack has turned pale green, as if the brown bands have had their colour leached out. The crack is still dark brown and the ends of his shell are normally coloured, and it's not any sort of coating.
He's behaving normally, eating well, but him and his friend have both laid eggs recently and Steve hasn't hibernated yet (it's early winter here - he hibernated last year).

I haven't seen anyone else with this problem. Any diagnosis?

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[coyote]

Hi fifthmagpie, welcome to the forum. It's a good sign he's eating well and acting normally. I haven't heard of this kind of shell problem before. I know that diet can influence shell coloration, but I'm sure there are other factors as well that I don't know about. I hope some other members here will chime in and help to shed some light on what might be going on with your snail.

[Deleted]

Thanks!
They do eat mainly cucumber and lettuce, so perhaps diet is having an influence.

[saki114]

Looks like a watermelon.. lol anyways, I dont actually KNOW what is going on, but im guessing a parasite, disease, genetics, or something like that. Good luck with your snail!!

[brunni]

WC fulica in West Africa usually have a greenish tinge to the layer of "skin" ( periostracum ) coating the shell. This "skin" is often worn off on the earlier whorls - exactly like Steve. So do not worry about color. What Steve has is some kind of break/crack/stress line near the growing edge which he is trying to repair and looks like he is coping well. Make sure he has enough calcium.