breeding and parasites?

[freedomchaser24]

does anyone know how many generations it would take of breeding a wild caught snail until they were sterile? i would assume you would have to remove the eggs from the parents enclosure to stop any cross contamination going on. though im not sure if parasites are passed on through snail to snail or parent to egg. i ask this because i have 2 dogs and im worried about lungworm ect...also because im curious.

[Bumblebee]

What I have heard, if you do remove eggs from wild caught snails as soon as you see them, the hatchlings will be free of possible parasites. I'm not sure tho...

And you dont really have to be worried about your dogs getting lugnworms, unless you let them lick on the snails or pat them before washing your hands and so. I dont want to scare you or anything now, but the one that is in the biggest zone of getting sick between your two dogs and you, is actually you, since your the one that is in contact with the snails, but as long as you wash your hands thorougly, its nothing to be worried about

[freedomchaser24]

thanks i thought that might be the case. at least i'd be cheaper if i got sick though cause vet bills are so expensive lol. im very careful with my snails but you cant beat peace of mind x

[coyote]

I agree that you can't beat peace of mind. It's best to be safe than sorry.

[ness]

Agreed. There is alot of fear around with the rat lung-worm. In dogs and cats it can cause paralysis, in humans anything from nothing to a (usually milder) form of meningitis to death. Some folk are lucky, some are not.
However I have never heard of anyone falling ill from lungworm infection by keeping wild-caught snails known to be at risk of carrying the lung-worm. It really does appear to be a case of catching the parasite through eating under-cooked snails, and actually there are cases of this same parasite being caught from eating undercooked lizards too, though this appears to be much rarer.
The rat lungworm spends only part of it's life cycle in a snail and requires a mammal host to complete it to the egg-laying stage. This should be rodents ideally (from thre parasite's point of view) and it doesn't appear to have adverse effects on rats, but in other mammals the parasite can lodge in places it shouldn't be at, such as the brain or spinal collumn. There it generally dies but there will often be a cyst formed around it, and it would seem that the cycst is what causes the problems.
I suspect that given enough time the parasite will die within the snail if a mammal doesn't eat it. I have tried to find out from parasitologists if this is the case and if so how long it takes, but I never received an answer (apart from 'try the food standards agency').
It seems very doubtful that the parasite could be carried within the snail eggs, and it is likely that it wouldn't survive for many weeks if it was, but I really do not know for definite as like I say I never received the information from the experts, so caution is best.
As long as you wash your hands after handling them and make sure your dogs can't get into the snail tank then there really shouldn't be a problem at all.
I also assume that if you keep your dogs up to date with their worming meds things should be fine anyhow but I should ask your vet about that to be sure. Your dog is more likely to contract the parasite by eating a snail whilst outside, either by accident while chewing on grass, or on purpose out of curiosity, than contracting it from your captive-hatched snails.