Baby Snails doing great (problem solved)

[vallery]

Hi I really need some help. Yesterday my first ever batch of baby cepaeas hatch yesterday and even though they have everything they need in their baby tank they continue to crawl up the sides of the tank and onto the inside of the take cover and dry out. I keep brushing them back down but they keep going back up. I am very worried about their survival . As well I have 4 or 5 more batches of eggs about to hatch. This first batch there were about 200 Cepaea nemoralis 6 banded black lipped rose babies . Does anyone know why these babies are doing this and have any solutions. I would be extremely relieved to have this problem resolved. Thank You Vallery

Thanks to axoloa, coyote and foghog my babies are doing excellent.

[axoloa]

Hi Valery. personaly, i have never heard of such behaviour before but if this was happening to me, I would try downgrading the hatchlings enclosure to maybe just a small tub. I always hatch Capaea Nemoralis and Hortensis in little 'soft cheese' tubs. these are good because they have a clear plastic lid. If you do this and then treat them the same as Pleurodonte isabella hatchlings they always seem to do fine like this. most of my Capaea Nemoralis and Hortensis are left alone to breed in the greenhouse, but the small colony I have inside always seem to have a good breeding and hatch rate with this method hope this helps.

[vallery]

Hi axoloa,

I will try your suggestion out right away. I have just now had to brush all my little babies back down again. I noticed a few babies are still in the adult terrarium and not behaving that way at all. I was also told that the adults will eat the babies. There are so many different answers about the same topic it is difficult and ends up being trial and error. My baby tank is probably double the size of a little soft cheese tub. So I will try that tonight to see how they do. Thank You. Vallery

[foghog]

I think keeping new hatchlings by themselves in smaller habitats always makes more sense, but I have taken a small tupperware container with small air holes and placed it upside down over clutches, so they have their own little environment, without the hassle of any larger snails, which does present problems. it also helps hold in moisture, and allows you to feed them close to where they will be, as well as allow you to feed them more digestible food that the others won't eat. you only really need to do this for a few weeks at most though. until you can move them to a totally different habitat completely. but others do mix them, I'm just not one of them, and I believe it promotes better growth and health also.

[axoloa]

Hi Vallery, glad to be of help keep us posted how their doing wont you

[vallery]

Hi everyone,

I have had three great suggestions that I can actually incorporate all of them into one. Everey little bit helps. Thank you axoloa, coyote and foghog. Anymore suggestions would be appreciated. Two more of my snails layed egg deposits today which brings it up to 6 or 7 more batches, that I have witnessed that is. Thank you all so much and I will let you know how the little ones are doing. Thanks again. I'm on it right now. Vallery

[foghog]

your next question should maybe be, how long you should stick em in the fridge, cause you are about to have 500+ baby snails to deal with shortly, and that isn't a small amount unless you are going into heliculture. good luck. also make sure you put in extra calcium they will be looking for it as soon as they hatch and onward and need it.

[axoloa]

I have a surgestion that may or may not be of use to you If you have a greenhouse I would recommend putting your babies in their sometime during mid spring as a perminent arangement (I wouldent do this now because the suden change of temperature from home temperature to winter garden temperature would likely kill them). I have a small breeding culture indoors and a very large breeding culture in my greenhouse. These are just free to roam the greenhouse and eat whatever decomposing/decaying matter they can find (they wont touch your plants unless you grow leaf vegetables in their wich isnt realy something to grow in a greenhouse anyway). I have a few cuttle fish around the greenhouse to and do ocasionaly put a few slices of sweet potato and cucumber around for them to find this culture is far more reproductive than my indoor enclosure, though when doing this it does get quiet warm in the summer so make sure you keep ontop of your watering or they will most certainly dry out and die... Iv told you all this now, but this is when i probabaly get a reply saying that my advice is useless to you because you dont even have a greenhouse

[coyote]

It's a great idea for anyone else who reads this who does have a greenhouse, though.

[vallery]

Hi Foghog,

I hadn't planned on putting them in the fridge. coyote did speak to me quiet gentley about something I can do that Horrifies me but I own one oxychilius that feeds on other snails eggs and babies as well as vegtable matter, he eeds the protien an they eat eggs and babies of other species, so I feel terrible but I will put fresh eggs in for my oxy but not babies or developing eggs just fresh. As well I am going to get 2 terrariums and seperate the breeding age cepaeas. With the help of axoloa and you and coyote I have resolved the baby tank problem thank you. I will Type it all out in my next post for everyone. thanks again. Vallery

[vallery]

So here it is everyone. How the baby tank problem was resolved. I have already told coyote. I took axoloas suggestion of downgrading the size of the baby tank. I took foghorns idea but changed it a little about placing a tub upside down over the clutches in their habitat so they have their own little environment, more digestable food, then what coyote told me how coyotes snails would crawl up to the lid when the tank has been disturbed or rearranged.
So utilizing everything the three of you told me I made a new baby tank, smaller enclosure, completely clear container, with a removable bottom and removable top so I can remove and manage both areas. I took soil etc. and one small hosta from the tank the babies were born in (their natural habitat) for the bottom of the baby tank. Them I placed slightly moist powdered brown egg shells (they won't eat white) I powder the shells with a mortar and pestal and mash food and stuck it in the middle of the underneath of the top removable section of the baby tank. Within hours it was resolved. Some babies opted to go to the centre of the top removable area to the powdered egg shells and mashed food some went back down to the bottom removable section of the natural habitat materials in which they were born and some opted for the small hosta. It worked out great. Thank you all for your help I feel so much better. I hope we can all keep in touch. I will definitly give you all up-dates on the babies and the new terrariums when I seperate those babymakers. Thanks again. Vallery

[vallery]

Hi axoloa,

I don't have a green house but my kitchen is practically a green house. I have a huge south facing window, this is the only room plants will grow. When it becomes to dry in the kitchen, usually August I bring up the humidity by boiling pots of water on the stove for that season. I spritz them all daily to keep their leaves clean. Some pots have several types of plants growing together. Since I am running out of room I place smaller potted plants in large plant pots stacking them. My kitchen is practically a jungle, even outdoor plants and plants from other countries thrive in my kitchen. There are vines creeping everywhere. I am in Toronto Ontario and I had a mango tree growing in there that I had grown from a pit, it was beautiful, the cat knocked it over and it died within days, I believe of shock. I can grow avacodos and seedlings plants from outdoors, I bring all of my hostas is before winter and other plants, I have a few seedling trees on my deck a maple and an oak I leave these out and give them some protection from the elements. I have grown evergreens using seeds and a fairly long container with a heating pad underneath on low and once they had grow enough I sucessfully planted them outdoors (I am allergic to them and maple trees)The only thing is I am not sure of is how safe some of these plants are for the snails if they are toxic to them or not. Some of the plants I have I don't even know what they are and they are very odd looking. What do you think axoloa?

[foghog]

Dec 5, 2011 1:49:34 GMT vallery said:

Hi Foghog,

I hadn't planned on putting them in the fridge. coyote did speak to me quiet gentley about something I can do that Horrifies me but I own one oxychilius that feeds on other snails eggs and babies as well as vegtable matter, he eeds the protien an they eat eggs and babies of other species, so I feel terrible but I will put fresh eggs in for my oxy but not babies or developing eggs just fresh.

ah ok, gotcha...you know at the time I didn't even consider you feeding them to something else. duh...heh.

[axoloa]

lol. thats amazing. your kitchen sounds just like my bedroom used to be not anymore though, I thinned out on the plants to make more room for mollusca enclosures Capaea Nemoralis and Hortensis wont eat anything thats toxic to them. Its natural instinct with most snail species. This is how they survive in the wild although, Im not sure you would want snails free in the kitchen if this is what your asking me. Personaly id be worried incase one made its way into your kettle or behind ur oven or something, and id be a little worried of standing on one by accident if they start making their way down to the floor lol. im not sure this would go down very well with any guests at your home either lol. other than the risks I have just gave you, I dont see any other reasons that they wouldent be happy. They would certainly enjoy the freedom. If it was me making this desision though, unfortunatly id definitly say no because of the risks.

[vallery]

Thank You axoloa,

At times I might bring a couple out at a time and keep a sharp eye on them and let them roam in some of the plants then put them back into their terraium. I bet they would love that. I think what I could do is put a few plants on the kitchen table and let them roam around, that would be easier to keep an eye on them. People always say "snails how boring" but they are great. What type of snails do you have?
Thanks again. Vallery

[vallery]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks to coyote my little oxy blue has come out of hiding with coyote's suggestion of laying some leaves down, it took oxy blue no time at all to come down and go under the leaves. Such a relief. Babies are are doing great and now travelling up and down there tank, some seem to be alot bigger and a darker color than the others but they are all doing well.
Vallery

[foghog]

Coyotes often a smart cookie when it comes to snails thats for sure. it is nice to hear they are doing well, and you are enjoying them and them you. :-)