Do snails need company?

[lesserblack]

I rehabilitated a baby snail with a broken shell, last autumn.  I was hoping to put him into the garden in the spring, but for a few reasons (ie my garden has no vegetation and my friend's garden has lots of birds) I decided to keep him safe with me, indoors. 

I thought he'd like some company, so I brought another snail in from the garden.  I thought he'd be really happy to see the newbie, but both acted as if the other wasn't there!  No 2 was so unhappy that it went into hibernation! (I think this might have been to do with the stuffy temperature in my flat).

I'm disappointed that I can't put my snail outside, and I notice he's not eating as often as he used to.  I wondered if he might be a bit low due to feeling lonely, and I thought bringing in a 'friend' again might perk him up a bit? 

I would really appreciate hearing if anyone has any thoughts or advice ..... the snails will have cool air from outside.   I don't want any baby snails (even tho they are cute), so I'll have to opt for the euthenising option, which I'm not looking forward to :-(

many thanks :-)

Ps I don't like opening my windows as I'm beside a main road, so I put Todo in a box in a plastic bag, and hang it out the window to keep cool during the day (He is in the tank during the night, next to an open window). 

To be very honest, although I'm fond of Todo, I would really like to find a new home for him, where he will probably be much happier (ie with other snails). If anyone reading this lives in the Edinburgh area and has room for another snail in their terrarium, I would love to hear from you :-)

[etana]

Glad to hear you were able to help a little snail with his shell.

Anyway, as far as I know, snails survive all right alone, but there are so many natural things they can only do together with other snails that I rather give them the chance. They generally seem more active with company, too.

Not all snails like everyone else though, even within the same species. It might be that the two snails weren't interested in each other because the young one isn't mature enough for adult snaily things yet. Then again sometimes they take a bit of time to get to "know" each other.

I hope things turn out well for you and little Todo.

[Zorst]

I've found snails do tend to get on better if they have a friend or two that they can hang out with, saying that they also like there own space but another snail being around seem's to help them thrive better.

Sail no2 may just have been going into hibernation anyway, I've had some wild caught one's that do that then wake up later and are fine about there new home, whilst others caught at the same time just stay awake and settle in real quickly.

Can you put your snails in the coolest part of your flat during the day as opposed to hanging them out of the window then have them beside the open window at night?

I don't use heat mats with the Native species of snails that I have and recently the temps n humidity here have been hotter than in Spain and they have all been fine. I live in Ireland but despite being very rural I can't leave my windows wide open due to the cat and having a long drop to the ground and birds sitting on the phone lines outside my window. My cats an avid hunter so would try n catch the birds by jumping up at them and then have a 30+ft drop as that side of the property has the ground slope away down the mountain, so my room as its in the roof does get hot and the windows are only just ajar.

I find if the tanks are kept in the coolest part of the room and misted daily then the snails seem happy n fine, so fine I've now loads of eggs n young snails. Thankfully I have a farm and can release the native species back into the hedges and stone walls so I don't have to cull these, I just let them grow a bit before releasing them in a safe place.

If I was to do so its just a case of freezing the eggs for 48 hrs as soon as there laid, n I check the tanks every 2 days for eggs. The GALS unless I want them to breed I just freeze the eggs. After 48 hrs in the freezer, I put them outside back in nature, they wont hatch and are dead but they are food for something else.

Hope that helps

Zorst

PS: What are you feeding the snails and do you have a Coir base in there tank? As this may help snail No2.

[todo]

Thanks for the speedy replies and helpful info :-)

I introduced snail no 2 in the spring (it was the same size as Todo), so I didn't expect it to go into hibernation at that time. I think it didn't like the lack of fresh / cool air in my flat.

The flat's only slightly cooler, beside the door (which I leave slightly ajar for some air from the stair). Last night I put Todo beside an open window, but I'm still getting car fumes in the evening and early morning – so this isn't really workable.

Thanks for the helpful suggestion about putting the baby snails outside; I hadn't thought of doing this.

I put no 2 back in the garden, so I only have Todo now. He used to eat some cucumber, spinach and lettuce (sometimes), also some mango!, but he's been refusing all these. He only ate a tiny bit of water soaked bread, a few days ago. I've been trying to get him to eat again ….. he's just not a 'happy bunny' any more.

I made a huge 'tank' for him, with a clothes horse made into a rectangular 'box' shape, covered in transparent plastic bags (with lots of ventilation), so I've been trying very hard to help him have a happy life. He has some spagnum moss, and I tried putting compost down, but he didn't seem to like this, or garden earth. I hadn't thought of putting coir on the base of his home.

I would still like to find him a home with someone who has other snails for company, so I'll post a thread about this.

Ps  I had to change my name because of problems with my account.

[todo]

The fantastic news is that Todo started eating again today!! I made him some porridge (oats and boiling water, cooled) and he made really quick work of them! It was a huge relief to see this spectacle; talk about wolfing! Maybe other snail owners can also try this 'miracle food', when their snails go into 'fasting mode'!

Last week I introduced another snail from the garden. They had a lengthy getting to know (heads together, and maybe more!) session, and no 2 seems happy so far. It has never tasted fruit or veg in its life, so it pounced on a blueberry and some cabbage.

I will look into buying a coir base, and hope it's in my price range!

Thanks :-)