Now I understand why my snail has been so scared

[etana]

As some of you might know I recently acquired an adorable little Tiger snail baby, Gaius.

In November I got my first Tiger snail, Ewert, from the same seller (who is an employee in a local pet store). Ewert had lived in her care for several months.

Gaius is a fantastic little Tiger, very friendly and curious, hardly scared of anything, so playful with his bigger tankmates it's endearing. The seller merely ordered him for me from her snail source and I picked him up the same day she got him, but there were a few conversations about him regarding what I thought was fatal shell/mantle damage (but turns out it was a slightly odd growth that's probably not harmful at all). 

Well, Ewert on the other hand was very scared of everything at first. He took ages to come out of his shell the first time when I took him home with me in early Nov. He wouldn't stick to my hand at all, ever, until January, he'd just sort of sit there and if I tilted my hand, he'd pull his eyes in and slide around. He would dig as deep tunnels as possible and not come out till the lights were out, and when the lights came on in the morning, he was back in a burrow in a heartbeat.

Weeks of focusing on being very calm when I handle him and trying to create positive experiences when I'm around (with good food and gentle baths) has helped him come out of his shell, literally and figuratively. It also seems he also has an admirer in Tauno the Rodatzi, who kisses him all over when they meet but Ewert doesn't return the kisses. Anyway, he carefully sticks to my hand now (still not as tightly as the others, but he doesn't slide around anymore), isn't so rushed to burrow when the lights come on, and sometimes awakens to snail around well before it's dark in the room. Yesterday he actually spent hours in full view despite the lights being on, just moving from one bath tub to another and back again, lol (I installed two baths in my new GALS tank so more snails could bathe at the same time). He also doesn't dig down to the bottom of the tank anymore, he only digs just enough to have his head under the soil.

Okay, my point being: the conversations with the seller made me understand why he was that way at first.

She was saying how her own pet Tiger snail shoots into his shell the second she walks into the room and was saying "Tiger snails are totally that way, (Gaius) is so different". All right, later we were talking about what I thought was Gaius' shell/mantle problem. I said how he was sticking to a wall so it was hard to take a good picture, and she said, "Yeah in this case you can't really tug at his shell to pull him off the wall". 



Is there a situation in which you can tug at a snail's shell to pull him off a wall? NO! Damnit! I only connected the dots when the conversation was over. 

Her own snail is terrified of her. Ewert was terrified of me at first too. Not sticking to my hand? Well, he must have learned that sticking to a human hand means pain soon, so it's better to not stick even though sliding is scary too. 

I feel so bad for the snails who come in contact with her and stay for longer than a moment. She should be told not to pull snails by their shells off surfaces they're sticking to, but I don't know how. 

If you have any ideas, do let me know. I'll continue training Ewert that nothing's going to hurt him here, hope that one day he won't be scared at all anymore (and dares to return some kisses to Tauno, too), and I'm glad to have this off my chest. 

[mangoandlemon]

Poor snails! To get my snails off the wall I let them slime onto my hand. You could tell her " I discovered that snails are less timid if you handle them like this! Maybe it hurts them to be pulled off a wall." It's not exact truth but it might not offend her as much as saying " it's bad for snails to be pulled off walls! That must be why their so scared of you!" That way she might stop handling them badly and she won't be offended. Good luck with her!

[Cashell]

Pulling a GAL off a surface by the shell? Ouch! When dealing with large or really sticky species of slugs/snails I've read that you're supposed to gently slide your finger underneath them in order to raise their foot and move them to another area.

[etana]

Yes, Mangoandlemon & Cashell. I too either let my snails slime onto my hand by themselves, or if there's no time for that and I really have to get them off a surface, it's always with at least one finger slid under them.

Thanks for the idea Mango! Yeah it's probably best to soften the message a little bit.

[mangoandlemon]

Most definitely! I learned the hard way!

[etana]

I realised one more thing. My new GALS tank is similar to the one that Ewert lived in before I got him. It has the same locking doors, or more importantly, the same click of unlocking them. He always pulls his eyes in when I unlock. Of course he does, in the previous life it meant he'd be hurt soon. 

So this means that if I unlock them when he's awake, I must throw a bite of something good in front of him right away. Sigh. I already started doing this last night.

A good thing I've done dog training. This is surprisingly similar. Poor snail, though. 

[Selena]

I'm afraid many people pick up snails on their shells, they just don't know its bad because you often pick up a garden snail on that way.
This lady sales snails to people and she might spread the wrong pick up information to other people. why you don't know how to say it to her?
Just say it to the point is the best option (because if she even don;t understand how to pick up snails, she might not understand if you say it nuanced. Maybe she think its an option) I should say: its very harmfull and painfull to pick up a snail that way and you bring damage to his mantel, how is it possible you didn't know this? Tigersnails aren't regulary scared as your snail, its because of you handle him!! Explain to her the anatomy of the snail and how the mantel works to show her why its so painfull and harmfull to pick up a snail like that.


Last time i told the reptile store very to the point they have to wash vegetables before feed to the snails and that its very likely the cause of the illness my snails had suffered from. Because they are full of pesticides particular to kill snails!

People may offended if you give them feedback and may not like you anymore, but that is their problem isn't it?

[Zorst]

Poor snails, you could always come across to her that you just found out about how to move snails and remove them from things say on here or the internet and take a copy of the info in to her saying did you know this interesting bit of info I found out?

That way it doesn't seem like your getting at her personally just sharing some interesting info.

I'm sure some info can be found on here regarding snail care n handling if not I'm sure something could be written up. Just a thought but i may well save putting her on the defensive and help out the snails in her care.

Zorst

[sparrow]

Tell her the truth straight and to the point. Period. No sugar coating. She's hurting a little tiny creature and you're worried about hurting her feelings? Would you hesitate in telling someone you can't pick a cat up by their tail?

[etana]

Thanks very much for the further comments, everyone. I do have to tell her somehow, because indeed, she could be spreading the word that it's okay to do that. I can't be the only person who has heard her say it's "normal" that a snail freaks out when you're near, either. If nothing stops her, more snails will be hurt and living unhappy lives frightened of their owners.

Mangoandlemon, what makes this situation easier for me is that this snail seller isn't really my friend, I'm only her customer and we've only ever talked about pets. I see where you're coming from now though.

I'll see what I can do. Printing out some facts to support the claim that she's hurting the snails sounds like a good idea.

[mangoandlemon]

Yes that was just a thought.

[etana]

Mango, I appreciate it, I was asking for any thoughts and ideas

[mangoandlemon]

I think I'm going to delete my post as it didn't sound as I had hoped and I don't want people to take it the wrong way.

[etana]

I read the pet store's website and found a snail care PDF that didn't say a word about handling snails, so I wrote them a feedback message regarding that PDF. In it I mentioned very firmly that snails that are stuck to a surface can never be pulled off of it by the shell alone, and especially kids who own snails need to know that. I did also mention the conversations in which the employee suggested it was okay and that it's "normal" for a snail to be scared, and I said that it's not normal, a snail isn't supposed to just hide all the time.

So my letter was firm but I didn't have to put the woman into an awkward social situation. I left my name and email there so maybe she'll get back to me. If not, I'll call them and ask if they got the message.

[Zorst]

Good idea, hopefully it'll all get sorted out for all the future snails,

Zorst

[etana]

Ooh! I already got a reply from her superior. It looks very good, and I'm glad I did this.

[mangoandlemon]

Great!