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Post by Paul on Jun 7, 2005 17:45:13 GMT
I'm sorry to hear that, it is a real shame I just hope mine pulls through, there seems to be an improvment but still no energy or appetite. paul
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Correne
Achatina immaculata
Posts: 208
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Post by Correne on Jun 7, 2005 18:12:19 GMT
Our commiserations, Sophie,
We are very sad to hear your news of the poor guy's demise. He was loved by all the children.
My one wish of this forum is that collectively we may progress enough to maybe save snails from premature death in the future. As Paul has said there are so many potential causes of sickness in snails. Together, we may be able to work out a checklist of options for when we notice any abnormal behaviour.
Meantime, lets all send positive energy, prayer and thoughts to our poorly friends: Paul's snail, Emma's snail and our snail, Dent (the pretty green L. fulica in my pics).
Love Correne
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Post by bookitten on Jun 7, 2005 18:44:16 GMT
yeah, busy was only like 6cm in shell length too. A real shame sophie
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Post by anjieburdett on Jun 8, 2005 13:33:22 GMT
Paul.......i was reading your earlier post and was wondering.........what are Hypoaspis predatory mites??
How is your little fella? Has he got a name?
Anjie,x.
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Val
Archachatina dimidiata
Posts: 2,498
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Post by Val on Jun 9, 2005 17:11:22 GMT
Paul, just a thought, I offered my baby GALS some jellied Heinz baby food today -( it's the broccoli & cauliflower one )I heat it up and mix powdered gelatine with it and let it set I then usually cut it into squares and feed it to my aquatic snails and also to my fish anyway the baby GALS really liked it!! I was wondering if your poorly snail might be able to eat this as it's soft.
Val
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Post by Paul on Jun 9, 2005 18:39:56 GMT
Anjie, Here's the link for more info about the Hypoaspis miles mites: petsnails.proboards3.com/index.cgi?board=pests&action=display&n=1&thread=4352Val, I may have to try the baby food idea though I have tried mashing up various fruit and veg. He does seem to be a little better, he passed a stool so that is something, he isn't retracting as far and his body looks more supple. Still not moving or eating much. Is there a reason you add the gelatine, does it help preserve the food? paul
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Post by anjieburdett on Jun 10, 2005 9:31:16 GMT
Doesn't gelatine contain lots of calcium? Isn't it made from animal bones or something?
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Val
Archachatina dimidiata
Posts: 2,498
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Post by Val on Jun 10, 2005 20:58:24 GMT
The reason I mix gelatine with it is because it 'contains' the food. How else could I feed liquid baby food to aquatic snails? Also tonight I mashed up cooked broccoli and mixed gelatine in and again when set it stops the broccoli floating all around the tank, just sinks to the bottom and gets eaten - I also give it to my silver dollars they love it!!
Val
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Arno
Archachatina puylaerti
Posts: 1,493
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Post by Arno on Jun 10, 2005 21:11:54 GMT
I give Broccoli to my Applesnails too,but just a whole piece,it sinks to the bottom and my snails have no problem eating it. What are silver dollars?btw
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Post by anjieburdett on Jun 11, 2005 14:18:42 GMT
Tropical fish m'honey.
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Post by Paul on Jun 11, 2005 15:23:45 GMT
Ah, I see, I was just wondering if there was a benefit of gelatine for landsnails. One of the problem with poorly snails is how to get them to eat. We need something irresistable even when they are ill. If they love gelatine itself perhaps medicinal/nutritious foods could be mixed with it to get them to eat it.
As for my poorly snail, I'm pleased to announce that he looks a lot better, he's eaten quite a bit more and he's munching cuttlefish so I'm hoping he'll make a full recovery. He isn't retracting as far as he was, in fact, it's fairly normal. He's still not very active but I suppose he's weak from lack of eating.
paul
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Val
Archachatina dimidiata
Posts: 2,498
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Post by Val on Jun 11, 2005 21:17:52 GMT
Great news Paul,,,,,,,,SO glad he has started eating. Have you tried mashed banana?
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Post by Paul on Jun 12, 2005 11:02:31 GMT
I have tried mashed banana, at the time he wasn't interested, or perhaps he was but couldn't eat it. He's still not moving much but food is disappearing.
paul
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Correne
Achatina immaculata
Posts: 208
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Post by Correne on Jun 14, 2005 8:42:31 GMT
Hi,
I am delighted to say that since I fed porridge oats to Dent she has not retracted. ;D Like your poor snail, Paul, she is still less active, and I agree with you that they are both in all probability weakened.
You said we need to find something irresistible - well certainly the oats work. Arthur literally pigs out and Dent goes a bit slower but they love it and will leave fruit and leaves for it. I can't say this will work for every snail as there are so many potential causes of sickness; mites, virus etc. But certainly, thankfully, the oats worked for Dent. I used Jordan's porridge oats. They are whole conservation grade oats. What I did this morning was soak them in slightly warm water.
Have e-mailed Jordan's for an oxalic acid content - I would hate to be posting bad advise. Will let you know what they say.
Correne
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Correne
Achatina immaculata
Posts: 208
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Post by Correne on Jun 14, 2005 16:19:43 GMT
Hi everyone, Am most relieved that the oats are safe! Have just received a reply from Jordans regarding the oxalic acid query. Here it is. Correne X Good Afternoon Correne,
Thank you for your email which I have to confess I had to pass on to our Technical Department as I did not know the answer. They have now come back with the reply below.
“We don’t know the oxalic acid content of oats.
However, I believe it must be low given that it is not on the list of foods containing a high level of oxalic acid. Also, oats are actually recommended to people suffering kidney stones (not sure if this is the same in snails though!) as a means of helping the condition by increasing fibre in diet (kidney stones can be as a result of oxalic acid binding calcium and preventing it from being absorbed, sometimes leading to kidney stone formation, so for someone with the condition they are recommended to avoid oxalic acid food sources).
So, I believe that our oats are perfectly ok for the snails!”
I hope this helps a little Correne even though we could not give you a specific measurement.
Best regards Rita Farmer, Consumer Care Team
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Post by Paul on Jun 14, 2005 17:09:30 GMT
Its funny, everyone reports great success with porridge oats, I tried it a number of times and mine won't touch it. I'll give it another go.
I bought some hamster food, you know the stuff with seeds and dried peas etc in it, like a cereal and veg mix. I ground it up and soaked it so I'll tell you how I get on. I thought it may be a good base for a snail mix.
paul
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Post by pheonixx on Jun 15, 2005 0:13:19 GMT
Just a couple of thoughts 1st Paul jelly is good for the nails and hair so I am thinking it will be good for shell building too...ours love it but it scared me seeing their long necks stuck in the pot I was worried they would never come out of it...I use the small tupperware pots off e bay...and Correne I am a diabetic as you know and my nurse has told me that porridge is the finest thing I could eat as its a complex carb with a slow energy release during the day..so if its good for us it will be good for them..Linda
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Correne
Achatina immaculata
Posts: 208
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Post by Correne on Jun 15, 2005 9:16:51 GMT
I only wish someone had suggested oats to me.
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Post by Paul on Jun 15, 2005 13:48:56 GMT
My snail seemed to be getting better, but unfortunately he's back to square one, deeply retracted again and not eating. I'll try oats to see if it works.
paul
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Correne
Achatina immaculata
Posts: 208
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Post by Correne on Jun 15, 2005 14:24:14 GMT
Paul, am sorry to hear the snail has become ill again. One thing about the oats, my margies aren't that interested but all of the others love it. You've nowt to loose trying the oats. Hope he gets well. Correne X
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Post by pheonixx on Jun 15, 2005 14:40:39 GMT
This is so true Paul and Correne...if all this is done and at the end of the day you loose him..you have pulled your guts out trying to save him then its his time I mean just look at Emmas snail survived a month out of water in the dark with no grub..and he was a water snail...fingers crossed Paul...Linda PS when we meet up we will bring some blood worm pellets and shrimp pellets for you to try on him..it just may do the trick all our snails love them{ land and water.}
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Post by Paul on Jun 29, 2005 4:25:26 GMT
Hi, Unfortunately, the ill snail died today I did everything I could think of, and it wasn't enough. I just have the other one to try and save now. What is weird is that both ill ones were fulica. None of my other snails have been affected (touch wood). It sounds like it was a genetic problem but Birte and Linda both have siblings and they seem to be doing fine. It is frustrating not knowing what the problem was. They both became ill at roughly the same time, about a week apart. I have been dreading the other snails in the same tank falling ill but this hasn't happened. Let's hope the other pulls through. I don't understand it, they were really active snails, with healthy appetites and they were growing fast. I haven't altered their care at all. Just goes to show, no matter what you do, some things are beyond understanding.
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Post by Paul on Jun 29, 2005 5:52:47 GMT
Here's a question for you.
If you have an ill snail and you separate it and it recovers, is that snail a risk to the others when it is put back in the tank? Meaning, the recovered snail has beaten the illness and is immune but the others aren't.
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Post by natrat84 on Jun 29, 2005 7:44:01 GMT
Aw no I', sorry to hear that. Fingers crossed for the other one
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Arno
Archachatina puylaerti
Posts: 1,493
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Post by Arno on Jun 29, 2005 16:08:56 GMT
I think if a snail is completely recovered it wouldn't be a danger to other snails.What I've been reading so far is that usually its only a single snail that gets ill,so far I haven't heard of a whole group of snails that got sick(and correct me if i'm wrong).If a snail would be immune to that illness after recovering i don't know,maybe more resistant. Sorry to hear about the snail that died.
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