Post by sdrake on Jul 16, 2017 0:02:29 GMT
SEEKING ADVICE ABOUT CARE FOR MY POSSIBLY-AILING SNAIL, MOLL LUSK
THE PROBLEM: About a week or ten days ago, Moll’s shell began to seem less shiny than before or than wild snail shells seem, and began to get rough [(as if possibly chipping a little). When rescued, about 4 months ago, Moll Lusk had a piece of her shell broken off. Probably someone had stepped on her. The damaged part grew back, but with a hump, but I think it closed up completely. It has begun to get dark striping like the rest of her shell. Recently, she seems less active, and part of her flesh below the foot with which she holds on to the glass side of the aquarium seems maybe discolored, grayish. I don’t think she’s eating as well as before, although she is still defecating. She may be holding more of her body out of the shell than before.
THE QUESTIONS: Why has her shell changed? Is the change cause for worry? What can I do so that her shell becomes shiny and smooth, as it was and as I think it should be?
Comparing her to other snails I’ve seen around here of her species (judging by stripe pattern), I think she was a young adult when I found her.
After I brought her home, she seemed to recover completely, and was energetic and active, curious about things, with her eyestalks out often, and she ate enthusiastically. She is now about half again the size she was when I found her.
OTHER INFORMATION THAT MIGHT HELP SOMEONE IN TELLING ME WHAT MAY BE GOING ON WITH MOLL:
TERRARIUM SET-UP
When I first found Moll, I took advice I found on this forum and kept her for 2 weeks in a closed plastic container with high humidity, and her shell began to grow back.
After 2 weeks I transferred her to a larger container and fed her on milk powder for calcium to strengthen her shell, which she ate in large quantities. A week or so later she moved to her permanent home, a glass-sided terrarium 15” long, 10” tall and 8” wide.
The top is plexiglass with six holes punched in it. About 6 weeks ago I began leaving the top partly open sometimes, covered with a screen, for some of the day.
Half of the glass floor is covered in about 1/8 inch of soil. The other half is glass.
She also has a ceramic tile on which I place her food, a jar-lid for drinking water, a pretty big smooth stone and a smaller one, and two small logs.
I put the logs in recently. The first time a cloud of gnat-like insects seemed to hatch from them. I cleaned the terrarium and we then put the logs in the microwave to kill any insect eggs. There have been no more insects.
I keep one corner of the terrarium covered with a cloth to make it seem like a cave; until recently she has liked to stay in that upper corner much of the time.
We live near San Francisco, California, USA and the house temperature outside her terrarium now in the summer is usually about 72 degrees Fahrenheit (about 22 degrees Celsius); inside, probably a few degrees warmer. The terrarium is moister than outside, but not so moist that water noticeably condenses on the walls.
Moll does not get any direct sunlight but is in dappled shade. She lives on a corner of my desk.
As suggested in this forum and by another snail keeper, I maintain the soil evenly slightly moist. The walls and floor are dry.
FOOD
Moll is offered:
Greens: butter lettuce and red-leaf lettuce, dandelion greens, and occasionally parsley, mint, and cauliflower greens.
She especially likes butter lettuce and dandelion greens. I have seen her eating red-leaf lettuce and mint, too. I am not sure about the parsley and cauliflower greens.
Fruit: Seedless green grapes, blackberries, blueberries
She especially likes green grapes. She eats blackberries and doesn’t seem fond of blueberries.
The only change in her diet recently is no more dandelion greens, as they do no grow here in the summer.
Calcium sources: She has a steady supply of crushed eggshell and milk powder. She seems to prefer the eggshell.
All her food is organic, including the dandelion greens which come only from our yard where no pesticides or other toxic substances have ever been used.
Her drinking water and the water I clean the terrarium, the stones and the feeding tile with is exposed to the air for several days before I use it to make it chlorine-free.
The soil also comes from this poison-free yard.
CLEANING
I keep the walls mostly clear of feces but not entirely, since I read that snails eat and re-digest it; so I circulate the deposits about once a week.
I have used only dechlorinated water to scrub out the terrarium, about once a week or as needed. At the same time, I scrub off the feeding tile and the stones. Every now and then, I put them outside in the sun to disinfect them. I use only dechlorinated water to clean them.
I have not changed the soil but have added some and stirred it up once.
I let the food decay slightly, since I read snails prefer it that way and that does seem to be when she chooses to eat it. But it’s never really rotted.
I keep the leafy food heaped up so she can shelter under it. She seems to like that and will go under and eat her way out.
If anyone can give me advice I’d really appreciate it. Moll has become a big part of my life and my husband’s home, and we want to keep her healthy and happy.
Sandra
THE PROBLEM: About a week or ten days ago, Moll’s shell began to seem less shiny than before or than wild snail shells seem, and began to get rough [(as if possibly chipping a little). When rescued, about 4 months ago, Moll Lusk had a piece of her shell broken off. Probably someone had stepped on her. The damaged part grew back, but with a hump, but I think it closed up completely. It has begun to get dark striping like the rest of her shell. Recently, she seems less active, and part of her flesh below the foot with which she holds on to the glass side of the aquarium seems maybe discolored, grayish. I don’t think she’s eating as well as before, although she is still defecating. She may be holding more of her body out of the shell than before.
THE QUESTIONS: Why has her shell changed? Is the change cause for worry? What can I do so that her shell becomes shiny and smooth, as it was and as I think it should be?
Comparing her to other snails I’ve seen around here of her species (judging by stripe pattern), I think she was a young adult when I found her.
After I brought her home, she seemed to recover completely, and was energetic and active, curious about things, with her eyestalks out often, and she ate enthusiastically. She is now about half again the size she was when I found her.
OTHER INFORMATION THAT MIGHT HELP SOMEONE IN TELLING ME WHAT MAY BE GOING ON WITH MOLL:
TERRARIUM SET-UP
When I first found Moll, I took advice I found on this forum and kept her for 2 weeks in a closed plastic container with high humidity, and her shell began to grow back.
After 2 weeks I transferred her to a larger container and fed her on milk powder for calcium to strengthen her shell, which she ate in large quantities. A week or so later she moved to her permanent home, a glass-sided terrarium 15” long, 10” tall and 8” wide.
The top is plexiglass with six holes punched in it. About 6 weeks ago I began leaving the top partly open sometimes, covered with a screen, for some of the day.
Half of the glass floor is covered in about 1/8 inch of soil. The other half is glass.
She also has a ceramic tile on which I place her food, a jar-lid for drinking water, a pretty big smooth stone and a smaller one, and two small logs.
I put the logs in recently. The first time a cloud of gnat-like insects seemed to hatch from them. I cleaned the terrarium and we then put the logs in the microwave to kill any insect eggs. There have been no more insects.
I keep one corner of the terrarium covered with a cloth to make it seem like a cave; until recently she has liked to stay in that upper corner much of the time.
We live near San Francisco, California, USA and the house temperature outside her terrarium now in the summer is usually about 72 degrees Fahrenheit (about 22 degrees Celsius); inside, probably a few degrees warmer. The terrarium is moister than outside, but not so moist that water noticeably condenses on the walls.
Moll does not get any direct sunlight but is in dappled shade. She lives on a corner of my desk.
As suggested in this forum and by another snail keeper, I maintain the soil evenly slightly moist. The walls and floor are dry.
FOOD
Moll is offered:
Greens: butter lettuce and red-leaf lettuce, dandelion greens, and occasionally parsley, mint, and cauliflower greens.
She especially likes butter lettuce and dandelion greens. I have seen her eating red-leaf lettuce and mint, too. I am not sure about the parsley and cauliflower greens.
Fruit: Seedless green grapes, blackberries, blueberries
She especially likes green grapes. She eats blackberries and doesn’t seem fond of blueberries.
The only change in her diet recently is no more dandelion greens, as they do no grow here in the summer.
Calcium sources: She has a steady supply of crushed eggshell and milk powder. She seems to prefer the eggshell.
All her food is organic, including the dandelion greens which come only from our yard where no pesticides or other toxic substances have ever been used.
Her drinking water and the water I clean the terrarium, the stones and the feeding tile with is exposed to the air for several days before I use it to make it chlorine-free.
The soil also comes from this poison-free yard.
CLEANING
I keep the walls mostly clear of feces but not entirely, since I read that snails eat and re-digest it; so I circulate the deposits about once a week.
I have used only dechlorinated water to scrub out the terrarium, about once a week or as needed. At the same time, I scrub off the feeding tile and the stones. Every now and then, I put them outside in the sun to disinfect them. I use only dechlorinated water to clean them.
I have not changed the soil but have added some and stirred it up once.
I let the food decay slightly, since I read snails prefer it that way and that does seem to be when she chooses to eat it. But it’s never really rotted.
I keep the leafy food heaped up so she can shelter under it. She seems to like that and will go under and eat her way out.
If anyone can give me advice I’d really appreciate it. Moll has become a big part of my life and my husband’s home, and we want to keep her healthy and happy.
Sandra
