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Post by dagger on Nov 11, 2005 18:17:26 GMT
All my snails are very active, but i have 2 dimidiata's that have gone into hibernation, how do i bring them back, and what is the ideal temp to keep them from doing this. Currently it's around 18 degrees. Thanks
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Post by sezzy5889 on Nov 11, 2005 18:34:32 GMT
put them in a bowl of warm water, that should bring them out, them keep them at around 24 degrees
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Post by Ben snail on Nov 11, 2005 18:42:13 GMT
i break the slime seal thing carfully with my finger and they come out very quickly or i spray them with warm water
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Post by mandywith11 on Nov 12, 2005 9:20:04 GMT
had to do the warm water to all of mine last weekend cant afford heatmat so i put them on fish tank and so far all still awake
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Post by section8angel on Nov 12, 2005 10:28:30 GMT
Yes fish tank lids work well for warming them up. And hatching eggs lol. Mine hatched quicker on the fish tank than on the tv, yet the tv was on for longer Lol. Are you sure it's hibernation and not aestivation? I always confused hibernation and aestivation, turns out mine were aestivating as they were too dry. There's a link on it here. www.petsnails.co.uk/index.php?action=problems&type=sealed_in#startIt's just a thought seeing as you said all your others were fine. If it is hibernation, try getting the temp up a few degrees and see if that works. Most of the things I've read say between 20 and 24 is average, but they can deal with 18.
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Post by ian on Nov 12, 2005 15:58:01 GMT
Is hibernation a bad thing, would they experience an inactive period in the natural environment? I let my adult fulica hibernate last year as a little experiment (i also didnt have central heating) and they have grown more and produced loads more eggs than they did the year before!
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Post by sezzy5889 on Nov 12, 2005 16:44:10 GMT
yes it does increase the chances of reproduction, but there can be bad sides to it, if the snails are slightly under weight they may get weak and die through hibernation, also when they hibernate it slows their motabolism down which may mean that some parasites could take advantage of this and infect the snail, which can't fight it off. But like i said hibernation can result in the snail waking up and ready to mate as much as possible before the cooler weather comes again and like you said, sudden growth spurts :-)
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Post by dagger on Nov 12, 2005 17:01:04 GMT
I woke them up, by leaving them in a shallow dish with warm water, then near a warm lamp, and they came round within 10 mins, they seem to be hungry, as they ate quite a bit of lettuce, just ordered a heatmat, should get it next week, so hopefully this won't happen again. I know it isn't aestivation, as the substrate is fairly damp. So it must have been the temp lowering during the night.
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Post by section8angel on Nov 12, 2005 17:40:07 GMT
I know it isn't aestivation, as the substrate is fairly damp. That doesn't always mean a lot though. Some snails like it damper than others. I thought my substrate was fairly damp, but my snails decided (after a while of being in it) that it wasn't damp enough anymore. If they do it again before the heatmat arrives (or of course after it arrives and is on) then spray more.
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Leah
Archachatina puylaerti
Do you want me to sit in the corner and rust, or just fall apart where I'm standing?
Posts: 1,261
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Post by Leah on Nov 12, 2005 18:41:38 GMT
My Dimiata's been the same, I think they must be more sensitive to the cold as the Iradelei he loves with is fine.
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Post by snailywaily on Nov 17, 2005 15:01:43 GMT
One of my Fulica adults and 2 of my Blonde's have gone into hibernation in the last week - Ive brough them all out of it and they're active but why do they do this? Id moved them down to the kitchen which is the warmest room in the house a few days ago thinking this would solve the prob, but then the Blonde's went into hib. yesterday!
Mine are on damp compost and also have a dish of water. Should I spray them more?
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Post by sezzy5889 on Nov 17, 2005 15:04:22 GMT
do you have a heat mat?
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Post by dagger on Nov 17, 2005 15:46:04 GMT
heatmat arrived 2 days ago, all the snails (except 1 dimidiata) are really active. Dimidiata is always buried.
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Post by sezzy5889 on Nov 17, 2005 16:01:54 GMT
maybe he just needs to get used to it.
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Post by sezzy5889 on Nov 17, 2005 16:02:30 GMT
are you weighing him regularly, as long as he remains the same weight there is nothing to worry about.
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Post by dagger on Nov 17, 2005 16:50:12 GMT
I haven't weighed him, but he looks healthy enough, and when he feeds, he eats quite alot.
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apple
Archachatina degneri
Posts: 1,078
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Post by apple on Nov 17, 2005 17:06:05 GMT
I read a page about fulicas, that affirmed that fulicas have it´s origin in drier places than other Achatinas in general, so it´s necessary not to soak the substrat so much. I read there too, that achatinas in the wild spend a lot of time sleeping, and that increases their lifespan, the growth it´s slower but they didn´t mention their vulnerability to diseases... Fulicas are seen sometimes active with temperatures around 13 celsius, high humidty but they avoid too much cold and dry conditions... The others species of Achatina are more sensible to temperature variations, except those from less hot places like South Africa and other countries that are more distant from the Equator line...
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Post by sezzy5889 on Nov 17, 2005 17:42:01 GMT
were talking dimidiata here though not fulica
Corrected Latin name for search purposes - paul
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apple
Archachatina degneri
Posts: 1,078
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Post by apple on Nov 17, 2005 17:51:57 GMT
That´s not the point. Just some people here made relations from the fulica behaviour to dimidiatas and other Achatina behaviour. It´s impossible in some aspects to do that. I just tried to be usefull telling that. Btw Ian and Snailywaily, mentioned fulicas and not only dimidiatas.
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Post by ian on Nov 17, 2005 21:11:03 GMT
Considering how little is known about some achatinae species , its often necessary to draw comparisons with fulica. Its the species we know the most about because they have been studied more and personally its the species ive been keeping the longest. Its probably not acurate to talk about dimidiata care using fulica as an example but sometimes its the closest we can get to achieving the best care.
Also was wondering if anyone knew whether hibernation was natural in the wild? If so it could be unhealthy not to let snails hibernate, obviously only fully healthy adults should be allowed.
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apple
Archachatina degneri
Posts: 1,078
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Post by apple on Nov 17, 2005 21:22:33 GMT
Anyway you did well to compare with it, we are here, to learn. I guess that in places that get sometimes cold in the winter like highlands of tropical Africa and countries like South Africa they hibernate. Maybe Paul or Mike will answer you.
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Arno
Archachatina puylaerti
Posts: 1,493
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Post by Arno on Nov 17, 2005 21:24:42 GMT
It is natural in the wild for snails to aestivate or hibernate but in conditions which we should try to avoid:too dry or too cold.Having said that its not uncommon for snails to be less active for periods of time.
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Val
Archachatina dimidiata
Posts: 2,498
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Post by Val on Nov 17, 2005 22:26:05 GMT
This is an interesting topic though, people who keep tortoises presumably allow them to hibernate? If it is natural for an animal to do this perhaps it is something that should be considered, like a sort of resting time for the animal.
Val
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Post by section8angel on Nov 17, 2005 22:38:15 GMT
I don't think I would like to let mine hibernate as I would be too worried they hadn't eaten enough before doing so. I don't think it harms them not to do it though, they all seem to still live to good ages. Just about everything lives less time in captivity than in the wild so it can't really be said that they have a shorter life because of not hibernating. Does hibernating do anything anyway? As far as I know it makes them shut down and stops them from dieing in the cold. So if that's the case, then in theory they shouldn't get harmed from not doing it as they don't have to shut down (as we keep the temps right) and then wont lose weight or have anything else happen that can occur during hibernation. Blimey.. did I actually sound smart there?
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Post by Paul on Nov 18, 2005 0:36:26 GMT
I find some of my snails bury themselves for a few days at a time, are you sure it is hibernation? Hibernation is characterised by a solid, thick epiphragm with a small slit where the pneumostome is. Aestivation on the other hand is a thinner more mucus-like layer.
Some snails do aestivate and hibernate anyway, it is known that tigers in captivity often do, but the periods they do it for are pretty short, 4-6 weeks etc. Some snails spend a lot of time inactive but still growing.
I agree with Arno about hibernation/aestivation. Their abiliy to do it has allowed them to spread and survive weather temperatures in a lot of different places. Here, we have Helix apsersa that have to hibernate for quite a long period, but they have spread to warmer climbs and probably don't bother. They also aestivate for short periods when necessary, somewhere hot would probably mean they do this a lot more often. It is swings and roundabouts and while it may be true that British Helix apsersa are more cold-tolerant than their warm-European counterparts, ultimately the species as a whole does well in a range of climates.
If they had the chance to live in an always moist and warm place, I think it wouldn't be long before they simply don't bother anymore, because hibernation particularly is a dangerous necessity an animal has to endure.
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