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Post by katsbabies on Jan 28, 2006 16:27:31 GMT
:-[I've only had my two snails for about a year so im not sure if this is normal or if this is a problem. Over autumn &winter by babies have become less active, i assumed this was due to Weather and winter etc. On occasions one will come out of his shell and have a wander. There isnt any sort of covering underneath the shell to indicate them hibernating. Im a bad owner though, my snails live in an old fish tank next to the cooker. BEFORE YOU THINK IM BOILING THEM , my mother (im sixteen)moves them away when she cooks usually or uses the other side of the cooker (its a large 6 or 8ring cooker i think) Thing is there isnt anywhere to keep them . Beforehand I kept them in my living room on a cabinet but it was the same side as the window so there wasnt enough light or heat getting to them. The second place they were above my Television but there was a large lamp above them and i was worried they had too much light plus the additional problem of then changing soil and all that was awkward. They were then moved to the floor but that had the problem of my baby cousin trying to open the tank and it was freezing. During all of the moving they were mostly unactive, moving for about half an hour then sleeping for 3 days or more. Both are adults i think and over 10cms (im baad with measurements ignore it) I'v had them since they were only a couple of centremetres and they were more active before generally snailing around for a couple of hours and eating but they don't each much now , in 2 weeks i think they'v only eaten four slices of cucumber and a little bit of lettuce but plenty of cuttlefisjh. The one gets out of his shell by himself on rare occasions whilst you have to wake the other up but he looks a little small for his body (not too much though) . When they bury themselves and don't come out for a few days i check them and they seem to be a little way into their shells (not that much) but about 4cm into their shells. Should i be worried? Should i have another argument with my mother about them to get her to move them when theres no-where i can put them?, should i use my grandfather's heatmat which used to be used on an iguana?, should i get even more pots and stuff to put in there? or should i just leave them because they might just b sleepin. another point is they'r shells seem a little , i dont know, old?, sort of white lines in occasional places(not colouring , due to quality of shell and that). Please don't tell me im a bad owner , i love them to bits. I think they are the most common african land snails btw, brown in colour.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2006 16:34:34 GMT
I think you should move them out of the kitchen, its not really a very hygeinic place to put them. how about on the floor in your room or something? yes i think you should use ur grandad's heatmat, it will make them more active
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Post by felix93 on Jan 28, 2006 16:56:29 GMT
Did you mean 4 mm into their shells or really 4 cm into their shells. It is a lot if it is 4cm.
I am not the best to answer the questions, but I agree try to use the heatmat to keep the tank warm, put that outside the tank and only cover half of the tank, so your snails can escape from the heat is they are too hot. Have you tried to spray them with some water, may be once day if neccessary? I find if I give my snails a warm bath, they are usually pretty active for hours and they will eat pretty much some of the food I put down for them.
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Post by Paul on Jan 28, 2006 18:10:09 GMT
Hi,
It sounds like your snails are losing weight through lack of eating, that's probably why they look a little far back in their shells. You need to keep them in a room that is centrally heated, and if the heating goes off at night then you definitely need a heat mat. You need to try and aim for steady conditions. If it is cold on the floor, insulate the tank by putting something like plastic or a piece of wood underneath.
If the place above the TV set is more convenient except for the lamp, you can always cover the top of the tank while the light is on, but to be honest as long as they get periods of light and dark, I don't think the light would be a problem, except that they will probably wait until it's off to come alive.
To try and sort them out now, give them a luke-warm bath, you can also use your hands to warm them up. Then feed them something like porridge if you have it, or their favourite food. Porridge is great because it will give them a hearty meal. You can give them baths whenever you need to, to keep them more active or at least before you feed them.
So to sum up, I would say you definitely have to sort the heat issue out. Unless your house is generally cold, room temperature should be ok, next to a radiator perhaps? And plenty of moisture. Spring isn't far off now so summer will be much better and you can sort out the problem more permanently for next winter.
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Post by sonicsnail on Jan 28, 2006 18:20:14 GMT
I agree with all that has been said above. Put the heat mat on the side of the tank and not on the underneath. Sometimes snails do eat more cuttlefish than food. However, to the extent that you described there does seem to be a problem. I certainly agree that there is a heat problem. More heat will mean that they are more active and then they will eat more. They should be back to normal then...
I personally would give them a few thinks like plastic plant pot to hide in and other things, fake plants for example. At the moment that is not necessary, the main thing is getting them back to normal.
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Post by katsbabies on Jan 28, 2006 18:30:23 GMT
Thank you for all your comments and suggestions, i think i slightly ovvereacted. Anyway , im taking your advice and tonight im going to suggest moving them away from the kitchen to my mother and in the morning ask for my grandads heat mat. I won't be able to put them on the floor where they were previously if i am to use the heatmat because there are already 5 plugs to feed the fish tank in the same area of the room. Really im going to take your suggestions to heart and find somewhere better for them. About an hour ago i brought my babies out , sprayed them with warmish water , the one came out its shell really slowly. And i brought them upstairs in a little plastic box (no lid) with some lettuce and cucumber.After a few more squirts of the water and that they both became more active and interested in each other. Is it normal for one snail to put its head/eye stalks in the other's shell? ,i distracted the one from doing that and i just took them back downstairs and put them back in their tank , inside the container (still no lid) and they seem happy enough, i hope its going to last. . =) Jordan and charlie thank you very much for your help ,they kept trying to climb onto the computer desk while i was looking at the rest of this webby.
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Daisy
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Post by Daisy on Jan 31, 2006 17:44:18 GMT
Hi, sorry to butt in, but I have a quick question! How do you attach the heat mat to the side of your tank? My tank is a bit of an odd shape and I've tried sticking the mat on (admittedly only with blu tac), but it kept falling off, so I've gone back to having it under half of the bottom of the tank. Any suggestions?
Thanks!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2006 18:20:14 GMT
lots of sellotape? thats what i do
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Post by sonicsnail on Jan 31, 2006 19:31:18 GMT
I wouldn't put it underneath the tank. If the snails get too hot the bury to escape the heat. That mean they would be burying towards the heat source. it may cause death. An unnecessary risk in my opinion. However, yes, putting it on the side of the tank is better. I'm not too sure what to stick it on with. Sellotape seems fine.
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Post by Paul on Jan 31, 2006 20:40:47 GMT
I had a similar problem trying to attach one to a tub with rounded sides. But I got around it. Here is what I did. I got a piece of polystyrene to back it with, and between the mat and the polystyrene I stuffed in loads of plastic bags to make a hump and taped the two together. Then I taped the mat and polystyrene onto the outside of the tub. That way the whole mat was bent onto the tank/tub. The plastic bags insulate pretty well and it worked a treat.
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Val
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Post by Val on Jan 31, 2006 21:53:19 GMT
Well done Paul, where there's a will there's a way!!! ;D
Val
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Daisy
Archachatina marginata
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Post by Daisy on Feb 1, 2006 12:22:48 GMT
Thanks for the advice, some very ingenious ideas there!
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