help - has this snail any problem?

[daniele]

Goodmorning, I think that my snail's shell looks a bit heavy to move around, and the mante is puffy every time she sleeps and a bit less when she s awake depending on the time.. By watching these pics do you think that she has any problem or she looks normal? what shold I do?? it is the first adult snail I deal with...

[morningcoffee]

Looks quite normal to me. Mantle is a little puffy in the last picture but not enough to be any cause for concern. If the snail is eating and behaving normally then I wouldn't worry.

[daniele]

Dec 19, 2019 11:44:45 GMT morningcoffee said:

Looks quite normal to me. Mantle is a little puffy in the last picture but not enough to be any cause for concern. If the snail is eating and behaving normally then I wouldn't worry.

Thank you so much for the reply, I know I'm a bit too anxious maybe.. So I will do nothing and only udpate if the mantle will get more puffy in the future... these are the two pics that I did not upload in the previous post (probably did some mistakes in uploading).. Thank you so much again! I'm much less worried now!!!

[snerdahmik]

She looks fine! ^^

[daniele]

UPDATES: she now slept inside the shell for 3 consecutive days, but better than inside the shell i can say, retracted inside the shell and the mantle, as the mantle is even more swollen, and now covering her body to the foot... She woke up just for two hours, in last 3 days and around sunset time she pull out the head or one or two eyes, then stay like that for some hours, then she pulls the eyes and the head inside again and mantle start to be swollen again... Im not sure if it's a good sign as she s taking some recovering times as it's winter, or if is a bad sign as she wokes up for small times, so she don't seems to sleep too deeply... Im a bit confused abt this...
Two days ago, around the sunset time, she started to pull out the head a bit, the clear swollen part is the mantle

here was waking up two days ago, then she ate a little bit, she pooped, and change position to sleep again, after the previous pic

then she went there and after pooping after couple of hours she went to sleep like this

then yesterday at sunset for 3/4 hours she stayed with the body out, like half sleeping, and the shell less swollen, she pooped but without eating, then she went back inside, and swell mantle again. this morning she s like this...in fact she looks bit less swollen today, but im not sure...


I wrote these update in order to know more abt what you guys think, shall i take some actions, like raise her temperature a bit more, or put her in a new container? the behaviour is normal, but this last days are a bit strange in fact... and i have to say the other younger snails are sleeping too, but normally retracted so all normal...
thank you so much again!
EDIT: what worry me, is that she woke up without eating, and went back to sleep yesterday...tonight she looks similar, ill update in the next days

[snerdahmik]

It does look like her mantle has swelled quite a bit, but I'm not informed enough to be able to tell you exactly what this means. My snail has also had mantle swelling like this for the past few days, and he is pregnant. Sometimes you can see if yours is pregnant by looking in the pneumostome, which is the breathing hole. I can see what I think is eggs inside my snail when he's out of the shell. This may not work for all people though.

[daniele]

I'd like it so much, and I'd stop worrying if it was, but it's a bit hard to think, as she has not mated recently, im 100% sure unfortunately... may a snail just become too fat? eat too much? but in fact she do not eat too much in my opinion too...

[daniele]

Dec 19, 2019 11:44:45 GMT morningcoffee said:

Looks quite normal to me. Mantle is a little puffy in the last picture but not enough to be any cause for concern. If the snail is eating and behaving normally then I wouldn't worry.

Today her mantle is separated from her body on the right side, yesterday was even more swollen, do you think is there anything i can do to prevent this? do you think is serious? im very very worried dont know what to do, from yesterady i let her move in a new container to try to understand if the problem was the previous one, and this morning she is like this


what can i do? im a bit desperate

[Rosemary-Guest]

Hello, my snail is having a very similar issue. Im sorry no one has seemed to come up with any ideas on how to improve this situation. I'm curious to know if you snail ever got better...or worse? I'm concerned for my own snail who appears to be going through the same thing.

[daniele]

Jan 15, 2020 5:27:25 GMT Rosemary-Guest said:

Hello, my snail is having a very similar issue. Im sorry no one has seemed to come up with any ideas on how to improve this situation. I'm curious to know if you snail ever got better...or worse? I'm concerned for my own snail who appears to be going through the same thing.

At the moment she's doing normally... She keeps eating and being active as normal, even too active sometimes as I've been suggested to make her not climb too much thes days... I was able to bring her to a vet; and started a little "therapy" now from two days. The general informations I got are: this is not too serious yet, but must be helped to prevent it to become more serious, as the danger is that it may evolve into a real huge problem and this we shall avoid. 
The causes can be several: can be because of parasyte or bacteria (and this case is the worst in fact) and the way to make sure is to make some tests; can be because of the food, like sugars, for example mine love oatmeal so much, and i used to gave her once a week, looks like is still too much as it is full of carbohydrates, that are not good for her; can be because of poor calcium absorbing, due to the lack of sunlight and uvb rays in captivity; can be the abnormal growth , sometimes too fast, that may happen in home snails; also, other vets said, it is often because of old age. 
Do you know how old is your snail? If it is the age, you can only keep her a bit safer from climbing and doing difficult movement, and she can go on with her life. If is one of the other above mentioned reasons, then there are some treatments that can try to make her better. If is one parasite problem instead, it is much harder, and some more heavy therapy must be attempted, these therapies are not well studied yet, and can be harmful for the snail. Online i found that against parasites figs and pumpking seeds may work (may, in some cases).
My guy at the moment never showed this again, and I am currently treating her after took her to the vet. Unfortunately for aspersum there are no standardized procedures, and the bibliography is almost non-existing.

[rosemary]

Thank you for your response. I am very sad. I found my snail a month ago on a plant at work. I can hear popping, like she is having difficulty breathing. it was so sudden and I can't place what i may have done wrong. I don't know her age. She ate cucumber last night and drank all her water from her little bowl. She's now in her tiny cup and I've moved her cucumber and water bowl right to her so she doesn't have to go far at all. I guess all i can do is wait and hope the swelling goes down.

[daniele]

Jan 15, 2020 18:11:02 GMT rosemary said:

Thank you for your response. I am very sad. I found my snail a month ago on a plant at work. I can hear popping, like she is having difficulty breathing. it was so sudden and I can't place what i may have done wrong. I don't know her age. She ate cucumber last night and drank all her water from her little bowl. She's now in her tiny cup and I've moved her cucumber and water bowl right to her so she doesn't have to go far at all. I guess all i can do is wait and hope the swelling goes down.

Do you have no idea at all abt her age? how big is she? did she form the lip at the end of her shell? but is she a Cornu aspersum too? I don't know abt popping, and I can tell you that my doctor put my snail on "diet" and currently she's only eating green leaves (of different kinds) and beans (boiled and the peel must be removed). That's what she's eating, and in fact she s eating a lot and behave normally. Also give her some calcium source if you did not. Other suggestions I had are to keep her warm and comfortable, and to avoid her possible chances to climb too much and to make too much efforts with her shell.. If you are able, I suggest to let her have a check too.. How is she now?

[rosemary]

Rosemary still has a swollen mantle. It looks to me like it has gone down a little bit, but that might be wishful thinking. She is still eating and active in the evening. I don't know her age since I just found her at work. She looks like a full grow helix aspera. She typically eats organic carrots, cucumber, eggshells, radish and yellow squash. I'm keeping her warm and making sure her environment stays humid since she can't retract entirely into her shell. Did you just take yours to a regular vet? i've never heard of taking a snail to the vet...tho i'd do it if they'd accept seeing her. Have you seen any improvements with your snail?

[daniele]

Jan 18, 2020 6:59:02 GMT rosemary said:

Rosemary still has a swollen mantle. It looks to me like it has gone down a little bit, but that might be wishful thinking. She is still eating and active in the evening. I don't know her age since I just found her at work. She looks like a full grow helix aspera. She typically eats organic carrots, cucumber, eggshells, radish and yellow squash. I'm keeping her warm and making sure her environment stays humid since she can't retract entirely into her shell. Did you just take yours to a regular vet? i've never heard of taking a snail to the vet...tho i'd do it if they'd accept seeing her. Have you seen any improvements with your snail?

Most of people agree that if she's eating and behaving normally, she's not in very bad conditions. 
Abt the vet, I had to search very long and very deep in order to fid some who at least knows something abt snails, I was lucky in finding one who raises snails too! The day I noticed the bigger problem, I wrote to dozens of vets all around the world at the same time, and lot of vets in my area just asking them, who can check and try to treat my snail, and, even I found no one specialized in snails as main subject, I found several who knows abt them and who can manage them!
You shall seek for an "exotic animals" vet, those usually has some knowledge abt african ones at least. They are very very differents from our aspersas, but some of these vets will try to take her in charge.

I can give you some names, I found some in the UK, some in my area (tuscany , Florence), and one clinic in isreal. Where are you from? 

Abt the improvements, up to know I got no signs. She's not bad, still active, still eating and so on, but no signs of improvement yet. I've been told that improvement will take long to see anyway. I also had troubles in finding the right lamp to put , as the vet suggested a UVB 3.0 lamp only 25w , to put at a distance of 25/30 cms , for 8 hours , one every two days, in order to give her the uvb she lacks, and in order for her to absorb calcium better.
Hope i was helpful, ask anything else if you need, if I can help I'm happy to do it!
How is rosemary now?

[rosemary]

Thank you for your response! I live in the U.S. and don't think any vet would take my pet snail serious here. heh. Thank you for sharing the info that the vet shared with you. Rosemary's mantle is still swollen. It does not appear to be getting worse, but also doesn't appear to be getting better. Rose is still eating, pooping and active tho the swelling does appear to slow Rose down a bit. Today marks two weeks since I noticed it. I will just have to hope that it will improve in time. Please keep me posted on how your snail is doing. <3

[daniele]

I think you can still have a try... In fact I was not so sure too, and I had to write to dozens of vets around the world really! But then I got several replies from several places..
My Faitila is still the same until now, she's active and behave normally but still unable to retract unfortunately... I'll update you as I will have to see the vet again soon!

[rosemary]

I think I may have good news about my snail. I hope this can help you too tho it may not be the same thing. I was spraying my snail once to twice a day with water. And when I started seeing the swelling I started spraying my snail more often out of fear of Rose drying out because Rose couldn't get in their shell. But then one day I forgot to spray and I noticed the swelling going down. So I decided to abstain from spraying Rose. It's been three days of no spraying and the swelling has gone down tremendously. Rose can almost get their entire body back in their shell. I will keep you posted if things continue to get better. I hope this info helps your snail! <3

[daniele]

Feb 4, 2020 12:39:05 GMT rosemary said:

I think I may have good news about my snail. I hope this can help you too tho it may not be the same thing. I was spraying my snail once to twice a day with water. And when I started seeing the swelling I started spraying my snail more often out of fear of Rose drying out because Rose couldn't get in their shell. But then one day I forgot to spray and I noticed the swelling going down. So I decided to abstain from spraying Rose. It's been three days of no spraying and the swelling has gone down tremendously. Rose can almost get their entire body back in their shell. I will keep you posted if things continue to get better. I hope this info helps your snail! <3

Wow thank you so much for sharing this!!!!!! So it is possible that a dry environment can help? unfortunately my snail is not givin any sign of getting better, and is not able to retract in fact.
Also I think In the incoming weeks I will go to visit more vets, to hear more opinions, since it seems they go a bit randomly. I will update if I will have any news! thanks again!
PS: very happy to hear that your snail is better, I really hope with the deepest of my heart that she can recover!!!!!

[daniele]

Feb 4, 2020 12:39:05 GMT rosemary said:

I think I may have good news about my snail. I hope this can help you too tho it may not be the same thing. I was spraying my snail once to twice a day with water. And when I started seeing the swelling I started spraying my snail more often out of fear of Rose drying out because Rose couldn't get in their shell. But then one day I forgot to spray and I noticed the swelling going down. So I decided to abstain from spraying Rose. It's been three days of no spraying and the swelling has gone down tremendously. Rose can almost get their entire body back in their shell. I will keep you posted if things continue to get better. I hope this info helps your snail! <3

I have a question, maybe a bit long but  can be helpful next time ill talk to the vet. What type of terrarium are you using? glass or plastic , and the lid is made of glass, plastic, or net?
What kind of temperature are you keeping her ? last question, what kind of substrate are you using? I need to collect every possible detail...thank you so much!!!

[rosemary]

Rosemary continues to improve! Rose can almost get their entire body back in the shell. Still a bit puffy but everyday it lessens. I am using a glass terrarium with a grated top that is metal. Her temperature is usually around 68-70 degrees F. And the humidity between 60%-70%. I bought a gauge a few days ago at the pet store to put in the terrarium to give me a better idea of the humidity so I don't overdo it. I'm using coconut soil as the substrate with a bit of sphagnum moss in the corners.

I haven't sprayed her now for 5 days straight and the swelling continues to go down and she is looking so much happier. I have a small cap of water with a rock in it (so she doesn't drown) that she drinks out of. I figure if she needs water, she has a place to get it. I think it makes sense that helix asperas don't need to be so doused with water like the more tropical snails.

I hope this helps your snail! And feel free to ask any more questions you think of. <3

[daniele]

Thank you so much! I was not misting water on her already, as I knew that aspersas doesnt need so much...But I will try to do some changes and lets see if she can improve too... until now the treatment was not so helpful, she s still active and happy and eating and on...but looks a bit worse I think.... Thank you again I will update soon!!!

[rosemary]

How is your snail doing? Mine is still swollen unfortunately. My snail is still active and eating so I'm accepting that this is how my snail is now. How are your other snails? have any others shown signs of puffiness?

[daniele]

Feb 22, 2020 4:48:56 GMT rosemary said:

How is your snail doing? Mine is still swollen unfortunately. My snail is still active and eating so I'm accepting that this is how my snail is now. How are your other snails? have any others shown signs of puffiness?

Faitila in the last period slept a lot for 2/3 days then I think that she was finally able to get inside her shell again and then I think she hibernated... Recently her setup was like that: I bought a removable greenhouse, that can be simply put on the plant and lifted when you need to remove. So inside I placed inside one ficus, one rose, one violet, 2 kind of "daisy" one yellow and one blue (dont remember the exact name), one cabbage and one peas plants. She checked all the places carefully and then choose the ficus tree to dig the soil and go to sleep.
Since she is half buried, i cannot see her exactly, but the part that is out of the ground can be seen and from that I can see she went to hibernate.


in the first pic you can see her while she was abt to create the epiphragm, and in the second the white part created. After some hours it turned darker. The colors are exactly the same like when she hibernated last year, so I really think she's on hibernation, and she has no smell thanking God, so I think I will let her sleep until she wants.
I experienced this on a second snail, this time i really think is because of the growth that was too fast... She seem to improve a bit in the plants too, bu really I still dont know which is the reason and what can be done to make them better. The Uvb rays seems to be crucial for good absorbing of calcium, so if the cannot get it from the sun they will need it somehow.... For Faitila I bought a reptile uvb lamp 2.0/3.0 and used on her NOT DIRECTLY, for 5/6 hours alternating days. 

[daniele]

PS: the other snails who showed the same problem, looks totally healthy apart from that problem and from the fact she sleeps out of her shell!
EDIT: PPS: here we are having outside temperatures around 0 these days , and no raining from weeks so is cold and dry, and even if they live inside the house they will still ""feel"" somehow the outside temperature, so when spring will approach and rain will start again I will have to wake her up or to mist a bit (currently Im not misting from long)

[daniele]

Feb 22, 2020 4:48:56 GMT rosemary said:

How is your snail doing? Mine is still swollen unfortunately. My snail is still active and eating so I'm accepting that this is how my snail is now. How are your other snails? have any others shown signs of puffiness?

Hi rosemary! how is your snail doing? did she improve a bit?