Post by snerdahmik on Jan 17, 2020 16:27:06 GMT
I've read in a couple different posts on the website that some peoples snails have died after laying eggs. It looks like that almost happened to me. My best guess as to why this happens is that the snail uses its' own protein and calcium to lay eggs, then doesn't have enough vitamins it needs to carry on living and dies of malnourishment. Other causes of that specific type of death may be old age as well.
Two days ago I checked on my snails, and I couldn't find Blue Hawaii. So I started rummaging through the substrate and found her buried on top of a huge batch of eggs, deeply retracted into her shell. I gently poked her foot, which was hanging out, and she made a twitching sort of movement. I woke her up and she looked emaciated. She's a fully grown cornu aspersum. Her body was nearly as long and wide as my thumb. She is now pencil width. Her shell also looked thinner than the last time I'd held her. She was definitely lighter. I know she was pregnant, but even before she had mated and began forming the eggs, she was a big fat snail. I put her on some omega one betta buffet pellets and she started eating like a pack of wild dogs. Blue Hawaii has a habit of refusing to eat what I feed her. I have to make sure to catch her and put her on the food when I feed everyone, otherwise she won't touch it. That's why I believe she almost died. I feel bad for not checking on her sooner, but I thought she was hibernating. (They bury themselves when there is a cold front.)
I strongly believe that she will keep mating until she kills herself. I'm going to isolate her in the smaller tank with her hatchlings. (I think they're big enough now that she can't eat them. They also squirm around a lot, she would probably recognize they're alive.)
Two days ago I checked on my snails, and I couldn't find Blue Hawaii. So I started rummaging through the substrate and found her buried on top of a huge batch of eggs, deeply retracted into her shell. I gently poked her foot, which was hanging out, and she made a twitching sort of movement. I woke her up and she looked emaciated. She's a fully grown cornu aspersum. Her body was nearly as long and wide as my thumb. She is now pencil width. Her shell also looked thinner than the last time I'd held her. She was definitely lighter. I know she was pregnant, but even before she had mated and began forming the eggs, she was a big fat snail. I put her on some omega one betta buffet pellets and she started eating like a pack of wild dogs. Blue Hawaii has a habit of refusing to eat what I feed her. I have to make sure to catch her and put her on the food when I feed everyone, otherwise she won't touch it. That's why I believe she almost died. I feel bad for not checking on her sooner, but I thought she was hibernating. (They bury themselves when there is a cold front.)
I strongly believe that she will keep mating until she kills herself. I'm going to isolate her in the smaller tank with her hatchlings. (I think they're big enough now that she can't eat them. They also squirm around a lot, she would probably recognize they're alive.)