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Post by pasi9 on Jun 9, 2020 20:57:43 GMT
Hi folks, I'm fairly new to snail keeping, but today while walking I found a garden snail missing half of it's shell and bubbling in distress. It was still very responsive, so I brought it indoors. I've placed it in a box lined with several sheets of damp kitchen roll, and given it plenty of cuttlebone powder, fish flakes and fresh vegetables. It's currently exploring the jagged edges of its shell, and sniffing at the cuttlebone and food. It seems to be quite active and curious considering the horrific damage which gives me hope, but I don't know if it's possible for the snail to recover from something like this. Has anyone else had a snail recover from a break this extreme? Is there anything I can do, aside from keeping it moist and giving it cuttlebone and food?
I've linked to pictures below:
Thank you.
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Post by pasi9 on Jun 10, 2020 0:13:17 GMT
Update: She's been eating quite heartily. I'm hoping this is a good sign. She's even climbed on top of one of the vegetables to get a better mouthful.
She removed the white sticky out part of her shell earlier, I found her curled up with it in her mouth. She wasn't responding much, so I gently took it from her and misted her with water, and now she's back to eating veg and cuttlebone powder again. I'm assuming she removed it because it was loose, but it must have distressed her to do so.
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daniele
Achatina immaculata
Posts: 245
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Post by daniele on Jun 10, 2020 9:59:03 GMT
Omg poor guy...but snails can repair their shell even when it is in very bad conditions... what you did is right, go on to keep her moisture! If she removed it by herself im sure she knows what she is doing.. Only advice, they need energy to rebuild the shell, so is very possible that she will just wake up to eat food and calcium, then do her "upkeeping" activities, then go back to sleep again: she needs it to recover energy, so as long as she is eating and do not look extremely suffering, do not disturb her. Do not wake her up many times, she will heal!
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Post by pasi9 on Jun 10, 2020 15:03:05 GMT
Thanks Daniele, I hope you're right. She seems like a fighter!
When I woke up this morning I found she had climbed to the lid to sleep upside down, so I was really pleased to see that she had the strength to do normal snaily things. The box is very shallow so even if she falls, she won't damage her shell more.
I'm trying not to disturb her too much. I'm only opening the box to replace food, cuttlebone and top up the moisture.
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daniele
Achatina immaculata
Posts: 245
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Post by daniele on Jun 10, 2020 16:14:07 GMT
Good! She will recover!!
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Post by pasi9 on Jun 14, 2020 20:18:32 GMT
Ok, so I thought I'd update this thread.
I've not had a snail with a broken shell before, so I've been taking pictures each day to document the process. If you're a little squeamish about broken shells you may not want to look.
This is on the 11th. She's in a tupperware container lined with damp kitchen roll. She has food and cuttlebone shavings, which she's fallen asleep in a few times. You can see her shiny, mucusy inner body bulging out from the shell.
And here we are on the 12th. You can see flecks of cuttlebone powder on her from where she's been resting in the dish. More interestingly, you can see where her body is hardening and forming a whitish substance. I was initially worried it was fibres from the kitchen roll sticking to her, but it didn't shift when I sprinkled water on her. I then realised I was an idiot and it was probably calcium forming her new shell.
The 13th. I've been trying to avoid handling her too much, but she had some food stuck on her new shell growth and I didn't want it to interfere, so I gave her a gentle shower under the tap. She seemed to enjoy it! Surprisingly she's the friendliest snail I've had so far. I don't know if she can comprehend being rescued and cared for, but I like to imagine that she associates me with safety. The regrowth seems very odd looking, and layered. I'm wondering whether it'll actually be "shell-shaped".
I was concerned about the sharp jagged piece of shell on her side. It seemed to dig into her body and interfere with her a lot when she tried climbing the container, and she often would twist around and rasp at it. I considered attempting to break it off, but decided that would be far too risky. Shells are brittle, and I'd hate myself if I accidentally made the damage worse.
14th. Now this is where things get impressive. I misted her this morning while she slept, and I went to mist her again just now. And THIS is what I'm greeted by:
She has done an incredible amount of growing over the last 24 hours, smoothed out the "layers" AND incorporated the sharp jagged piece of shell into her new one! What a little genius 
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daniele
Achatina immaculata
Posts: 245
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Post by daniele on Jun 14, 2020 21:20:20 GMT
wooow what a stunning reparation!!! she is strong and you are taking very good care of her!! keep us updated, is always awesome to read this kind of news!!
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Post by pasi9 on Jun 14, 2020 21:47:12 GMT
I will do! Snails are such clever little critters.
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Post by morningcoffee on Jun 14, 2020 21:57:39 GMT
Looking really promising, you're taking great care of it.
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Post by pasi9 on Jun 14, 2020 22:04:29 GMT
Thank you! She's not fully recovered yet so I'm trying not to get too hopeful, but I'm thrilled with her progress so far.
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Post by pasi9 on Jun 26, 2020 22:03:30 GMT
Update: She's still doing really well! The new "mantle" part of her shell is looking beautiful, and although the calcified part still looks very odd, it seems hard and sturdy. I've decided to name her Lyra.
I've put her in the main enclosure this evening for a bit of supervised socialising and exploration; her recovery box is quite small and boring so I figured she'd appreciate it.
I'm now wondering at what point I should move her to the main box permanently? My Cepaea snail is very randy at the moment and I don't want her to be harassed too much. Plus the box is taller, and I'm not sure whether her shell is strong enough to handle a fall like a regular snail shell could. There's nothing hard in there, but I don't know how delicate her regrowth is at the moment.
However I feel sorry for her being cooped up alone in the little recovery box, and she's a lot stronger than she was.
What are people's thoughts?
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boredbellaaa
Achatina fulica
Snapchat @Boredbellaaa if anyone ever wants/needs to contact me!
Posts: 10 
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Post by boredbellaaa on Jun 26, 2020 22:36:59 GMT
Hm, I would wait another 3 days or so to put her in the tank permanently. Maybe you could put her in the tank for a while a day supervised for roaming time in there before the period is over? And also Lyra is a gorgeous name! She’s beautiful!
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Post by pasi9 on Jun 26, 2020 22:50:38 GMT
Hm, I would wait another 3 days or so to put her in the tank permanently. Maybe you could put her in the tank for a while a day supervised for roaming time in there before the period is over? And also Lyra is a gorgeous name! She’s beautiful! Mhmm, that makes sense. I'm going to give her more supervised time in there over the next few days so she can get used to the other snails and see how it goes.
And thank you! She's a lovely little thing.
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