Aggression or playing?

[pasi9]

Hi folks,

I currently have three snails. One injured Aspersa is in a separate recovery box, but my question is regarding the other two.

In my main enclosure, I have one Helix Aspersa(David) and one Cepaea Nemoralis(Goliath). Both are wild caught, and after a period of keeping them apart to monitor them for mites, diseases etc. I placed them in the same box(a 10L tub) together two weeks ago. I figured they would be fine together because they are both caught from the same area. They seemed to kind of ignore each other at first. David would eat a lot, Goliath would kind of nibble here and there but after a while she started to get braver and eat more. I thought things were going well.

A few days ago I found eggs. I don't know who had laid them, but I removed them from the tub(and I'm planning to raise them). Around the same time, I noticed that David wasn't eating as much as usual. I have also spotted Goliath nipping at David, moving quickly and seemingly aggressively. Poor David tends to recoil and move away after a few nips.

They have two food dishes, one each, so surely they aren't fighting over food. A 10L tub should be more than enough space for two small snails. They have cuttlebone and hiding places. They are two separate species, so I doubt they are trying to mate.

Are they fighting? Could it be something to do with the eggs, or should Aspersa and Cepaea be kept separately?

Alternatively, could they be playing? It looks too aggressive to me, but I've only recently gotten into snails so maybe I'm reading the situation wrong. I've only seen it happen twice, and they seem fine aside from that.

[boredbellaaa]

By the looks it must have been Goliath who laid the eggs, although you won’t be sure until they hatch to find out the species. 
They could have self fertilized or mated. I would wait a few days to a week to see if the fighting resolves. Best of luck! Also congratulations on the eggs!

[pasi9]

If I had to choose I'd assume Goliath was the parent too, but we'll see. Not knowing is part of the fun!

I've been trawling through old threads on here and another forum, and the only times I can find other instances of this behaviour with other owners it seems likely that the Cepaea was trying to mate with other species. I didn't realise they would attempt that, but it makes sense that she'd suddenly become interested in mating again after she's finished laying eggs.

I'll keep an eye on the situation, and if she upsets poor old David too much I'll have to separate them.

[boredbellaaa]

Goodluck! Keep us updated

[pasi9]

Ok, so, I'm certain it's mating behaviour now. I put my injured aspersa, Lyra, in for a supervised "playdate", to give her a bit of mental stimulation(I feel sorry for her being cooped up in the little recovery box). Goliath showed interest, and began doing the same lunging/biting behaviour I saw her do with David.

This time I studied Goliath's genital pore and noticed it was swelling up, so as soon as she started biting I poked her. I had to poke her a couple of times before she'd back off. I felt mean, but Lyra's injured so it felt necessary.