Hibernation help

[emmabat]

Can someone please tell me about their snail hibernation experiences?
I am a new snail owner. I guess I got them February 2020. I'd say in about April they went into hibernation (that alone took me a LONG time to figure out) It's now mid July and they're still sleepin away. All sealed up, no smell coming from them (two Helix aspersa) so I'm pretty sure they're alive.

Is that too long to be hibernating? Should I be worried they're dead or that their home isn't suitable?

[pasi9]

It's possible they have died. Have you tried waking them? You could hold them under a gently running tap and place them on some food to see if they emerge.


If they're alive, they probably shouldn't be hibernating for that long. Captive aspersa don't really need to hibernate at all.

It's possible that there is something in their environment that they don't like, which is why they are doing it.
What kind of substrate/enclosure are you using? How damp is it? What temperature is it?

[blueorchid]

I've had snails for 3 years and I can't remember them ever hibernating for that long. From my experience, they tend to withdraw when the terrarium isn't moist enough.
So it's probably due to the environment.

[daniele]

All the snails I have are hibernating now (aestivating in fact) , it is totally normal for aspersum.. When they are held in captivity, they will not hibernate if they are always kept moisture and at the same temperature, but that's not natural for them, and by the total lack of hibernation they will be less healthy and even live shorter. The species who are used to hibernate in nature, shall be allowed to hibernate in captivity too, as these are not "domesticated" animals, they are just wild animals that we decide to keep at home, so we should respect their way of living.

It is strange that they hibernated in April, so that can be due to environment, but can also be due to their simple need to sleep! For example one of my aspersum last year hibernated from late april to august, and this year the same snail went to sleep at the end of may instead. The new hatchlings I had this spring instead, just lived on the balcony since they hatched, so they show a more regular hibernation period, and all went to sleep around the second part of june, when temperatures went too hot and dry.

In nature they can sleep even for more than six months, but like this is risky. What is recommended, if the snails are well fed and healthy, is to let them sleep for not more than 5 months instead. If you want my opinion after 3 or 4 months at most I would wake them up to feed them a bit, just to make sure..
If they are not stinky, they are not dead anyway, and to wake them up too often, or too early (with short period of resting) is very bad for them, because they invest a lot of energies in building the epiphragm (the white "door" they use to seal themselves in) so they really don't like to be disturbed once they did it!