tulip
Achatina fulica
Posts: 6
|
Post by tulip on Aug 28, 2020 4:12:14 GMT
My garden snail has been suctioned to the lid of his tank for over a week, and now the tank is starting to smell all of a sudden? I'm not sure that it's the "Death" smell, considering from what others are saying that smells like on here, but its definitely not a good smell. He's in just normal soil, and i just removed a shriveled up cucumber chunk from the tank yesterday that had been in there for two days,and normally food close to molding/rotting doesn't make that smell. Also slightly unrelated,but I've had him for like over a month now, and not once have i seen him eat, nor any sign on any of the food I've given him that he's eaten, yet (up until recently) he's been out and about, fresh as a daisy? I've tried everything at my disposal to give him that's okay for him to eat, and I can't seem to find anything that he genuinely likes. The snail i was keeping before this current one would let me watch him eat all the time and i could tell when he'd eaten whatever I'd given him. Help?
|
|
|
Post by pasi9 on Aug 28, 2020 12:52:56 GMT
If he's not moving and hasn't been eating, it could be the death smell. It didn't smell quite like I expected either. It's strange he wouldn't eat anything, perhaps he was ill when you got him?
Another possibility- is the soil too damp? If you squeeze a handful and more than a couple of drops come out, it could be stagnant water.
|
|
|
Post by morningcoffee on Aug 28, 2020 15:32:03 GMT
If he's not moving and hasn't been eating, it could be the death smell. It didn't smell quite like I expected either. It's strange he wouldn't eat anything, perhaps he was ill when you got him? Another possibility- is the soil too damp? If you squeeze a handful and more than a couple of drops come out, it could be stagnant water. Wet soil was my first thought as well. I would try taking things out of the tank and (although it sounds silly) giving everything a good sniff to try and identify where the smell is coming from - the snail itself, the soil, any tank ornaments, food dish etc. Check for any old food or poop that's been missed and might need to be cleaned up too. Also, if you are using cuttlebone as a calcium source, it can smell pretty disgusting when it gets damp.
|
|
tulip
Achatina fulica
Posts: 6
|
Post by tulip on Aug 28, 2020 16:52:08 GMT
If he's not moving and hasn't been eating, it could be the death smell. It didn't smell quite like I expected either. It's strange he wouldn't eat anything, perhaps he was ill when you got him? Another possibility- is the soil too damp? If you squeeze a handful and more than a couple of drops come out, it could be stagnant water. When i mist him in the mornings, i try to focus more on the walls than the soil because he's always climbing around, so i don't think it would be that.... and i have no clue about prior illnesses, my dad brought him home after one i was recuperating wasn't doing too well, and when i first had him he was a happy, exploring boy. For kinda comparison, people on here say it smells kinda like rotting fish, but this smell is like, a kinda sweet smell. I checked when i misted him just now, and I can't seem to smell it today, but I'm still confused if it was the cucumber chunk, because I've never had that problem before
|
|
tulip
Achatina fulica
Posts: 6
|
Post by tulip on Aug 28, 2020 16:55:13 GMT
If he's not moving and hasn't been eating, it could be the death smell. It didn't smell quite like I expected either. It's strange he wouldn't eat anything, perhaps he was ill when you got him? Another possibility- is the soil too damp? If you squeeze a handful and more than a couple of drops come out, it could be stagnant water. Wet soil was my first thought as well. I would try taking things out of the tank and (although it sounds silly) giving everything a good sniff to try and identify where the smell is coming from - the snail itself, the soil, any tank ornaments, food dish etc. Check for any old food or poop that's been missed and might need to be cleaned up too. Also, if you are using cuttlebone as a calcium source, it can smell pretty disgusting when it gets damp. Ah, it could possibly be the lil chunk of cuttlebone i have in there, although I don't tend to mist too too heavily. I don't really wanna take the lid off to dump everything out, because its one of those plastic tanks, and he's got a bad habit of always sealing himself like, right on top of the lid, a couple of times I've knocked him down just by closing the plastic door on the lid from misting
|
|
tulip
Achatina fulica
Posts: 6
|
Post by tulip on Aug 28, 2020 17:01:34 GMT
Wet soil was my first thought as well. I would try taking things out of the tank and (although it sounds silly) giving everything a good sniff to try and identify where the smell is coming from - the snail itself, the soil, any tank ornaments, food dish etc. Check for any old food or poop that's been missed and might need to be cleaned up too. Also, if you are using cuttlebone as a calcium source, it can smell pretty disgusting when it gets damp. Ah, it could possibly be the lil chunk of cuttlebone i have in there, although I don't tend to mist too too heavily. I don't really wanna take the lid off to dump everything out, because its one of those plastic tanks, and he's got a bad habit of always sealing himself like, right on top of the lid, a couple of times I've knocked him down just by closing the plastic door on the lid from misting Right after i sent this, i went to go check the cuttlebone and he threw himself down and is waking up but the smell is definitely not here anymore and its def not the cuttlebone. the soil isn't overly wet/muddy either, and i can't find any poop, so color me confused about that!
|
|
|
Post by pasi9 on Aug 28, 2020 18:30:20 GMT
Glad to hear he is awake! If it smells sweet, maybe it was just the cucumber having rotted or something. By the way, have you checked out this list of snail-safe foods? petsnails.proboards.com/thread/9416/feed-snails If he's not eating much, there might be something on there that would interest him.
|
|
tulip
Achatina fulica
Posts: 6
|
Post by tulip on Aug 28, 2020 21:22:13 GMT
Glad to hear he is awake! If it smells sweet, maybe it was just the cucumber having rotted or something. By the way, have you checked out this list of snail-safe foods? petsnails.proboards.com/thread/9416/feed-snails If he's not eating much, there might be something on there that would interest him. I know the basics of what they can and can't eat, and can eat in moderation, but he's just plain picky i figured he might be hungry when he woke up, since he's been sleeping for like over a week, so i gave him a smaller piece of cucumber, and some spinach leaves, but when i went to check on him like 5 minutes later, he was latched onto the spinach leaf i had put by him and is now sleeping under that :') the snail i previously had would eat literally anything, this one is as picky as they come, lol. I've tried cucumber, lettuce, blueberries, spinach, banana.... he's an odd child
|
|
|
Post by pasi9 on Aug 28, 2020 22:59:49 GMT
Wow, I've never met a garden snail that would turn down a cucumber! Maybe try him on the sort of food he would have found in the wild. Like nettles, lichen, dandelion leaves etc?
|
|
|
Post by morningcoffee on Aug 29, 2020 13:04:53 GMT
Every snail is different, but to be honest I've never had a snail of any species that showed much interest in spinach, blueberries or banana beyond a small nibble or two. My current snails are also pretty disinterested in cucumber. Try some Little Gem or Romaine lettuce, carrot or sweet potato, both sliced very thinly - with a vegetable peeler is ideal.
|
|
daniele
Achatina immaculata
Posts: 245
|
Post by daniele on Aug 29, 2020 13:06:41 GMT
They cab be really picky sometimes! And, even if i'm replying late, I smelled a kind of sweet/rotten/alcholic scent several times, it is usually from old fruit!
|
|
tulip
Achatina fulica
Posts: 6
|
Post by tulip on Aug 29, 2020 13:51:34 GMT
Wow, I've never met a garden snail that would turn down a cucumber! Maybe try him on the sort of food he would have found in the wild. Like nettles, lichen, dandelion leaves etc? i think he actually ate the spinach? there's not a lot left this morning, and idk how fast the heat/humidity would shrivel it up to be this small, since he sits in one of my bay windows. he's super active climbing around though, its been a good while since he's used his sticks!
|
|