emsaff
Achatina fulica
Posts: 5
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Post by emsaff on Feb 18, 2021 17:02:16 GMT
Hello! I am very new to keeping garden snails. I ordered two and they seemed to be doing very well. A couple of days into having them, one climbed up to the ceiling of their house and has been there for days and days. The other one soon followed. They are just attached to the glass but haven’t moved at all. Is this normal behavior or is something wrong?
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Post by cloudprism on Feb 18, 2021 17:16:52 GMT
Hi! Yes this is normal for them, my garden snails sleep on the ceiling of their home. Sometimes I will mist them if they’ve been there for a while and at some point they wake up and go eat.
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snaileyhammy
Achatina tincta
Hi I am Hammy! I adore snails and slugs.
Posts: 550
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Post by snaileyhammy on Feb 19, 2021 2:35:19 GMT
yes! ^ its normal. they are just sleeping. Be concerned if they are sealed in a lot, but like this is normal lol.
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emsaff
Achatina fulica
Posts: 5
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Post by emsaff on Feb 21, 2021 22:57:38 GMT
Thank you for very much! How long is too long? They’ve been up there for over a week at least
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snaileyhammy
Achatina tincta
Hi I am Hammy! I adore snails and slugs.
Posts: 550
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Post by snaileyhammy on Feb 22, 2021 1:21:47 GMT
Hmmm, depends. If they are super retracted and have a layer of mucus over the opening of their shell, that is not good. If they are just attached to the terrarium with their foot it should be fine. Are any of yours retracted really far?
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snaileyhammy
Achatina tincta
Hi I am Hammy! I adore snails and slugs.
Posts: 550
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Post by snaileyhammy on Feb 22, 2021 1:24:03 GMT
If they aren’t eating and aren’t pooping and are sealed off you should be concerned.
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Post by cloudprism on Feb 23, 2021 5:34:01 GMT
Hmmm, depends. If they are super retracted and have a layer of mucus over the opening of their shell, that is not good. If they are just attached to the terrarium with their foot it should be fine. Are any of yours retracted really far? Did your snail wake up? I have two milk snails I ordered online that have been asleep for 1 week now. When I look at one from the glass, I can see them still attached to really well, it doesn’t look retracted. I also don’t notice a foul smell, which I’ve read is an indication it has died. The other garden snails I have in the terrarium from my grandmas house are on a pretty consistent schedule of day sleeping and night eating, and will sometimes sleep next to the milk snails to keep them company even tho they never wake up....
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snaileyhammy
Achatina tincta
Hi I am Hammy! I adore snails and slugs.
Posts: 550
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Post by snaileyhammy on Feb 24, 2021 1:29:58 GMT
Then it should be ok. Snails are nocturnal so yours are probably just sleeping a lot. If a snail is deeply retracted it could mean that it’s to dry in their tank or they are malnourished etc. Sometimes snails that are getting used to a new home will hide a lot so it could be that. Later on, your snails may come out more often in the day time.
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emsaff
Achatina fulica
Posts: 5
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Post by emsaff on Feb 24, 2021 19:53:08 GMT
Ok 👌 so one snail did wake up! And has been acting fine ever since. I do keep their house well misted. However the other snail is still just clinging to the glass roof. There is no bad smell, it just smells like rain, but it’s been there for like a long time now. Weeks! What do you think I should do?
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Post by cloudprism on Feb 24, 2021 20:01:11 GMT
I’m in the same situation as you. I am contemplating removing the snail and putting it in a shallow dish of water to see if it wakes up but I don’t know if this is rude or harmful..
Please keep us posted on your snail!
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emsaff
Achatina fulica
Posts: 5
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Post by emsaff on Feb 24, 2021 20:05:27 GMT
Hmmm, depends. If they are super retracted and have a layer of mucus over the opening of their shell, that is not good. If they are just attached to the terrarium with their foot it should be fine. Are any of yours retracted really far? Is this how you reply to something? Lol sorry, I don’t know exactly how this work. It does seem to be retracted, yes.
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emsaff
Achatina fulica
Posts: 5
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Post by emsaff on Feb 24, 2021 21:00:55 GMT
Big news friends! (Is it too soon to call you friends?) snail mates? Anyway..... I was preparing a larger vessel for these milk snails I have (the ones you were stuck to glass for forever but one woke up) and I thought contrary to things I’ve read that say DO NOT REMOVE your snails from the glass, I did it anyway! I figured it couldn’t hurt because from what I was gathering here it sounded like it was going to be goner anyway. Well well well, wouldn’t you know, I sat him or her or whatever in a shallow little puddle of water in a seashell annnnnnd he woke up!! Like within minutes!
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snaileyhammy
Achatina tincta
Hi I am Hammy! I adore snails and slugs.
Posts: 550
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Post by snaileyhammy on Feb 25, 2021 2:56:34 GMT
Ok awesome! He was probably just asleep. I wish you luck friend.
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Post by cloudprism on Feb 26, 2021 5:48:42 GMT
Big news friends! (Is it too soon to call you friends?) snail mates? Anyway..... I was preparing a larger vessel for these milk snails I have (the ones you were stuck to glass for forever but one woke up) and I thought contrary to things I’ve read that say DO NOT REMOVE your snails from the glass, I did it anyway! I figured it couldn’t hurt because from what I was gathering here it sounded like it was going to be goner anyway. Well well well, wouldn’t you know, I sat him or her or whatever in a shallow little puddle of water in a seashell annnnnnd he woke up!! Like within minutes! Ahhhh!! This is excellent news. I may do this too, if it doesn’t wake up in another week... just to make sure. I’m so happy yours woke up 🥰
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snaileyhammy
Achatina tincta
Hi I am Hammy! I adore snails and slugs.
Posts: 550
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Post by snaileyhammy on Feb 26, 2021 22:53:11 GMT
Ok cool! But remember that snails sleep a lot so don’t make them wake up when they don’t want to.
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Post by cloudprism on Mar 7, 2021 19:59:29 GMT
So, I decided it was time to wake up Daphne, and unfortunately she was dead. It was extremely hard to pull her off the glass wall, she had several layers of calcified dried slime and when I placed her in a shallow dish of water for an hour she never woke up. 😔
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snaileyhammy
Achatina tincta
Hi I am Hammy! I adore snails and slugs.
Posts: 550
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Post by snaileyhammy on Mar 8, 2021 2:56:14 GMT
I’m very sorry for your loss.
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daniele
Achatina immaculata
Posts: 245
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Post by daniele on Mar 8, 2021 11:22:30 GMT
So, I decided it was time to wake up Daphne, and unfortunately she was dead. It was extremely hard to pull her off the glass wall, she had several layers of calcified dried slime and when I placed her in a shallow dish of water for an hour she never woke up. 😔 Hi, after a long hibernation, they will need several hours to wake up if you wet them... Depending on the snail of course but one hour could not be enough most of the times.. Did you snail wake up then after more hours?? They will wake up a bit faster if outside is raining (as it would be the moment for them to wake up in nature).. Anyway I wouldn't suggest to "force your hand", when they are attached to any surface, is not so good for them since they are a bit delicate, best thing would be to mist over them while they are still attached.
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daniele
Achatina immaculata
Posts: 245
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Post by daniele on Mar 8, 2021 11:31:54 GMT
I would like to add, since it's in topic, that garden snails will need some long sleeps during the year; it is good for their health to let them have a similar life like they would have outside.. For istance my dearest guy, during 2020 slept for 5 months and a half over 12: 2 months during the winter and 3 and a half during the summer. This year instead most of my adults are sleeping for almost 4 months now, and some other adults slept 2/3 months at least (youngs growing instead slept much less and kept eating much more). So it depends on several factors.
Also the thickness of the epiphragm layers, will depend on the humidity and temperature and "windiness" (sorry for my english) of the spot that the snail will choose to hibernate or aestivate (and those summer ones protecting them from dry and warm, in my experience are thicker).
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snaileyhammy
Achatina tincta
Hi I am Hammy! I adore snails and slugs.
Posts: 550
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Post by snaileyhammy on Mar 8, 2021 20:35:09 GMT
I do agree with this however, I have over 40 garden snails and if your have your snails in a controlled environment then they shouldn’t hibernate only become a bit slower and sleep more during winter months. Just like with frogs and other animals, I believe the weather outside shouldn’t really affect your anima that is in indoors that much. This may be different in different countries so I’m sorry if this isn’t the case for you or you don’t agree, I respect your opinion. I don’t really fully understand how your your snail passed away, or what happened, but I’m sorry for your loss.
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Post by cloudprism on Mar 9, 2021 18:56:08 GMT
It doesn’t make me happy to describe the situation, but basically she was stuck to the glass wall and her body looked recessed and was whitish and a little crusty. The tank also started to have a slight fishy smell after I misted. I live in Southern California where it’s moderately warm year round and my aquarium has a thermidor I keep at 22 C / 71 F and a humidity level between 68% and 80% When removing her, I placed her in a shallow dish of water for a little over an hour, and the water got a little cloudy from the dried slime, but her body didn’t retreat or respond. I did bury her, but now I’m freaked out I made a mistake and buried her alive???
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Post by cloudprism on Mar 9, 2021 19:06:50 GMT
I do agree with this however, I have over 40 garden snails and if your have your snails in a controlled environment then they shouldn’t hibernate only become a bit slower and sleep more during winter months. Just like with frogs and other animals, I believe the weather outside shouldn’t really affect your anima that is in indoors that much. This may be different in different countries so I’m sorry if this isn’t the case for you or you don’t agree, I respect your opinion. I don’t really fully understand how your your snail passed away, or what happened, but I’m sorry for your loss. Thank you for your sympathy snaileyhammy. I’m really worried I buried my snail prematurely now... how am I supposed to know if it was really dead?!? I feel terrible...... 😩
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Post by cloudprism on Mar 10, 2021 1:50:13 GMT
Since I buried my snail about 2 hours away from where I live now, I had my mother go back and dig it up. She said she thinks it’s dead... but we have taken it back and she’s keeping it in the front yard in a pile of wet grass and said she will check to see if it moved tomorrow morning. How am I supposed to know if she’s dead or not??
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Post by pasi9 on Mar 10, 2021 2:56:51 GMT
You could try piercing the calcified layer. It'll be pretty obvious once that's open.
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snaileyhammy
Achatina tincta
Hi I am Hammy! I adore snails and slugs.
Posts: 550
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Post by snaileyhammy on Mar 10, 2021 19:19:14 GMT
I’m so sorry I didn’t respond lol, I just got some new enclosures set up and it’s been crazy busy. You could try finding her heart beat in front of a light, I find that a bit tricky so maybe just wait until she wakes up. If nothing happens then I guess she passed I’m sorry.
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