HELP: shell injury - garden snail

[kelloak]

I've never dealt with an injury before and don't know what to do.

He's currently quarantined in a humid, small glass container with air holes, 1/4th inch of substrate, a chunk of cuttlebone and a bit of green bean to eat. He hasn't eaten either, even when I moved him on top of the food.
He's currently staying still but I can see the "heartbeat" still from behind the shell to know he's still alive (hopefully you know what I mean?)
Is there anything else I should be doing?? Thank you in advance.

Here are pictures (sorry for the grimy hands. I was cleaning my tank): postimg.cc/gallery/ZKD9gkh

Note the dark line across the inside front of the shell is the shell lip, you can see it shifted upwards due to injury
The eyes aren't fully extended in the pictures, but been have since, and seem okay now

[morningcoffee]

May 8, 2021 16:46:40 GMT kelloak said:

I've never dealt with an injury before and don't know what to do.

He's currently quarantined in a humid, small glass container with air holes, 1/4th inch of substrate, a chunk of cuttlebone and a bit of green bean to eat. He hasn't eaten either, even when I moved him on top of the food.
He's currently staying still but I can see the "heartbeat" still from behind the shell to know he's still alive (hopefully you know what I mean?)
Is there anything else I should be doing?? Thank you in advance.

Here are pictures (sorry for the grimy hands. I was cleaning my tank): postimg.cc/gallery/ZKD9gkh

Note the dark line across the inside front of the shell is the shell lip, you can see it shifted upwards due to injury
The eyes aren't fully extended in the pictures, but been have since, and seem okay now

That's quite a nasty break. What you're already doing sounds good - keep the environment humid/moist but not damp or soggy. Don't keep picking him up or moving him to try and get him to eat, the best thing to do is let him rest to try and start healing the shell break if possible, however there is a lot of shell missing so I'm afraid it's possible he may not make it.
I would provide a nutritious food like sweet potato for him to eat for the moment if you have anything like that available.

[snaileyhammy]

Hello! Man, I’m so sorry about your snail. I hope she/he gets better. I agree with everything morning coffee has said above. I do have one idea of what you could do. I have does this with my snail before.

Here is what you can do to make a ‘snail bandage’.
1: empty a tea bag and wash it well.
2: cut a large piece to cover the whole broken area.
3: use water to apply the piece of tea bag.
4: wash some eggshell and place a large piece over the broke area.
5: add more tea bag to secure the egg shell.
(You can add as many layers of tea bag pieces as needed)

Keep in mind, that I made this up in an emergency situation. It is completely safe for your snail and helps them from drying up. I have had other people use this method and it helped, but they had small breaks. Unfortunately, I can’t say how much this will help.

I hope this helps your snail though!

[kelloak]

thank you both so much for taking the time to reply, your help is GREATLY appreciated. <3

does anyone have any idea what's going on with the shell lip? is it mantle collapse?

the tea bag method... I'm at a loss - I don't want to make it any worse and I always have shaky hands, I'd make a very crap surgeon. I'm afraid of putting any more pressure on the break and stressing those organs any further

good news, though - he's eaten a chunk of the cuttlebone! I'll see if I can find some sweet potato as well, thank you for the suggestion!!
he's also been very mobile whenever I open the lid and immediately perks up and wants to explore. I hope this is a good sign but I think rest is the best medicine for now and will try not to encourage further activity

[kelloak]

quick update, I have sweet potato, but more importantly... the shell lip is COMPLETELY back into place!! And the dent doesn't look nearly as concave as before!

[snaileyhammy]

That is great!!

[kelloak]

good morning -

he made it through the night and is already looking better!! the shell lip completely is back in place and the dent has improved. the remaining shell over the dent no longer moves with the heartbeat, it's hardened since yesterday!
His eyes are fully extended and he's pretty active, having eaten a larger chunk of cuttlebone over the night and this morning - I could hear him rasping on it when I checked on him

Pictures: postimg.cc/gallery/NTLL2Jq

The earlier tip on not having the soil too wet was very very helpful as in my regular tank, I spray bottle the glass as water to drink. I would have done the same here and made it too soggy without that suggestion and that probably would not have been helpful for healing... So thank you for that tip, much appreciated!!
His poo seemed a bit dry this morning and I was worried about dehydration so I also added a bottle cap of water he could drink from. He immediately dunked his big ol' face right in!! It was adorable!!

I'm hopeful for a full recovery but also realize it's still too soon to really tell. I'll be sure to update with any changes. thanks again everyone

[snaileyhammy]

Ok awesome!

[renoo]

I hope your friend recovers!
Very adorable fella