Problem with iradelei

[katherineh]

I have 4 Achatina iradelei, 3 I got from Emma (copigeon) about 3 months ago and another baby I got a couple of weeks ago.

The original three were all active and feeding originally, but for the last few weeks one keeps sealing its shell up. I bath it every 2 days in lukewarm water and it comes out, I then place it on the food but it doesn't seem to eat. The next day it is sealed up again. It is now noticeably smaller and lighter (in weight) than its two littermates.

At first I had them at warm room temperature (21-22C) with damp but not soggy substrate and a small water dish. After reading comments on the forum I have upped the temperature to about 26C with a heat mat and increased the moisture in the substrate (conditions my margies and immacs are thriving in) but this one snail is no better. They are fed romaine lettuce, sweet potato and courgette as their staple diet with odd bits of other things we eat thrown in (apple, carrot, pear etc.). Also cuttlefish ad lib and liquid calcium in the water spray.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I am afraid I will lose this snail.

[sezzy5889]

it sounds like he is just hibernating, but the fact he is noticably lighter than the others makes me think otherwise, i'm afraid sometimes there just isn't anything you can do, many snails from a batch will die before reaching adulthood, i hae had many young snails die without any apparent reason before.

Your method of care seems fine to me, your doing everything right, so i am afraid i cannot come up with a suggestion for you.

Many snails will also have these bad spots though and then suddenly bounce back to full health and lie a happy life, lets just hope hes one of them! :-)