found a snail with a cracked shell

[bubmel]

imgur.com/a/I8b2WT4

here are some pictures of the snail we found today, there are some cracks along the shell, but i've sprayed him down with some water + liquid calcium, and left a cuttlebone and some broccoli too.

hopefully i can nurse this snail back to health!

does anyone know what kind of snail this is?

[snaileyhammy]

Hello again!

Aww, glad you are helping the snail! I’m unsure as to what it is, you would need better photos. Sounds like you are doing a wonderful job taking care of him, if you need any additional help, just let me or someone else know. Here is a video I wanted to show you, I came up with the idea and made the video. If you want to try it with the snail you can! youtu.be/iFetj3lc83c

I hope he gets better soon!

[wolf]

Hi bubmel,
it's always extremely helpful to know the origin of a snail. So, where did you find it? If it is northern or central Europe, it might be a Cepaea species.
The damage does not seem to be too serious. It should have a good chance for recovery.
Kind regards: wolf

[bubmel]

Sept 25, 2021 14:47:40 GMT snaileyhammy said:

Hello again!

Aww, glad you are helping the snail! I’m unsure as to what it is, you would need better photos. Sounds like you are doing a wonderful job taking care of him, if you need any additional help, just let me or someone else know. Here is a video I wanted to show you, I came up with the idea and made the video. If you want to try it with the snail you can! youtu.be/iFetj3lc83c

I hope he gets better soon!

hello again!

thanks Hammy, sorry for the bad photos!

snoopy is very cute. if mine doesnt seem to get any better i'll definitely try this out!

[bubmel]

Sept 25, 2021 17:06:33 GMT wolf said:

Hi bubmel,
it's always extremely helpful to know the origin of a snail. So, where did you find it? If it is northern or central Europe, it might be a Cepaea species.
The damage does not seem to be too serious. It should have a good chance for recovery.
Kind regards: wolf

hello wolf

sorry i forgot to mention that i am based in the UK (south)

that's reassuring to hear. i've put the snail in a separate tank from everyone else (so they don't make it worse by crawling over it), so hopefuly it has a speedy recovery!

[SuspiciousBagel]

Yep! Looks like a Cepaea to me. Probably Cepaea hortensis but its very hard to tell unless its full grown. I would remove any substrate for a while to ensure nothing gets into the crack, and offer some protein too for optimal healing. Make sure everything they'll need- food, calcium etc are very easily accessible so they won't have to waste energy trying to get to it. Fingers crossed they'll recover!

[bubmel]

Sept 26, 2021 10:28:02 GMT SuspiciousBagel said:

Yep! Looks like a Cepaea to me. Probably Cepaea hortensis but its very hard to tell unless its full grown. I would remove any substrate for a while to ensure nothing gets into the crack, and offer some protein too for optimal healing. Make sure everything they'll need- food, calcium etc are very easily accessible so they won't have to waste energy trying to get to it. Fingers crossed they'll recover!

thanks! but i have them in a small (glass) jar right now. if i remove the substrate, wont it do more damage if they fall off the top of the jar?

i've protein, cuttlebone and some food in. the jar is small (the size of a fist) - obviously not his permanent home, just until the shell gets better :-)

[snaileyhammy]

Yes, removing the substrate wouldn’t be the best idea. The glass jar is perfectly fine temporarily though! I bet he is living his best life in there! If you are really concerned about him getting dirt, pathogens, etc, in the broken area, you can try my bandage thing. That’s what it is made to do. They do fall off easy though, and the snail may try and eat it, lol. It won’t hurt him if he eats it though.

Best fo luck friend!

[bubmel]

Sept 27, 2021 21:05:26 GMT snaileyhammy said:

Yes, removing the substrate wouldn’t be the best idea. The glass jar is perfectly fine temporarily though! I bet he is living his best life in there! If you are really concerned about him getting dirt, pathogens, etc, in the broken area, you can try my bandage thing. That’s what it is made to do. They do fall off easy though, and the snail may try and eat it, lol. It won’t hurt him if he eats it though.

Best fo luck friend!

I remember you mentioning them eating it in the video . I think Id be ok if he ate the egg shell since it’s something I use (besides a cuttlefish bone) to give them some extra calcium, and if he eats the tea bag well then…

Right now he’s eating the cardboard on top of the jar ._. … even though I have raisins, broccoli and some carrot in the jar with him at all times… damn picky eaters!!

[snaileyhammy]

Yes! haha, that is so cute, and funny!! Snails are so crazy sometimes.

[SuspiciousBagel]

Sept 27, 2021 18:55:53 GMT bubmel said:

Sept 26, 2021 10:28:02 GMT SuspiciousBagel said:

Yep! Looks like a Cepaea to me. Probably Cepaea hortensis but its very hard to tell unless its full grown. I would remove any substrate for a while to ensure nothing gets into the crack, and offer some protein too for optimal healing. Make sure everything they'll need- food, calcium etc are very easily accessible so they won't have to waste energy trying to get to it. Fingers crossed they'll recover!

thanks! but i have them in a small (glass) jar right now. if i remove the substrate, wont it do more damage if they fall off the top of the jar?

i've protein, cuttlebone and some food in. the jar is small (the size of a fist) - obviously not his permanent home, just until the shell gets better :-)

Ah! Yeah don't remove the substrate if they're in glass, like snaileyhammy said. Sorry for the confusion! I'd assumed they were in something plastic, which wouldn't cause an issue if they fell on it.

[SuspiciousBagel]

Also- be careful about them eating cardboard, even through most are non-toxic, it could cause an intestinal blockage  glad to hear they're still doing well though!

[bubmel]

Sept 28, 2021 19:21:52 GMT SuspiciousBagel said:

Also- be careful about them eating cardboard, even through most are non-toxic, it could cause an intestinal blockage  glad to hear they're still doing well though!

!

how can i get him to stop eating the cardboard? i've put in so much different types of food. carrots, sweetcorn, broccoli, raisins...he wants none of it, just keeps gnawing on the cardboard...

i can't really close the glass jar, because otherwise it basically creates a seal and there'd be no air flow.

i have an ice cream tub where i poked some holes in, but i keep my baby snail in there, i could move him there, but i'm worried he might crush the baby?

[bubmel]

ok i actually got him to eat a bit of sweetcorn! ... better than cardboard at least

[SuspiciousBagel]

Sept 29, 2021 18:21:48 GMT bubmel said:

Sept 28, 2021 19:21:52 GMT SuspiciousBagel said:

Also- be careful about them eating cardboard, even through most are non-toxic, it could cause an intestinal blockage  glad to hear they're still doing well though!

!

how can i get him to stop eating the cardboard? i've put in so much different types of food. carrots, sweetcorn, broccoli, raisins...he wants none of it, just keeps gnawing on the cardboard...

i can't really close the glass jar, because otherwise it basically creates a seal and there'd be no air flow.

i have an ice cream tub where i poked some holes in, but i keep my baby snail in there, i could move him there, but i'm worried he might crush the baby?

Hurray! Great to hear theyre eating something other than cardboard, haha. If you still have trouble getting them to eat though, try offering sliced sweet potato. Its a common snail favourite and very nutritious too!

1. Snails don't need much ventilation/air flow so maybe the cardboard isn't necessary. Although, they still do need some so don't seal up the jar either. Instead- would you maybe be able to stretch clingflim over the opening of the jar, secure it with tape if it doesnt stick to the glass, and poke some holes in it? I've done that before with some of my tanks and though its pretty painstaking to have to remove, re-apply or replace the clingfilm every time you open/close the jar, I'd think it better than using the cardboard or no ventilation at all. If that's not possible somehow I'd suggest to instead just look for another container you can use- maybe large takeaway plastic boxes could do if you have any?

2. Though the ice cream tub would be better than the jar, you're right in thinking the injured snail can cause harm to the baby by crawling over it or outcompeting it for food due to its size. This could also go both ways, as the baby might also crawl over the bigger snail's cracked area and make the injury worse. Lastly, you shouldn't put new snails with ones you already own without isolating them for a few weeks to check for parasites, etc. So if the injured snail was brought home not so long ago even without the other issues I still wouldn't put them together. So yeah, I wouldn't risk it- it'd do more harm than good.

Hope this helps!

[bubmel]

Sept 29, 2021 20:03:39 GMT SuspiciousBagel said:

Sept 29, 2021 18:21:48 GMT bubmel said:

!

how can i get him to stop eating the cardboard? i've put in so much different types of food. carrots, sweetcorn, broccoli, raisins...he wants none of it, just keeps gnawing on the cardboard...

i can't really close the glass jar, because otherwise it basically creates a seal and there'd be no air flow.

i have an ice cream tub where i poked some holes in, but i keep my baby snail in there, i could move him there, but i'm worried he might crush the baby?

Hurray! Great to hear theyre eating something other than cardboard, haha. If you still have trouble getting them to eat though, try offering sliced sweet potato. Its a common snail favourite and very nutritious too!

1. Snails don't need much ventilation/air flow so maybe the cardboard isn't necessary. Although, they still do need some so don't seal up the jar either. Instead- would you maybe be able to stretch clingflim over the opening of the jar, secure it with tape if it doesnt stick to the glass, and poke some holes in it? I've done that before with some of my tanks and though its pretty painstaking to have to remove, re-apply or replace the clingfilm every time you open/close the jar, I'd think it better than using the cardboard or no ventilation at all. If that's not possible somehow I'd suggest to instead just look for another container you can use- maybe large takeaway plastic boxes could do if you have any?

2. Though the ice cream tub would be better than the jar, you're right in thinking the injured snail can cause harm to the baby by crawling over it or outcompeting it for food due to its size. This could also go both ways, as the baby might also crawl over the bigger snail's cracked area and make the injury worse. Lastly, you shouldn't put new snails with ones you already own without isolating them for a few weeks to check for parasites, etc. So if the injured snail was brought home not so long ago even without the other issues I still wouldn't put them together. So yeah, I wouldn't risk it- it'd do more harm than good.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for all the info! The snails I’ve been having are all from the same garden, except one snail (I got him from a different garden), but I’ll keep a look out for stuff like this from now on, I think I’ve been getting lucky so far😅.

im an idiot it turns out with the jar, I can just close it slightly and leave it ajar a small bit, so he can’t crawl out (he’s bigger than the gap)

but I’ll definitely keep the clingfilm in mind 🙂 thank you for all the advice!