Snail seems unwell after laying a giant clutch of eggs

[counterbalance]

A week or so ago I noticed that one of my snails was barely active and didn't seem very interested in any food or even calcium, which was unusual. Today I found it laying a huge clutch of eggs. I've seen my snails laying eggs before, but this clutch is almost just as big the snail that laid it! This is the first time I see anything like this. I have trouble believing that all those eggs could fit in its shell at all. Maybe it was compressing the snail's internal organs, hence the eating problem?

The snail in question looks unwell now. It just rests in the same spot, but reacts to touching and spraying. Is there anything I can do to help it? Could such a big clutch damage it inside?

[counterbalance]

Update: Unbelievably, it's still giving birth. A few more eggs just came out after a long pause.

[snaileyhammy]

Hey there! Sorry to hear about this.

Of course you know, it’s a lot of work for a snail to lay eggs. So that could just be the case, and maybe they just aren’t ready to eat yet. I have never heard of a large amount of eggs doing damage internally, I’m also not sure if it’s possible. But, if you think there really is something more going on, I would just give them a nice green tea bath, and maybe separate them with some food. I have heard coconut oil can benefit an animals digestive system, not sure if that is the case for snails, but the oil is sure to have some nutritional benefits to it. So, you could try giving them some of that.

I hope that helps you some!

[SuspiciousBagel]

^^ I second snaileyhammy's advice! I would just make sure they've completely finished laying before giving the green tea bath. Giving them some protein if you can would also help.

[apple]

Which species is?

If it´s Theba pisana, then they have short life cycle and may die after laying eggs.

[counterbalance]

Snaileyhammy, SuspiciousBagel, thanks! The egg-laying has finally stopped, phew... Honestly, the general mass of those eggs is the size of their mum. I gave the snail a warm green tea and chamomile bath. It seems exhausted (unsurprisingly). It, finally, ate, but not much, and pooped, which I hadn't seen it doing for a while. So, my guess, the eggs did cause some obstruction.

[counterbalance]

Oct 2, 2021 16:39:09 GMT apple said:

Which species is?

If it´s Theba pisana, then they have short life cycle and may die after laying eggs.

I do believe you're right about the species. This is what I thought too after studying gazillions of pictures on the Internet after finding this snail and the others of the same species in grapes that I'd bought in my local supermarket, so I'm not 100% sure. I've had all six of them for more than two years now, but some of them have already laid eggs. There was never nearly that much though, and after laying eggs the snails just went about their business, as if nothing had happened. They are still alive. I hope this one pulls through, too...

Thanks for the information! It's relatively easy to find information about snails commonly kept as pets, but not those who come from the wild.

[apple]

Oct 2, 2021 17:39:36 GMT counterbalance said:

Oct 2, 2021 16:39:09 GMT apple said:

Which species is?

If it´s Theba pisana, then they have short life cycle and may die after laying eggs.

I do believe you're right about the species. This is what I thought too after studying gazillions of pictures on the Internet after finding this snail and the others of the same species in grapes that I'd bought in my local supermarket, so I'm not 100% sure. I've had all six of them for more than two years now, but some of them have already laid eggs. There was never nearly that much though, and after laying eggs the snails just went about their business, as if nothing had happened. They are still alive. I hope this one pulls through, too...

Thanks for the information! It's relatively easy to find information about snails commonly kept as pets, but not those who come from the wild.

Do you have any pictures of the snails?

Regarding the Theba pisana lifespan, there is some info here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theba_pisana

[counterbalance]

Oct 2, 2021 18:07:50 GMT apple said:

Do you have any pictures of the snails?

Regarding the Theba pisana lifespan, there is some info here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theba_pisana

Yes, this is the article that I found back when I was wondering about the species, and it's the closest to what my snails look like. There's just one exception that made me doubt a little bit: in all those shell pictures in the article the umbilicuses are partially covered by the openings of the shell, whereas my snails' umbilicuses are wide and not covered at all.

Here are pictures of my Choko, as I call 'him'. Sorry, he was not in the mood for being taken out of his hiding place and photographed, so you can't see his foot. If it helps, the foot is white and the eye stalks are very dark, and I can see them through his skin very well when he pulls them in.

drive.google.com/file/d/1n3Imjdc0kA184n62Xw3UcCSdt3wJbgdB/view?usp=sharing

drive.google.com/file/d/17fdSh2VtmjmOqU6sR58aatyQ8gxuWXiR/view?usp=sharing

He has the darkest milk chocolate markings among my other white snails (that's why he's Choko). They all looked the same when I found them, but when their shells completed their growth, the markings turned out a bit different. My other snails' shells are lighter in colour than this, but the sizes are roughly the same and their feet are identical, so I still believe they are all the same species.

[apple]

Choko is such a cool snail!

The umbilicus being that wide, tells me that snail is probably closer to Cernuella virgata than Theba pisana.

Also C. virgata is sometimes known as vineyard snail, because it loves grapes and vines.

So maybe we have the mystery solved, but this is just my opinion.

[SuspiciousBagel]

Good to hear the layings finally stopped and he's feeling better what a gorgeous shell Choko has!

[counterbalance]

apple, thank you, I think that's the exact species! Fingers crossed, he's going to survive the ordeal. He's currently eating like there's no tomorrow.

drive.google.com/file/d/1lx_-zCRNdEQCv8DD_gskHelstPSxb3TN/view?usp=sharing

I hope it's a good sign. I also gave him some finely ground daphnia and gammarus.

SuspiciousBagel, thanks ! Yes, he's handsome and, normally, quite active and curious, too. He's a bit clumsy at the moment, but I hope he'll be back to normal soon.