C Nemoralis Eggs. Unfertilized?

[apach1]

My C. Nemoralis laid about a dozen eggs a few days ago. However, she has been in a solitary shelter since Feb 2021. This was pretty surprising so I tried to scour the internet for info on whether the species can lay unfertilized eggs, but I haven't found any answers. I have seen that they can hold onto sperm for a while but it seems that it should only a be for few months. Based on the mating times of this species, the last time she could have mated was August/September of 2020 (around 16 months ago).

Would anyone be able to tell me if I should be expecting some babies in a couple weeks?

[SuspiciousBagel]

Hello apach1,
Considering the snail is an adult then, yes, i would say the eggs are probably fertile, however i wouldn't suggest hatching babies from them, because:
- As, like you said its been a while since the snail has been alone there is a pretty high chance these eggs are a product of self-fertilization, which for the babies will mean they are basically mega-inbred as all the genetic info is from one snail.
- 12 eggs is also a very small clutch size for a nemoralis. I think the usual is about 30-40. If you haven't seen any eggs from her before this i think these are probably just a 'test' clutch that an inexperienced snail may lay.

Both of these factors will mean the eggs wouldn't bare very healthy babies. Also, with a smaller clutch, it makes it much difficult to cull the clutch of any runts as you can't as accurately compare them. I'd just crush the eggs up or freeze them and feed them back to the snail as a snack.