Broken shell of snail helix pomatia

[dany9050]

On Wednesday I took from street on walk from my school, it shell was on the upper broken, there was a hole first day I left him outside by my pond, on the second day I took him home to aquarium which soil and some moss and gave him food, his shell started in the hole form a membrane which now it little bit hang out when he sits on glass, today I made a little upgrade to tank, placed a whole Moss section than planted q clover and there is a coconut fiber area to burrow for snail, I place a stick across aquarium and he slept on it for a while, for now he sleeps on glass most of time this is forth day of keeping him, I feed him a roman salad or whatever it is called, Apple, carrot, and his favorite cucumber, I gave him a caddlefish bone and later today I want to give him eggs, he eating just cucumber any advice? Any ideas of what to feed him

[SuspiciousBagel]

Hi dany! Thats very kind of you to take the injured snail in. Are you able to send a photo of what he looks like to see the hole in his shell? It will make it easier for us to see how bad it is and if there's anything else you can do for him. You can upload a photo to imgur and paste the link here if possible. If there is a membrane forming, that is good though, and cuttlefish will be perfect for the calcium he needs for it to heal. Eggs will be a good meal because they will have protein in them which will keep your snail strong and recover faster. Try feeding him egg or some other protein source once every 1-2 weeks, its good for a snail's diet to have protein regularly. Regarding the cucumber, don't give him any if it is all he will eat. Cucumber (and, just as a heads up, lettuce too) doesn't have any nutritional value and will make him full without actually eating anything healthy. Carrot is very good, try to get him to eat that instead. If you are feeding it in large pieces he might not like to eat it like that (my snail never did). If you peel it into thin pieces with a vegetable peeler he might find the carrot easier to eat, if you havent done that already. Besides that, sweet potato and courgette are very healthy for snails and you can feed him that in the same way. Apple is okay but you shouldn't give him too much because it is high in sugar. But, honestly, he is probably quite fragile right now in terms of health so feeding him anything that isn't cucumber will be good for him. Let me know if you have any questions!

[dany9050]

Sorry for late reply, the snail yesterday ate a lot, lots of roman cabbage or something like that, now he is exploring the enclosure for som reasons he still do some sound like when you punch some plastic toy, today I was looking at his back of the shell and saw a little hole, I knew about because I dropped him the first day acidently it is at back of his shell it is just the first layer but I am worried because there us the broken shell stuck inside today I moved it to place where it been when it was unbroken because it was bellow the shell, I am little scared of doing something, rn I am sitting by hom and the sounds I think it is the membrane that he made upon the broken shell and how he breathing it expands I will post photos, thanks for addvice Iam going to give him some carrot

[dany9050]

Snail imgur.com/gallery/WdrhDtj
I dont know can the hole oj his back shell expand? Or maybe I am just stupid

[dany9050]

Apr 24, 2023 6:15:45 GMT dany9050 said:

Snail imgur.com/gallery/WdrhDtj
I dont know can the hole oj his back shell expand? Or maybe I am just stupid

I hope the link works haha

[SuspiciousBagel]

Hi dany, thanks for posting images. It's good to hear your snail is eating well, it will help him recover. That's a pretty big hole! That is, unfortunately, not the best place for a snail to be injured because it's lung is around there, but the membrane it's making looks promising. Maybe the lung has something to do with why it inflates when the snail breathes. Hopefully, the snail's internal organs aren't damaged and protruding into the 'bulging' bit of the membrane. Try and keep his enclosure very humid so he doesn't dry out (don't spray directly onto the broken area or anything, though, you might get water inside the wound and it'll get infected.

Also- you've got a lovely setup for him so I feel bad saying this, but he might benefit if, for the time being, you put him into a shallow enclosure without any dirt; just food, cuttlefish, and humidity. You can use a Tupperware box if you want, it shouldn't be very big so he doesn't have to move much. Also, nothing hard- you have what looks to be a ceramic food bowl in his enclosure which he could fall on and break his shell again; not just while his shell is so delicate but in general. You can replace it with a soft plastic dish if you want to once he's well enough to go back into his big enclosure. I will warn you his shell might look a bit weird and deformed when the big hole heals properly, but he will be okay.

Is the injury from you dropping him what you're showing in the last photo of the imgur gallery? It may not heal completely but it doesn't look like a problem. It will just be aesthetic damage. Try not to touch or pick up the snail while he's healing, though, unless absolutely necessary so you don't get any bacteria in the injured areas or accidentally hurt him.

Sorry for dumping so much information on you at once! Hope this helps!

[dany9050]

Hello I really thank you for your advice, I was a bit worried about the broken pieces on the back so it was a relieve some kind of, is the only glass enclosure necessary because I would be scared what if he just dropped down, I understand about not getting any bad things in tjere and I know you are more experienced etc. So I am asking this with all the humility. The ceramic bowl is stone I know he can fall on that but I placed it to the centre of enclosure but I will find something plastic or less hard, I dont know if I want to place him to another enclosure because he just today started to sleep at ground and exploring the enclosure so I just want to ask if its necessary because the membrane is created and its strong so I am just wonderning, I really thank you for all your advice and it got me less stresed about the situation, Sorry for another question but can he go back to wild, I mean I would personally love to keep him but I dont want to imprison him for rest of his life, today I was walking outside and it was raining and i was at place where it so múch snails, I accidently stepped on one, he was small and hidden in grass, I crushed his shell I was really sad about it, and he was mohing without shell I didnt know what to do so I tried to relieve his sufferning and did it, I am really sad about it and didnt really know what to do, it is really depressing harming other beigns it really hurts me, do you think it suffered a lot? I was trying at least painful but I am scared it hurted a lot

[SuspiciousBagel]

Hi again!
No worries, I can understand it's quite alot of change to be moving the snail around so much. But no, it isn't absolutely necessary to move him and you're alright to keep him there if you prefer if the membrane somehow opens up though, I would think it more necessary. And you can release him if you'd like once he's healed up, you'll have done him a great service by nursing him back to health and I'm sure he'll have appreciated the free food and shelter. The snail won't mind either way, he will do okay outside and in captivity.
Regarding the snail you stepped on- I get it; accidents happen. I know it was hard to do but you definitely did the right thing by putting him down and saved him alot of suffering as snails will slowly dry out and die without their shells. There was nothing else you could've done and it would've been quick so I doubt he felt much, if anything- snails don't register pain in the same way people do. I know it really sucks to accidentally step on a snail- I have many times before. But, again, you did the right thing for him.

[dany9050]

I am really thankfull for all of your advice,I really appreciate it, I will post an update about how the snail doing, I consider buying a new enclosure for him better ventlitation, bigger and maybe after he will heal maybe I add few friends for him, I hope so all of your snails If you got any are doing great, I jope that the snail today I accidently stepped wasnt suffering much, I hope he is in snail heaven now. Thank you for all, it seems the whole hole on top of his shell has covered by the membrane, I will do an update maybe new encosure update soon hopefully you dont mind answering me if I would have more question I would be very thankful for that, you are great ❤

[dany9050]

Sorry but I just got question on the membrane he has a little of substrate and he is there a little dirty, what should I do? Sorry for being annoying

[SuspiciousBagel]

Questions are what I'm here for! I would leave it alone. As long as there isnt any hole in the membrane for the dirt to get into the shell through, it'll be alright. Don't wash the shell or anything to get it off because, again, it could cause an infection if water gets in. He'll be just fine

[dany9050]

Hi again, I am thinking about buying a bigger terarium and I choose one with the holes on one side and on the top, do you think it is good? It is bigger terarium at least I think it has 65cm in length 30cm width and 30cm height, I am thinking what it the holes on side will cause much more evaporation, I mean it isnt a big deal but still I want to ask professional haha

[SuspiciousBagel]

Hello! That sounds like a very generously sized enclosure, but With holes on it I'm not so sure- snails don't need much oxygen and you risk giving yourself extra work having to patch them up. Are you able to post a photo for it, like you did for your snail?

[dany9050]

i.imgur.com/EtVfyuA.jpeg
This is the terarium

[dany9050]

I mean it is already ordered, I was talking with the guy who makes it, and he said something about circulating the whole enclosure so, IF the holes were really bad at worst I wuold patch them up, thanks for advice

[dany9050]

Hi everyone, my snail that I took home with broken shell is doing fine, but at back of his shell he has a shattered shell, the thing that worries me that there is a dirt in pieces of his shell I will post potom later and I dont know what to do

[dany9050]

imgur.com/a/PxBqRC6

[SuspiciousBagel]

Hello again dany!
Sorry this is a couple days late. Your snail looks to be recovering wonderfully. It's very impressive just how good snails can be at patching themselves up- even his shell might end up looking a bit misshapen! The dirt is probably nothing to worry about, if you want to you can very gently wipe it off with some tissue paper or something similar but I would leave it be. It is unlikely to actually get in the snail's body by the looks of it and even if you do clean it off they will get dirt on there again eventually.

[dany9050]

Thank you very much mister bagel, can you please look at my last post, I made a new terrarium for him and added arcadia earth mix with coco fiber and know I dont know if its good for him, thank for advice