Iredalei's

[jmurphy]

Hi guys ,

I have two Ire's... they are only about 6 months old, if that. They live with my other snails,

2 juve tigers
2 adult fulis
2 baby margis
1 juve marg
2 baby jades
2 baby retis

The trouble is, today, when I cleaned their tank out and gave them all a quick bath, my Ire's had buried right to the bottom of the tank, when I got them out they had retracted so far back into their shells you couldnt even see their flesh. I spray the tank daily and make sure its not too dry, and I have a heat mat at the back of the tank (which is 4ft lng). When I have bathed them and put them on some food, they reluctantly came out... and once out they seemed OK.... does anyone know what is wrong with them? Is this normal behaviour for an Ire? My other snails never retract this far back and I have quite a few smaller than the Ire's.

HELP!!!

Nix
x

[kab]

you could have a look here if you havent already , i hate when they retract as any of mine that have ever done this never seemed to recover , but it doesn't mean yours wont ,
something is obviously troubling them , good luck
karen
www.petsnails.co.uk/problems/retracted.html#start

[jmurphy]

Thanks Kab, yes it did help, a bit - but I am worried... I have noticed that one of them keeps curling around itself as if toward the breathing hole.

I've had these pair since babies, and thats only a few months... I noticed that they werent very active when I first got them, but I thought that perhaps that was just the nature of the species... but today, they were so far retracted that I couldnt even see them, they just looked like empty shells.

They are still in with my others in the big tank, do you think I should isolate them?

Did you have this problem before with Ire's, or a different species?

Its such a shame because they are the first babies I got, after my fulis, they were only the second pair I'd ever had.

What can I do?

Thanks,
Nix
x

[kab]

if i were you i would isolate them , honestly from my experience of retraction it doesn't sound good , put them on their own and give them tlc , reg baths etc that will encourage them out , you cant do much more than that , they wouldent retract if there was nothing wrong so its best to get them away from your healthy ones till you see how they go
karen

[jmurphy]

Thanks Kab, will do that now, bless them.

They've not really ever looked well since I had them, and I did actually email the person that I got them from and ask them if it was OK for them to be so retracted all the time, they said that it probably wasnt warm/damp enough, but now they have both heat and moisture and they are a lot worse.

Thanks again Kab,
will keep you posted.

PS. the tigers you sent me are thriving, right little piglets.

x

[kab]

pleased to hear the tigers are doing well , they were a batch of healthy greedy little critters ;D lets hope this new batch does as well ,
sorry about your ired's
good luck with them
karen

[jmurphy]

Thanks Kab... do you mean you have more baby tig's???!!!!!

I have isolated the Ire's now... bathed them again, and put some food in for them... they have come out a little bit, but after reading that thread you posted, they definately seem too small for their shells, and their new growth is almost see-through.

What shall I do with them?? I hate the thought of them suffering??

[kab]

yes more baby tigers one week old ;D approx 300 of them lol
as for your ireds i would just do your best for them and let nature take its course (whichever way that may go)
they may still pull through , you never know
karen

[jmurphy]

Cripes!! Well done Kab!! Must be something you are feeding them!!

Will post some pics v soon of all my snails, inc the tigers you sent me, and the Ire's.

Congrats on the new arrivals, have you found homes for them all yet?? I'm sure you'll have no problems, they are such beauties!! ;D

x

[kab]

look forward to your pics , i should do some too im lazy as far as the camera is concerned
the first batch all went off to new homes quickly , the second lot as yet are too young, so will cross that bridge when i come to it and just hope its as easy as last time , as cute as they are 300 tigers is just too many to have stampin round the house lol
karen

[jmurphy]

Just a quick update on the Ire's.... moved them to a seperate tank (took them out of the 4footer)... and they now seem really happy... I know its early days cos it was only yesterday that they were so far retracted I couldnt see them, but every time I've checked on them today, I have been able to see their bodies, and they are eating well again.

So strange?

I'll give it a few more days... before I put them back into big tank... but dont want to risk them going downhill again, I really wouldnt want to lose them as they are lovely snails....?

[kab]

How odd , but good news nontheless ;D

[spook]

aww good news that they seem better Nix! keep us posted on their progress

[jmurphy]

;D It is good news, but I really cant understand why they were obviously so unhappy..

I worried when I first got them as teeny babies as they seemed quiet and I always seemed to have to bath them to get them to come out?

It really worried me when I read that thread about them turning their bodies to the air hole and their bodies looking too small for their shells.

I'll take some pics tomorrow and you can see what you think!?

[zippi]

Maybe they don't like the company in the bigger tank...? ;D
Are they well now?

[jmurphy]

Have put them into the nursery tank with my baby tigers and extra heat/moisture etc, they are thriving now... think they were just being fussy!!

[Val]

zippi said:

Maybe they don't like the company in the bigger tank...? ;D

zippi may well have hit the nail on the head, the iredalei will probably thrive better in a tank of their own. if you put them back with the other bigger snails I would think it very likely that they will retract again, sorry hun, not really what you want to hear!!

Val

[jmurphy]

Really?? Didnt realise that they wouldnt like the big tank!!

Anyway, they seem really happy in the nursery tank, just them and 5 tiggggger babies.

x