Has anyone taken their snail to a vet?

[alexc1981]

I can't imagine that a normal vet would know much, but could there be specialists in the field?

[Deleted]

us lot probably know far more than any vet.

i think there are a few achatina experts, but they probably just know about identification and stuff, we're the experts on snail care ;D

[anjieburdett]

I was asking the same thing in a previous thread.

if i had a snail that was really sick and suffering and i had to make the decision to euthanize then.....could a vet do it somehow - without injection cause i'm sure that would hurt a snail....

[bookitten]

roflmao - how about 1 of those masks they put on people when they do operations? But put different gas in it so it puts them to sleep ...forever...

[anjieburdett]

I'm being serious Sophie.

[bookitten]

so am i.

[anjieburdett]

Ohh sorry hehe i thought roflmao meant Rolling On The Floor Laughing My Arse Off ....... ooops silly me .. doh!

;D

[bookitten]

well, it does. but i was still being serious
lol

[alexc1981]

I wasn't thinking about that side of it. I thought maybe there could be some something for getting rid of mites etc. Probably not as anything that will kill mites, will probably kill the snail too.

If I did need to put a snail out of it's misery and I was feeling particularly sensitive, I'd probably squash it with the car then drive off for the day. By the time I got back the remains would probably have been eaten by something. At least I wouldn't hear the crunch!

[Deleted]

i put mine in a bag and froze it - a bit less gruesome and u dont have to see it dead

[natrat84]

Freezing always seems so slow and therefore prolonged pain, to me. I think I'd give anything I had that needed it, to Jas, oh god I hope it never happens to me.

[Paul]

alexc1981 said:

I wasn't thinking about that side of it. I thought maybe there could be some something for getting rid of mites etc. Probably not as anything that will kill mites, will probably kill the snail too.

Hypoaspis miles predatory mites work. They eat the snail mites and don't harm the snail. They picked mine clean, inside the breathing hole also.

[anjieburdett]

OH MY GOD!! Why am i such a wimp! I couldn't do the car thing either!!!

Anjie,x.

[Arno]

natrat84 said:

Freezing always seems so slow and therefore prolonged pain, to me. I think I'd give anything I had that needed it, to Jas, oh god I hope it never happens to me.

I don't think freezing is prolonging the pain.It would be like forcing the snail into hibernation,but this time an everlasting one.I would probably put it in the fridge first and after a while in the freezer,to make the process go gradually.

[Val]

Yes, I agree with Arno but hate to even think about it!!!

[ceiron]

for mouse euthanasia for feeding purposes co2 is best method, jsut fill a tank with co2 and they fall into deep sleep, then coma then die. painless and relatively quick.

also other anasthetic gases in high concentrations have same effect.

[gail]

Yeah but where do you get the the CO2 from? or am I being stupid??

Gail

[LisaLQ]

CO2 isn't humane for mice. Or any mammal I'd think. There's plenty of websites that cover the pros and cons - but for humane euthanasia anaesthetic and then an injection of phenobarb is the best method.

www.rmca.org/Articles/euthanasia.htm (scroll down to Other Methods)

...and loads of info on here....

www.hsus.org/animals_in_research/pain_distress/concerns_about_carbon_dioxide_use_in_euthanasia_and_anesthesia/a_executive_summary.html

But that's for rodents, god knows what for snails.

[sonicsnail]

I can't imagine myself taking my snails to the vets. The vets probably are not trained to deal with snails. Well, not that many people keep them when comparing them to hamsters or dogs. Like lotsofsnails said, we probably know more.