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Post by anjieburdett on Jul 3, 2005 16:13:42 GMT
Just wash your hands after handling them - which you should do anyway!
Aparently if its these rat-lung parasites then you would have to eat your snail....and undercooked!! ewww, to get infected. A period of quaranteen would break the lifecyle of the parasite.
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Post by bookitten on Jul 3, 2005 16:15:18 GMT
lol, a few minutes ago i just picked up their lid to have a look at them, and found myself washing my hands with soap!
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Post by Paul on Jul 3, 2005 16:49:49 GMT
Anyone who finds one really needs to get a picture of it. Knowing what it is will put people's minds at rest. I'd also suggest that anyone who gets some wild snails from now on, separates them, and doesn't put much soil in. At least for a few weeks. This will allow you to regularly sterilise it or throw it away easily.
I wouldn't worry too much Sophie, if you're worried search google for it. Sneezing isn't a symptom. And the three types it could be are all treatable, and because we know what the possibilities are, we're not gonna be caught unawares. As I've said, there hasn't been a single case of infection in European snail owners. If there had been there'd be loads of information about it. And the fact that you know this information has just cut your risk down to practically 0.
As Anjie said, 99.99% of infection cases occur from eating the snail. So far there has been 1 case of touching a snail and catching it but with it being in an area where they are regularly eaten, it is perhaps no wonder and perhaps an unreliable report. It probably contaminated other food that this person ate.
Just be vigilant. Wash your hands thoroughly, don't touch any body cavity like mouth, ears, eyes etc. while your handling them and you'll be fine.
And for those who have found them, there is every chance that the parasites will die off now they have been removed from the wild and the snail owners observe good hygiene.
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Post by anjieburdett on Jul 3, 2005 16:55:11 GMT
Thanks Paul....I was getting an ickle bit worried about all this.....being the one who's supplying these snails i feel a bit responsible!
Anjie,x.
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Kevin
Archachatina dimidiata
Posts: 2,227
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Post by Kevin on Jul 3, 2005 17:08:44 GMT
Thanks Paul, I'll keep my margie under quaranteen conditions, and will certainly make sure to thoughoughly wash my hands every time I touch his housing..Thankfully though ive found no more worms in with him since finding the first one
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Post by natrat84 on Jul 3, 2005 17:15:29 GMT
Serves them right for eating such cute harmless creatures No, If they are eating something in that state (dirtyness) thats quite obviously come from the wild without fully knowing what they are eating then serves them right I say.
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Kevin
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Posts: 2,227
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Post by Kevin on Jul 3, 2005 17:21:08 GMT
PEOPLE ARE BUYING THESE TO EAT!!!! Sick isnt it..im not a vegetarian, but the thought of just eating snails let alone ones that are wc from Africa with a very real chance of ingesting some foreign parasite is disgusting
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Post by anjieburdett on Jul 3, 2005 20:30:06 GMT
Right Eric....do you still have the parasitic worm?
I got this email from Morgan earlier.
Pop it in a sealed container and send it to me at:
Wildife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country 28 Harborne Road Edgbaston Birmingham B15 3AA
I'll do my best to find out what they are. Poor things! I haven't been able to keep up with things on cybersnail lately as I've been really busy at work, but I hope everyone is okay.
Morgan
Can you do that Eric, seal it in a container and send it to Morgan Hughes at the above address. But try and get a phot of it before you send it, just incase it goes missing in the post!!!
Anjie,x.
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Post by eric2 on Jul 3, 2005 20:47:50 GMT
i can probably do that but i cant get clear photos because ive only got my camera phone. I will need to check on it and see where it is because it has got some poo in it aswell
eric
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Post by anjieburdett on Jul 3, 2005 21:08:12 GMT
try and get most of it off, but don't touch it!! It doesn't matter if its dead though, we just need it id'd if possible.
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Post by Paul on Jul 5, 2005 3:18:20 GMT
Talking about eating them...
Did you know that tapeworm eggs can withstand boiling water!? You need to really cook them to kill them off. For anyone who has these snails and finds what may be a tapeworm or roundworm (see above) and normally sterilises with a kettle and a sieve, I'd suggest you do it very thoroughly or even stick it all in a massive pan and boil for a good few minutes before draining and sieving. And then scrub the pans and implements throughly with some bleach & water. I think that these two types, which although are the least dangerous to humans, are the trickiest types really because they may have long lives. Both these types require eggs being eaten to continue. Eventually the internal worms will die and be passed out. I think animals that suffer the most are constantly affected because they are exposed to reinfection. So they don't break the cycle. Most types don't live constantly and reproduce inside the intestines or bowels. This is to our advantage, because eventually your snail will recover. I think most animals can live with a few worms, perhaps quite a few. But they never get a break and it gets worse. That is why they die.
Our snails will hopefully have the chance to get better as each worm dies. This raises a point though, you need to remove faeces from the tank regularly so no reinfection can occur. I think, an infected snail will need extra nutrition to combat the drain of nutrients worms cause.
I wonder if the snails can last longer without food than the worms? I think that was what Eric was driving at earlier. That is why identification is very useful. Extreme measures but if it cured a snail of worms, you are doing it a favour. I wouldn't hesitate.
With 50% of all life on earth being parasitic and with 75% of human beings on this planet and probably 90% of all life being affected, it isn't surprising they have something. Snails in your garden are probably riddled with stuff as are birds and frogs and all the rest. Most parasites are very specific to physiology. Take the rat-lung worm, it is a mammalian parasite specific to rats. It just so happens that the worms get lost in the human body and end up in the brain and cause a form Eosinophilic meningitis as a side-effect. The worms only use snails as a temporary host, they cannot survive there for long. They rely on being ingested. What I'm driving at here is that this is unusual and most parasites that invertebrates can be afflicted with are probably not even dangerous to us.
Once again here you have to see the bright side of these events. If we do manage to get them identified, we can find all the information we need, try various treatments and maybe even come up with a solution. That would be fantastic because no-one would have to worry the same again. It could even be a normal part of your wild snail quarantine routine.
I'd just like to say that I'm not worried, think of all the pet-shop owners with bad hygiene who haven't been infected, or the people who sell them every day, all summer, and the handlers. No-one would assume they were dangerous and yet no-one has been affected. I have 3 tigers, 1 papyracea, 2 Bulimulus, 4 Zachrysia, 2 Pleurodonte from various locations around the world and god knows how many Cornu apersum coming in and out on rescue missions. Start worrying when I drop dead, lol.
Lastly, the reason I mentioned the blow-fly larvae for the grub type one is that it's reasonable to assume from the reports we hear of Brixton market that there are dead snails knocking about. It wouldn't take long for maggots to get in and climb on and in the snails. It may have been one that got inside the breathing hole etc. and so Anjie cleaning couldn't get at it. They don't eat living flesh (well most don't) so it'd be no harm to the snails. It may have even been eaten by accident, margies have a hell of a large mouth, lol.
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Post by lee2211 on Aug 13, 2010 12:50:31 GMT
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