helix aspersa, strange foamy mucus....

[greentiger]

I have two H. aspersa which I found in the garden three or four months ago. I noticed recently that one has developed a foamy whitish area of mantle/mucus round the edge of the shell. Some parts are clear, others opaque off-white.

Snail is active and feeding. I will try to get a photo to post. Any advice would be welcome- I'm new to snails and finding information online pretty patchy.

Thanks.

[Carolyne]

Mucus's color (Green,blue or transparent) ?.

[greentiger]

Last night it looked colourless, but this morning it's drier and creamy brown.

It's all around the foot, as though it was sealing itself in, but the foot is coming through the middle of it. Snail still active- getting friendly with it's tankmate as we speak...

[greentiger]

Was able to take picture, not great quality . Nowhere to upload but can be seen at boyfriend's myspace page. www.myspace.com/digitaldoug

[Carolyne]

A brown-creamy mucus is not bad (Is materialized mucus or a stained mucus). But if the mucus is blue is a sign of excess of heavy metals in the food (Specially Cu). A green mucus is a principal sign of a illness. The transparent mucus is a sign of a normal snail.

P.S: I can't see the strange mucus, I see the snail's body.

[greentiger]

Yes- did wonder if it might be part of the snail. This is the first time I've seen this and was concerned at the strange colour and texture. It looks puffy.

Looking at them this morning, they are moving around and I don't see it, just normal looking foot. Could it be related to mating? This is the first time I've seen them get together properly.

Thanks for your advice- it's hard to know how things should look in a healthy snail!

[snegledame]

From your description and the photo (a bit hard to make out, actually), it sounds like what you saw was the moist and swollen mantle of the snail. My snails' mantle appears swollen and somewhat distended when they have absorbed a lot of moisture (from food, water). I don't know what other properties contribute to that physiological change, but it doesn't appear to indicate any pathology, and is temporary at any rate.

[greentiger]

The more I look at it, the more I think you're right- that this is part of the snail's body. I'm glad you don't think it's a sign of anything nasty- they certainly seem happy enough.