Is my information correct?

[madhouse]

Hi All

I'm a snail virgin and have just rehomed 2 from a friend of my brothers - I do have tortoises and a few other bits and bobs so having had a good read through of caresheets I'm fairly happy but would like to check a couple of things that I can't find answers to please:

My temperatures are ranging from 18 - 25 (mainly 21-23). Do I need a heat mat presuming its going to get colder as the winter comes and how many hours do I keep it on for? Some people seem to advise for it to be on 24/7 and others say only overnight.

Humidity wise its between 75-85 - is this about right or should it be slightly higher and if so I'm presuming it will rise with the use of a heat mat?

Dangerous Brian & Dimlo Dillon, the snails, have been rather neglected and both have cracked shells - Brian's regrowth has a broken piece which is smooth (he's been nibbling this presumably to smoothen it out??) and Dillon's regrowth is soft. I've mixed in some limestone flour with their substrate and have provided them with cuttlefish which they've both been eating.

I use a mixture of grated cuttlefish/limestone flour/vionate to sprinkle on my tortoises food - would it be an idea to also sprinkle a little on the snails food for the first month or so to help their new growth along and maybe help repair the cracks?

Both seem very happy - their eating and stomping around their tank and both enjoying their daily wipeover/bath so fingers crossed I'm hoping that they'll both have long and happy lifes with us.

Any help, advice would be appreciated as I am worried about the neglect these poor little chaps have had in the past. Thanks in advance.

Renamed - CroSSLeSS

[madhouse]

sorry to be a nag but can anyone give me any advice please on the above? Thanks

[Dusk]

What kind are they? Fulicas? Different species have different temperature/humidity preferences.
I'm not sure what vionate is but sprinkling calcium on their food can help if they're not getting it any other way. I find it better to mix the limestone flour into a rock and let them chomp on it at their own pace, though. You can always add a couple of drops of liquid calcium to your spraybottle - that seems to aid shell growth and repair.
Probably the best thing you can do for them is just make sure they have a varied diet - maybe supplement with a mash or something - and several sources of calcium available in case they have a preference for one over another. They sound like they're doing ok so far

[madhouse]

thanks for your help. Will get some of the liquid calcuim. The vionate is similiar to Nutrabol (a calcuim supplement)

Sorry yes they are Fulicas so according to the caresheets I'm about right with the temps - its the heat mat bit thats confusing me

Thanks again

[spook]

Hi there,
As for the calcium thing I wouldn't think they would need extra sprinkling on their food if they are both happily eating the cuttlefish,that will provide more than enough calcium..

Heat mat wise.....I always have a heat mat on each of my tanks and always have! It's on constantly, i prefer it this way so the temperature stays more stable,even with Fulicas i've kept them at the higher end of the temp scale (28ish degrees)....but every snail is different,some prefer cooler/warmer...it's a matter of playing around with the temp and seeing what works best for your two.
If you do get a heat mat it's best to place on the outside,on one of the sides and possibly put some polystyrene at the other side to help direct the heat back into the tank..

Hope that helps!

[madhouse]

brilliant thanks for your help. Wont worry too much about the additional calcuim at the moment then will see how they both get on.

Will sort a heat mat out for them and try it out

Thanks again - take care