lucyjames
Achatina immaculata
I iz da King...
Posts: 323
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Post by lucyjames on Apr 9, 2009 5:54:46 GMT
Hi All,
Well, my white jades arrived yesterday, but when Bernard went to sleep, I noticed that he didn't have a mantle...
On closer inspection, his mantle is right the way up into his shell, and the rim of his shell is all chipped :-( He is the same age as Hattie but alot smaller, so do you think it is possible that this happened some time ago, hence why he is smaller - he hasn't been eating or formed new shell...?
I have read the petsnails.co.uk details on mantle collapse, but he seems to have no probs retracting into the shell, but his body does seem dryer than my others... He has difficulty getting out of his shell by the looks of it...
Is it mantle collapse that makes the mantle go all the way up into the shell...?
He's only a baby (1inch shell)...
What can I do to make him eat and help him? Or is it better not to let him suffer? He only comes out for very short periods, purely to get AWAY from the food that I give him...
Hattie has no soft shell, and the rim of her shell is also all chipped off, but her mantle appears to be in place where it should be...
I was so excited about getting these little white babies, now I am gutted :-( I am sure that they were well looked after by the girl I got them from, but maybe if she had alot of snails she didn't notice :-(
I am away now until saturday so have asked my mum to care for him... is there anything else that I can do - sugar-water? Bread? Dog Bones....
I dont want to lose him - I only just got him :'-(
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Post by Snail Lover. on Apr 9, 2009 10:30:00 GMT
I can't be much help, but i wish you the best of look, alls i can say is keep him as comfortable as possible and maksure he has food and plenty of cuttle near by, maybe even isolate him away from the others if he is with anyone else?.
Best regards.
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Post by snailysnail on Apr 9, 2009 12:50:38 GMT
have you got any photos of him to show us exactly how his shell looks? it might be a bit of an awkward thing to get a pic of, but it might be a great help. really hope he gets better =]
anna x
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Post by copigeon on Apr 10, 2009 6:42:38 GMT
Sounds like the growing edge might of been broken in transit.
Your description is of normal mantle and behaviour, the retraction (unless caused by some known problem) is typical of activity after damage to the growing edge.
Issolation really isnt necessary, neither is fussing. Provide with food warmth as normal and wait a week and see what happens.
This is definatly not mantle collapse.
All you can do with any not so active snail is provide the right conditions, right food, and wait. The more you interfear (moving them next to food/pull them out every day) the more your disrupt the process of adjustment. In my experience at any rate.
If its sick, there isnt much you can do about it.
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lucyjames
Achatina immaculata
I iz da King...
Posts: 323
|
Post by lucyjames on Apr 12, 2009 10:02:10 GMT
Hi Everyone,
Thank you for your responses and help.... I have actually been away for a couple of days, and on my return yesterday Bernard was on the top of his encolsure, so I could get a good look at him - I *think* there is a tad of improvement - his mantle is now visible, and he has not been hanging out of his shell so far... he has eaten a little cuttlefish and a bit of banana, and so I think there may be hope...
I will keep you posted....
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lucyjames
Achatina immaculata
I iz da King...
Posts: 323
|
Post by lucyjames on Apr 14, 2009 6:01:05 GMT
Well, this morning I could almost see his mantle back near the opening of his shell - so fingers crossed :-) What did worry me a bit though was that when he was coming out of his shell he just kept coming and coming, like he was gonna fall out!!!! His shell was sitting on a massive stalk above his body.... Is this normal....? Or was he just happy to see me  |
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Post by Snail Lover. on Apr 14, 2009 9:26:10 GMT
i wouldn't worry about that, but maybe aa second opinion?
Anyway i wish you the best of luck with bernard.
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lucyjames
Achatina immaculata
I iz da King...
Posts: 323
|
Post by lucyjames on Apr 16, 2009 5:54:17 GMT
Well, Bernie is now asleep on the top of his house - his mantle seems a little better than it was, but it is still not attaching to the outer rim of his shell.... how long can this take?
Now that his mantle is far less retracted into his shell I can look at it closer, and there is what looks like a small tear, so I am still going to keep him and his sister separate for the time being, until I am sure that he is eating and growing....
Hattie has started to form new shell and has eaten a huge amount of cuttle, but it is still difficult to get Bernie to eat much.... I have some snail vacation food from Paul that I thought I might try to tempt him with....
Is there anything else I can do to try and help? I heard bathing them in green tea may be effective.... is there any other kind of herbal tea I can use...?
I just want to try and get something into him - he has done a couple of very small poos so I know he has eaten a tiny bit, but he's so little comparted to Hattie, who he is the same age as :-(
Poor little lad....
Any other ideas and opinions *greatly* appreciated...!!!!
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Post by Snail Lover. on Apr 20, 2009 18:46:10 GMT
Well i dont think there is much more you can do apart from make him as comfy and happy as possible and just wait really  , good luck with bernard!.x |
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lucyjames
Achatina immaculata
I iz da King...
Posts: 323
|
Post by lucyjames on Apr 22, 2009 13:04:18 GMT
There is no real improvement on the Bernie-front  He is still so small I'm scared to put him in with my big flat lump of a boy incase Sid squishes him...!!! Hattie is now double the size, in only 2 weeks.... Still, please keep good vibes coming for baby-Bernie... He's my little white baby, I dont want to lose him  |
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vicki
Achatina achatina
Posts: 45
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Post by vicki on Apr 22, 2009 21:22:36 GMT
Good luck with your lil man!!!! Are these the snails that you got from Laura? .... she lost a few of her snails over the last couple of months hasnt she? maybe her snails are just a little unwell at the moment? keep trying tho, let him rest and i always think a whisper of 'love you' helps!!!  xxxx |
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lucyjames
Achatina immaculata
I iz da King...
Posts: 323
|
Post by lucyjames on Apr 23, 2009 5:57:13 GMT
Good luck with your lil man!!!! Are these the snails that you got from Laura? .... she lost a few of her snails over the last couple of months hasnt she? maybe her snails are just a little unwell at the moment? keep trying tho, let him rest and i always think a whisper of 'love you' helps!!! xxxx Yes, they are the ones from Laura.... She says hers have mites so I wonder if these 2 do as well.... I havent seen any evidence of them - but I may have to treat them all just in case.... Hattie and Bernie had a bath with my other 3 the other day, so I shall have to treat them too I think... Although Hattie seems fine... Thanks for the well wishes... I am not giving up on him - he has eaten a little, done a little poo, and he comes out of his shell without the need for a bath and spray, so I figure he can't feel *terrible*.... But his mantle is still not attached to that ouuter rim of his shell, and I am worried he will grow too big for his shell... he hasn't formed ANY in ages Hattie has grown herself almost a centimeter of shell in the last 2 weeks...!!! Go Bernie...! |
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Post by lee2211 on Aug 24, 2010 11:43:59 GMT
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, good luck with bernard!.x
