Poorly Snail :(

[sorcia]

Hi,

My girlfriend recently got a couple of young giant snails from our school. They both seemed ok at first although their shells aren't in the best condition.

But today one of the has been really inactive and won't eat properly. She also seems to become dehydrated very quickly and my gf is constantly having to rehydrate her.

We don't know what to do. Any ideas?

[coyote]

Hi Sorcia, welcome aboard. Sorry about your snail. Do you know the temperature and relative humidity in her tank? How is she being rehydrated (I'm unfamiliar with how a snail is rehydrated)? Do you know which species they are? It could be that it's too warm and/or dry in their tank. Also, can you see the snail's mouth area? Does it look swollen or bulging?

[sorcia]

Hey,

Sorry for not replying for a while I've had limited internet access.

I don't know how my gf was rehydrating her actually. I'll ask her.

But yeah she's tried altering the humidity and temperature although it doesn't seem to help and the other snail seems ok. There's also no visible swelling or anything there.

The snail still doesn't seem to be eating anything though and has become a lot less active and has to be moved near the food when its put in the tank although she still doesn't take much notice of it at all.

My girlfriend's tried a whole range of different foods but we've sort of run out of ideas. Have you heard of anything like this before? Is there anything else we can try?

Thank you.

EDIT: ooops almost forgot to add they are both fulicas.

[coyote]

It sometimes happens that a snail will stop eating and become less active for no apparent reason. It's hard to say what the outcome may be -- sometimes the snail seems to turn around and go back to being its usual self; other times it passes away. There is so much we don't know about snail illnesses and diseases that it's hard to say what might be going on.

It sounds like your GF is doing all the right things, so she should keep on doing them and hopefully the snail will respond. Good luck!

[sorcia]

Ok thanks for the advice I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope she pulls through then.

She nibbled a bit of cucumber yesterday so hopefully this is a sign that things will turn out ok.

Thanks again

[coyote]

Eating cucumber is a good sign. I hope she continues to show improvement!