Margie Help...

[lucyjames]

Morning All,

As you know, I recently acquired a gorgeous Margie... he is sharing the vivarium with 2 retics, 2 rodatzi and 3 fulica... And he came from Ade, so we all know he is a big strong healthy snaily!

He had a few little raised bumps on him when he arrived, which Ade said were the result of a slightly acidic soil that he used at one point... they were like little white warty kind of things... just a few of them...could count them on one hand...

Well, I checked on Victor this morning to find him COVERED in these little white bumps, some are quite big and fleshy I put him in the viv with the crew Friday and he munched away the first night, Saturday I saw him on the roof, then Sunday and yesterday I barely saw him...this morning I found him near his seed tray (full of soil), and his foot is all raised and bumpy

Is this likely to be my soil? I use the Lucky Reptile Humus Brick... Should I perhaps take all the soil out and keep him on just moss? Or could it be the moss?

He was in a tub with ONLY moss from Wednesday to Friday, and had no reaction then - but can it take time to show?

Is it going to get worse? Does it hurt him?

He was examining the bumps this morning, much like a dog licking it's wounds, and I am worried - I don't want him to be in pain or anything Will the bumps go away when I find the source of the irritation? Or will he be permanently scarred?

Any ideas would be appreciated... I am a bit of a Margie-thicko, lol...!

Thanks,

Lucy and Victor

[Snail Lover.]

I really dont know, but i hope he'll be ok im sure dusk or someone very good will know what to do.
Goodluck!
XX

[Dusk]

If it is a reaction to something in his food or soil, they should go away once you remove the irritant. I'd put him on just moss (if necessary in a smaller tub placed inside the larger viv to keep the right temperature) and wash all his food extra carefully, see how he looks in a few days. He'd probably also appreciate a water bowl big enough to snooze in, if he's finding them irritating.

Not much help, I know

[lucyjames]

Thank you Dusk.... I had given him a bath and filled his water dish up this morning, so I hope he will be ok for the day, I will sort him out properly when I get home... Mum is checking on him today while I am at work to keep him off the soil, lol...!

To be totally honest, if I remove all the soil altogether from the snail enclosures, it doesn't bother me, I much prefer the moss... and none of the other snails seem to like the soil much either, so I may just give them a full clean out and take out all the soil...!

I will try him back on just the moss first though, to check that it is NOT the moss he doesn't like...!!!

Poor little fella.... it's snaily nettle-rash!!!!

[Dusk]

Hmm, that reminds me - if you happen to have any dock plants growing near your house (that aren't near a road or other source of pollution) a mild tea of fresh dock leaves might sooth his skin a bit.

[lucyjames]

Thats a good idea, I work in the middle of a field, near to a country park, lol, so will see what I can find on my lunch break!

Thanks ;D

[snailcrazy]

Hi Lucy,

I've had the same problem with my margies. I've kept them on moss for the last week since I got them and they seem to be getting better. I've given the moss a wash before putting it into the tank.

;D

[lucyjames]

Hi All,

Thank you for all of the ideas - I went out and bought Victor a palpen yesterday, and gave him nice fresh washed moss, some new sweet potato, a nice new dish to bathe in, and he's got his flowerpot in there too - thankfully his bumps seem to have gone down a little since putting him in a tank with no soil at all, so fingers crossed it was definitely a reaction to the humus brick that I use...

I didn't get a good look at him this morning as he was buried in his flowerpot, somehow he managed to drag a load of moss in there to sleep with, bless him ;D

So, fingers crossed when I get home from work tonight, I will see some more improvement ;D

I shall keep you posted ;D

[coyote]

Sending lots of magickal anti-bumps rays to Victor ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Good luck!

[lucyjames]

Thank You Coyote

[lucyjames]

And here we go again

Victor is poorly again

After the last post in this thread, I did move him to his own little pen, and during this time he was on moss, fed on sweet potato and was improving and seemed fine. And in the piccies I posted in the pictures sub-forum, you can see his bumps were barely noticeable...

So, since he improved, I cleaned out my viv where the rest of the crew live, and moved him back in with them, minus soil, and only the moss that he had been kept on while he was by himself. We are now 3 weeks later, and he is all bumpy and fat and swollen again, and I do not know why

It's almost like he can't fit back into his shell with his blistery bits I thought he had gut extrusion the first time I saw it

I feed them mostly cucumber, sweet potato, lettuce and courgette, could he be sensitive to the other foods? He will only eat sweet potato and a bit of lettuce...

I am really stumped now - I think I will have to take him back out of the viv and keep him by himself again, just to keep an eye on his general health, but other than having no substrate at all, I don't know what to do for him...

Any ideas?!

I hate the thought of my boy being ill....

[coyote]

So sorry he's not doing well again. I don't know if a snail can be sensitive to certain foods or not. It could be food, it could be substrate, it could be contact with other snails . . . hard to say.

Sending magickal get-well rays to Victor ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

[lucyjames]

Unfortunately, Victor passed on today

[bloodhawk]

sorry for your loss