¿Snail doesn't want to eat calcium?

[seiyuro]

Am new at the forum and at having a snail as a pet. In fact, i dont even know which species my snail is... i just found him on a garden plant and started to take care of him... He is still on the plant (which is in a pot) but next weekend i hope to buy him a decent house (will he miss the wild life? ) I wish i could show u a photo but he is so small... hardly 1cm long, so my camera’s lens cant catch him well...(but trust me he is cute)

I have read how important is calcium for them... his shell seems fragile and somehow transparent (even though he has grown a little since i took him)... i have fed him with cucumbers, lettuce, carrots (his fav) and i tried to put some crushed egg shell for his calcium but he just runs away from it (i tried some broccoli too but he doesn’t try it). I cleaned the egg shell well and everything, i wonder if i need to crush it more and make it powder or something... Other sources of calcium (cuttlefish bone, limestone, etc) are very difficult to find in my country where snails are treated more like pests rather than the lovely pets they really are! What can i do to make him grow healthy and strong!! Please help!! i like him so much i cant afford to lose him

[lizzie97444]

Hiya! Welcome to the forum!
I think your snail could be a common garden snail.
aww he could be a baby snail or so.. cute
which country do you live in??
In my country (Korea) they don't really sell cuttle bone and stuff so I crush egg shell and spread them on their food.
And soon he'll know it's something he should eat for calcium
It'll be great for a picture though.. to know the real ID of ur snail
Can U giv more description of him???

[coyote]

Hi seiyuro, welcome aboard! Is there a pet supply shop nearby that carries bird supplies? If so, they probably carry cuttle bone, which you can break up and use for your snails (after washing it). If not, I recommend crushing the egg shell into a finer powder.

I too have trouble finding limestone flour in my area (California). My snails eat their cuttle, but I wanted to try sprinkling the limestone on their food.

One other thing you can try -- liquid calcium, which you can add to a spray bottle and spray into the tank, especially onto the food. I found it in the salt water aquarium supply section of a local pet supply store.

[seiyuro]

Here are some pics... as u can see they are blurry... those are the best i could shot...sorry for the size but i couldnt find how to resize em...

I am in Panama (thats central america next to Colombia). Another worry i have is that here the weather is extremely hot all year round.. specially on summer of course... todays temp was almost 35°C and we are in rainny season! my snail was totally hiding inside his shell... at night he comes out and seems ok..at day when its raining and fresh he also comes to play... but am worried he wont survive long with this temps even though he is "wild" (thats why am thinking on buying him a home and bringing him in! anyway he is already part of the family

So crushed egg shell should be fine?

[lizzie97444]

Yess crushed egg would be very fine
hmm I can't rly tell what species he is but I think he could be a amber snail (?)
How big is he? because amber snails' max size is about 2.5cm...
i'm happy to help u out

[zakalwe]

Definitely an Amber snail

[lizzie97444]

lol
ur sure really into amber snails!!
hmm but wen all snails die do they die in their shell? Or can they be sticking on with out movment at all...
My amber snail is not moving at all at the moment. even though I spray water
What can I do??
I put my snails in a bottle for a while till I got a new tank so I can't rly put amber out
what can I doo??? PLZ HELP!!
Sorryy for posting my question here...


It's pretty strange to have a amber snail there!
Cuz usually amber snails prefer it near ponds. lol

[seiyuro]

Yay! he is an amber snail!!!!!!... i googled it and all the pictures of amber snails perfectly match how my little snail looks like!! So now i know he wont be too big.

I have my old hamster plastic house, its totally transparent and with lots of wholes in the lid for ventilation, about 15 x 9, i bet its good enough since he will remain tiny.

Is there any special care i need to know for this species?

[zakalwe]

Be really, really careful with them. I just lost one of mine because a week or two ago I accidentally smacked him up against the tank and shattered the back end of his shell. Seemed to be doing fine right up until this morning, when I found his gut extruded and he wasn't moving.

Lizzie, I think because they're shells aren't really big enough for them they die with their bodies extended out. Check his breathing aperture and see if it's moving because one of mine wasn't moving yesterday, but he was still breathing and now he's doing fine.

[seiyuro]

Ok thanks, i will be specially careful when handling him... ;D

If there is another thing i need to know about them please let me know, i want him to be the happiest amber snail on earth!

[lizzie97444]

Amber snails like to be near the pond so many weeds would be perfect for amber snails!
plus u can give him a water bowl too..

:_( I think I lost my amber snail
sooo sad
she hasn't been moving for two days now.. and I don't think she's breathing.
Well I think she was old but I'm not sure..

[seiyuro]

i feel so sorry to hear that...its so sad whenever a snail friend passes away...

thanks for the advices... i will do the best i can... i read amber snails dont live as long as other species... too bad they are so cute...

[lizzie97444]

ur welcome