Post by Amagi on Jul 30, 2009 21:30:21 GMT
There are a lot of things that changed since the last time I was here: Guppy and Rex passed away recently, but I did bring new snails: Herbert, Hayley and today I brought Proudhon...
Just imagine how the french anarchist feels; all his hard work and brainstorming, only to end up having some snail named after him... I'd be really PROUD! ;D
But I found Proudhon when he fell from a tree on a rocky path. I washed his shell and he seemed fine: now I came back maybe 40-60 minutes later, and brought a piece of watermelon. I picked Proudhon from the lid and before I could set him down I saw a hole in the shell (the red spot on the image is the approximate location and size... I think it is the lung(s) that were exposed.
It doesn't seem like a big hole and he has already created a transparent layer (like the one when aestivating)... Is it necessary to try covering it up or trying to repair it.
I gave him the watermelon (good source of calcium, right?) and also dust from a calcium supplement... By the way, the supplement says it is elemental calcium taken from calcium carbonate in oyster shells... Does elemental calcium work (can the snail's body make CaCO3 from it)?
I don't have plaster of paris, nor do I have the means to get it (transportation) right now. If covering the hole is necessary, would anything else work? Candle wax (paraffin) is the best thing I got right now. I also have a white, rubbery and very malleable substance; I don't know what it's called, but it is supposed to stick to anything (it does) and glue stuff together. I don't know if it is toxic or not, but it does not come apart easily and does not dissolve in water, so it might not be dangerous.
I have a piece of white chalk, which came from a box of colored chalks, I read that the ones used for chalkboards are made of plaster; could that work; are colored chalks dangerous to snails?
Just imagine how the french anarchist feels; all his hard work and brainstorming, only to end up having some snail named after him... I'd be really PROUD! ;D
But I found Proudhon when he fell from a tree on a rocky path. I washed his shell and he seemed fine: now I came back maybe 40-60 minutes later, and brought a piece of watermelon. I picked Proudhon from the lid and before I could set him down I saw a hole in the shell (the red spot on the image is the approximate location and size... I think it is the lung(s) that were exposed.
It doesn't seem like a big hole and he has already created a transparent layer (like the one when aestivating)... Is it necessary to try covering it up or trying to repair it.
I gave him the watermelon (good source of calcium, right?) and also dust from a calcium supplement... By the way, the supplement says it is elemental calcium taken from calcium carbonate in oyster shells... Does elemental calcium work (can the snail's body make CaCO3 from it)?
I don't have plaster of paris, nor do I have the means to get it (transportation) right now. If covering the hole is necessary, would anything else work? Candle wax (paraffin) is the best thing I got right now. I also have a white, rubbery and very malleable substance; I don't know what it's called, but it is supposed to stick to anything (it does) and glue stuff together. I don't know if it is toxic or not, but it does not come apart easily and does not dissolve in water, so it might not be dangerous.
I have a piece of white chalk, which came from a box of colored chalks, I read that the ones used for chalkboards are made of plaster; could that work; are colored chalks dangerous to snails?
