Shell Growth and eating

[red608]

I have two questions:

The first is about shell growth, how long does it take a juvenile's shell to become non-translucent-ish.. the end of my lil guy's shell is fine but the new growth where he's practically doubled in shell length since i've had him seems to be staying translucent. Is this normal and just needs more time or should I look into getting him something more than just the cuttlefish bone as it may be he is not getting enough calcium? ...also note that the translucent part of his shell is not soft and firm to the touch but it looks like it may be cracked or perhaps peeling? it's hard for me to tell as he is still very small. (i can try and provide a picture of the shell if requested but my camera is having much difficulties photographing something so small without losing details =[ )

The second question is about juvenile's and their eating habits. I'm having a really hard time knowing if my snail is eating or not due to his small size and now that he has discovered that he has a huge tank and wanders onto the substrate I can no longer even find comfort in seeing his droppings because there aren't any on his food dish anymore. For those of you who have raised juveniles of smaller species, is there any evidence of them eating or am I just going to be a worried mother until he hopefully grows a bit bigger down the road.

Thank you in advance for any replies. =]

edit: i'm adding the best pic i could take of his shell...don't think it will help much as too much detail is unfortunately lost by my crappy camera =[

[coyote]

I'm not sure about the shell question. The newest growth does seem to be the thinnest, though. Trying out alternate sources of calcium wouldn't hurt.

WRT the food question, sometimes I have to look very closely at the food to see the tiny little rasp marks on it. And there are days when they don't eat hardly at all, for various reasons. If I'm having doubts about them eating, I place them directly on top of the food in the tank, so it's right there in front of them to eat if they're hungry. I also try to provide as wide a variety of foods as possible. Thinly-sliced food seems to be eaten more readily than thicker pieces by the smaller snail species, so I make sure to slice things as thinly as possible for them, to make it easier for them to eat.

Your snail is certainly very cute!

[red608]

Thank you again Coyote ^_^

I will definately be making a trip to the pet store to try and find some other suitable sources of calcium.

And i've been providing him with shavings of yam, baby romaine Lettuce, and a slice of cucumber, should i provide more than this? I was thinking of making a mush of sorts so I had no question that he was eating in addition to his other foods just havent decided what foods to use yet (been looking around the forums at what other people have done)

And yes it is a cute lil guy ain't he?! You see why i had to adopt him when i found him?! just too cute! D: ^_^

[coyote]

Yam, romaine and cucumber are all snail favorites. In addition, mine seem to enjoy summer squash, collard greens, dandelion greens, pumpkin seeds, cilantro, broccoli, cauliflower leaves, pears, canned pumpkin (they'd probably like fresh as well), as well as algae wafers and goldfish flakes occasionally. Try offering a tiny amount of any fruit or veg you're having yourself and see how he likes it.

[red608]

I tried tomato and broccoli the other day and he seemed almost repulsed by them lol

[coyote]

Every snail is going to have its own food preferences, same as cats, dogs, or people. Just keep trying different things -- the more variety in the snail's diet, the better.

[red608]

I was going to try some fruits once I get paid this week =] Since he has rejected every other veggie I've given him lol tried some celery too to no avail, might pick up some sqaush tomorrow at work and try that

[coyote]

You might also try a small amount of dead leaves or other vegetation, because many small snails eat algae and fungi found in decomposing vegetation in addition to things like fruits and veggies. Try to find leaves that have not been treated with pesticides or other chemicals, if possible.

[red608]

uh...leaves are burried under quite a bit of snow atm so I really don't see that one happening >.>

and I only use organic baby romaine lettuce, refuse to use non-organic since I know I personally think it tastes bleh compared to organic =]

[coyote]

Organic produce is the best way to go, IMO. WRT leaves, houseplant leaves (well washed) could be used, if everything outside is buried under snow. Even a twig or two cut off a deciduous tree (one without sticky sap) placed in the tank would be good.

[red608]

Ok so in the past 24hrs I woke up to part of Pylon's shell being chipped off(the very tip seems to have broken off there still quite a bit to it but I can definately see that a small piece is missing) as well as talked to someone at the farm where the Poinsettia plants came from that he came in on and they DO use chemicals on their plants q.q. Despite all this he still seens to be in relatively good health if he was ever even healthy to begin with which I'm thinking not with the whole being exposed to chemicals thing. I'm very disheartened right now and very worried that the snail I rescued a month and a half ago or so is going to continue to deteriorate in health and shell. =[ I also wanted to know if maybe adding some kind of vitamin D supplement might help him absorb the calcium better? there really isnt a whole lot of sunlight in the room he's in. I'm not willing to give up hope that I can save my little buddy! =lm so determined i'm posting from my phone while at work lol

[coyote]

I understand that some liquid calcium products have vitamin D included (I don't know which ones offhand, though). Vitamin D will help with calcium absorption. Some snails seem to do better on specific calcium sources other than cuttle, so it's worth experimenting. And also, your snail just might always have a thin shell problem no matter what (but it's still worth experimenting, because you never know).

In spite of the possible chemical exposure, your snail might be okay. Each individual snail is going to have its own level of resistance to various toxins, and yours might be one of the hardier ones.

[red608]

oh! i thought all snails did well on cuttlefish bone, thats good to know i'll deff keep experimenting knowing that! Thanks so much Coyote, you're the best!

[red608]

so this evening when i went to feed pylon i decided to take a closer look at the damage 2 the back of the shell that i noticed this morning before leaving for work and basically it looks like there is a hole straight thru q.q how bad is this?

[coyote]

It depends on how big the hole is and where it is. Can you get a pic? If you have a macro setting on your camera, this is a good time for using it.

[red608]

I don't think pictures will be necessary = came home to find Pylon upside down in the food dish and he has not responded to any coaxing to get him out of his shell. I was really worried about him the past few days he seemed to just look in bad shape and it would seem my worst fears have come true. I'm going to keep him overnight and continue trying to get him to come out but the tip of his shell looks so bad compared to earlier it looks almost like it collapsed or something? In any case I'm pretty sure Pylon is dead or dying and I have some crying to do now. Thanks for the help anyways.I will of course post what I find in the morning should he miraculously be moving around I would be ecstatic.

[coyote]

I'm so sorry about little Pylon. A lot of times our snails will pass away in spite of us doing our best to take care of them. You didn't know anything about Pylon's history before you found him, so who knows how ill he might have been or what chemicals he might have been exposed to. You did your best for him, and he will always have a place in your heart.

[crossless]

If Pylon is native snail. That species lives really short life and that's kind of sad.. :/

[red608]

No Crossless I think he was just quite sick. Like Coyote said I didn't know anything about his health or anything when I took him in or what kind of exposutre to chemicals he had had from the place where the plant came that I found him on. In any case RIP Pylon <3

[Robert Nordsieck]

Hi there,

I just wanted to mention, that this was an amber snail. Those remain translucent.

Here is some information, sadly it comes too late...

Amber snails (Succineidae).

Kind regards
Robert

[coyote]

Thanks for the info, Robert.

[Robert Nordsieck]

Besides:

When I talked to my Berlin friend Mica yesterday, she said that amber snails had to be kept very moist (as they usually live near the banks of lakes and rivers). Nevertheless, hers died as well. I think it is very difficult to keep those snails.

Only what I do not understand is, we found ambers snails as well in the Berlin Botanical garden, and near Mainz in the countryside, far away from any water body. Likely that was another species, because it was very dry there, and how the *fraggle* did those snails get there?!

Kind regards
Robert

[crossless]

I have told that Amber snails lives only about year. First they hatch in summer,hibernats winter months in ground then wakes up in summer/spring and lay eggs, some die after egg laying but they don't live long.

[Robert Nordsieck]

Hi, crossless,

my wise book says as follows: depending on humidity and temperature, the about 150 eggs per batch will need 1 - 2 weeks to hatch. Ambers snails reach 1 - 2 years of age.

That's about as much information, as I have.

Kind regards
Robert