Snails burying themselves

[stonhenge]

We have had our two baby gals for three weeks today (yeah). Their antics have not changed too much. They tend to be most active first thing in the morning and then for most of the morning eating, and exploring around their cork bark etc.

That was until yesterday when hubby said he hadn't seen them all day. When we looked, it was like they had disappeared but I said they were probably under the cork bark buried. And they were, right in the substrate.

Now they have tucked in a little before, but they were completely buried under the soil. Hubby gave them a knudge and they climbed onto the cork bark then onto the plastic plant in there which they have never done before either.

We did bring them becasue I was convinced they would fall off!

My question is, if I left them to it buried, how long should I leave them before getting concerned? And should I leave them to it exploring the plants?

They hadn't eaten all day which was what concerned me as they just stayed buried. Were right to wake them up? Just worried in case I've upset a natural thing?

Sorry, but thanks in advance. I just want them to be happy!

[Rachel]

what tempreture is the tank inside? It might be a little bit cold for them. Try putting a hot water bottle up against the outside of the tank and see if that helps. Also a little bath of warm water should help perk them up. hope that helps.

[donut]

i wouldnt worry too much all of mine were burried this morning LOL 50 of them & i only found 40 of them when i was cleaning them out i have NO idea where the other 10 were LOL & mine have a heat mat on as well i think we have strange snails - the adults in the Viv below were also burried this morning SO maybe it went a little TOO cool over night dunno

[stonhenge]

We have a thermometer in there (one used to give a green banding for all things cold blooded), and it usually stays in the middle of this band. This rang is from 20-30 degrees. In the mornings it is usually around 18 in the boat.

They have the warmest corner of the whole boat! However it did get a bit chilly Tuesday evening, so maybe they burried then and refused to come out even though they would have been very warm in the day as hubby has the stove going all the time.

So if it was the case there were a little cold, and we don't see them for a day, are we right to give them a nudge to tell them it's warmed up now? They were all over the place once we did and were eating normally and going about their business.

Thanks for the help, it's a lovely site here.

[helikulo]

There is no need to give them a 'nudge' as snails naturally sometimes just go inactive for no apparent reason. If you want to perk them up then a luke-warm bath is ideal, as described before, but you do not need to worry - although it is understandable at first!

[vikingsnail]

I've noticed with my snails that they'll be very active for a few days and eat alot, and then for the next 1 or 2 days they'll just sleep and barely eat - like some kind of mini hibernation, personally I think its just laziness ;D

[Rachel]

snails are not lazy, just very patient and easy going. Just like i'm not weird, i'm special lol, ok i admit, they be lazy

[ness]

thesnailsanctuary said:

snails are not lazy, just very patient and easy going. Just like i'm not weird, i'm special lol, ok i admit, they be lazy

haha lol

[stonhenge]

Well the not so little gems are still doing it, but I think it's now their way. They have grown to at least double their size now and have a lot of noticeable shell growth.

We had a spate of putting iceberg lettuce in there and cucumber and other different things like apple, banana etc. Well, they love cucumber, but were not touching the lettuce. Until that is, I brought an English Round Lettuce, and they wolf it down. I put in two huge leaves each day at tea time, and by tea time the next day when I put in a fresh lot, I only have to replace the left over cucumber.

They seem very happy and settled, they have even ventured up the sides and more onto the plants, so I think we could say it's a success. One is definitely more lazy than the other though!