Lonely snail? And a problem.

[donna]

I know there is always questions about whether it is ok to keep snails on their own, but this one is a bit different. (Honest!)
I had 2 baby snails but one died during hibernation(think it's called something else in snails?) So that leaves 1 (no problem with my maths!)
Obviously I was going to get another but have had laser eye surgery that didn't go quite as well as planned and now my eyesight is not great , and I am worried I would not be able to find all the eggs if I got another.
My snail is about a year old, and seems happy enough, it is active for a few days, then sleeps for a day or two. I am not worried about looking after the snail or both but are the eggs reasonably easy to spot? Are they generally laid altogether in a big clump? I really don't want to rehome my snail, but obviously want it to be happy.

[lisajane8482]

The eggs are laid together in a clump and are quite easy to spot as they are usually white, but you do have to sift through the soil to make sure they are all removed.

Have you thought about getting a different species of snail, such as an iredalei? different species won't mate hence no eggs.

Hope this helps

[donna]

Thank you for replying. I didn't know that different species couldn't mate-would they still make good friends for my snail? Can't believe I'm asking whether my snail would get along with someone if it couldn't mate-can snails be 'just good friends'?!!!

[donna]

Just read the '78 fulicas' thread and am scared!!!

[Arno]

If your snail seems happy by itself then I wouldn't worry about finding another mate,no chance of accidental eggs either.

[donut]

hello - first off im new to the site & new to snail care & am reading thru EVERYTHING with interest so sorry if i post something that has been asked MANY TIMES

i have read this one coz i have 2 snails 2 tanks 2 kids

these snails WERE part of a BIG family group in a nursery until the 20th of last month when my eldests god-mother gave her & her sinter one each as a pet

i dont want a lot of babies & i KNOW if they did have babies i couldnt "kill them" hence the separate tanks - i guess what i need to know is am i being CRUEL they SEEM happy enough BUT as im new to this im not sure THANKS

[Arno]

Hello and welcome to the forum,as you've noticed by my previous post,I don't think you're being cruel by keeping your snails separate.That is always better than being surprised by babies and not being able to find a home for them.

[donna]

I'm new too! Although mine seems happy, it's hard to tell. I suppose I don't know if he would be even happier with a friend without trying it. Am going to see if I can get an iredalei as lisajane said, but i've looked on ebay and people only seem to sell them in pairs, which doesn't help.

[Vida]

Newbie here too!
My margie is also by it's own. I didn't get two because I couldn't see myself freezing eggs and I would be too tempted to leave some.

Is there another species that go well with margies and don't mate?

And I know I saw somewhere, but just can't find it now, where is there an animal shelter that I could adopt one from? I live in Spain, so it would have to be sent over.

[Arno]

You can put a Tigersnail in with it,a fulica,an iredalei .The link to the snail shelter is on the main www.petsnails.co.uk page.But you can also look in the classified section or on Ebay.

[donna]

Hi, just to update I got a Margie from a lovely lady off Ebay, and now my original snail is really active-always 'whizzing' round the tank (ok, So maybe not 'whizzing' but you know what I mean!) But the new snail NEVER moves unless I put it on food then it comes out and scuttles off to bury itself. Think it's shy!

[Paul]

I had some margies like that. It turned out that they were just really nocturnal, and not active during daylight at all. I covered the tank with towels and maintained pretty strict 12/12 light/dark, and they started 'whizzing' tound too! I used a normal spotlamp in over the tanks for the light bit to boost it a little. Worked for me.

[Vida]

Ok, thanks. Is it ok to put a 5 month tiger with a 3 year old margie? Or should I get an adult tiger?

And I'm a bit confused as to why different species don't mate. I did understand you right, didn't I? A margie and a tiger won't mate, I won't have to look for eggs or anything, will I?

Thanks.

[Vida]

Is it ok to put a baby (5 month) in with an adult?

[Vida]

If anyone can please answer, I need to know this week. Thanks.

[donna]

I don't know I'm afraid, but my margie is just over half the size of my fulica if that helps.

[lisajane8482]

It should be okay, i have some babies (retics, fulica, tiger,iredalei and margie) in with my adult fulica and they all get along fine.

[Vida]

Thank you both so much. I was worried in case I was about to do something wrong.