What causes slow growth?

[gojira]

One of my snails is growing far slower than all the other ones in my tank, he's roughly half the size of the others who are the same age. He rarely comes out and never goes into the pipe where the others sleep. If another snail touches him he goes straight back into his shell and won't come out for an hour or so, the same if I pick him up whereas the others seem to enjoy being lifted up and bathed. He doesn't seem to eat much either, though its possible he does it at night. There's nothing obviously wrong with him, his skin looks healthy and his shell is intact but it doesn't have the growth rings that the others get from rapid shell growth.

I'm worried he isn't developing properly but I don't know what, if anything, I can do about it. I've tried him on different foods but none of them seem to be of any more interest to him than cucumber. Has anyone got any suggestions or has anyone had a similar situation? I worry that he's just not very happy but I haven't got a clue what would suit him more, possibly a tank on his own?

[aprillinda]

hi

when this little chap does venture out how do the other bigger snails react to him

hope he isnt being bullied lol

are you weighing him is he putting on some weight

linda

[gojira]

He's not skinny but compared to the others he looks thin, the rest are right little porkers. They don't really seem to pay any attention to him, they do climb over him from time to time but they do that to each other and none of the others seem to mind. They're in a big tank so he just stays out of their way most of the time in the corner or buried. He does bury himself quite a lot too. By the way your little helix namesake just had a huge batch of eggs so I've got loads of tiny little helix in another tank, some of them are either albino or just haven't got their skin colour yet - they're really lovely!

[Paul]

I would suggest putting him in a tank on his own. Not only can you see if he becomes a little bolder but you'll also be able to monitor exactly what he is eating. If that doesn't work, you can experiment a little with different conditions, it is possible he has less tolerance to conditions and simply needs it warmer/cooler, drier/wetter etc., without upsetting the others.

[gojira]

Thanks I'll give that a try, he seems to quite like sitting in a little dish on my desk I might try to keep him out a bit more.