gabi
Achatina tincta
Posts: 616
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Post by gabi on Jan 18, 2006 17:27:47 GMT
Just saw again those beautiful pic´s of Kevin´s craveni and Fredrik and Lottiz ones. Mine are looking poorly. I got very small ones at the same time, Kevin got them. Kevin, how big have yours been? My largest one was only 3mm shelllength. They have now poorly grown to about 1cm. I gave Anjie, Livia and a friend of my each 2. I know that Livia´s are growing fine, my friend ones died and I guess Anjie hasn´t received my e-mail asking for them. (Anjie, if you read this, please tell my how yours are doing and how you care for them). Livia keeps them same way I did (warm at around 27/28 degree, humidity over 85, wet humus, various feeding). Her´s are growing fine. Mine are looking like a caterpillar has driven over them. Now I am keeping them since an week on cooler conditions (roomtemperature 22 C). On sphagnum instead cocohumus. They have started to grow a bit now and eating smallest amounts of salad. But 2 of them are still very weak and I am pretty sure, they haven´t eaten at all. How are you all keeping your craveni? And have they grown all to such beauties like on Kevín´s last pic? What I am doing wrong? Kind regards, Gabi
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Post by fredrik on Jan 18, 2006 17:38:54 GMT
Sorry to hear that Gabi.
I keep all of my A.craveni on Sphagnum moss. The moss is very moist, almost soaking wet. The A.craveni are kept in room temperature, which has worked fine, with a temperature ranging between 18ºC-21ºC. Maybe cooler... I still have +10 left and I haven't had any casualties. Knock on wood...
The A.craveni lives on a relative high altitude in the wild, and the temperature can drop with several degrees so they don't like high temperatures.
I know that Lotta have had some casualties, I'll forward this thread to her, so she can reply.
Best wishes Fredrik
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Kevin
Archachatina dimidiata
Posts: 2,227
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Post by Kevin on Jan 18, 2006 17:40:13 GMT
Only one of my craveni looks like the one in my picture, that one is about 2cm, my others are all about 1cm and all have fainter stripes, one has almost no stripes, but is the same size as the other smaller ones.
I keep them in a container which is about 30cm long, 15cm wide and 10cm tall, they're kept on coco humous and are burried in the substrate most of the time, usually under the cuttlefish. They are not directly above a heatmat like most of my snails, but are kept in a warm room, they're fed lettuce, cucumber, apple and banana like my other snails and seem to be good eaters, they really like lettuce and cucumber.
I had around 10 of them, some has since died, the ones I have left all seem healthy now though and are growing.
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Post by fredrik on Jan 18, 2006 17:48:03 GMT
I am not sure about this, but one thought I have is that they might be more sensitive than other snails regarding their diet. Many of the greens you get today, during winter, are most likely imported greens and the countries they come from, uses more pesticides than we do. A friend of mine is one of the largest breeders of feeder insects in Sweden. He once bought another "brand" of iceberg lettuce, since the one he usually had was sold out. The day after all of the grasshoppers were dead. So be very careful when buying greens, cheapest isn't always the best, and make sure to wash them carefully.
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Post by eric2 on Jan 18, 2006 17:49:46 GMT
the 2 i had died so if anyone has some spare let me know please
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Post by fredrik on Jan 18, 2006 18:00:09 GMT
I am sorry Eric, I don't think I can help you out with new ones mine are all taken...
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gabi
Achatina tincta
Posts: 616
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Post by gabi on Jan 18, 2006 18:02:13 GMT
I am using only organic food for my family (and for my snailies). ;D I do wash it carefully. But I remember some time before Christmas there was a salad non of my snailies have eaten I am pretty sure that there has been something in the salad, what was no way organic. I feed them apples and pears and carrots from my parents garden, several kinds of salad and cucumber (organic cucumber is hard to find), zuchini, and about 2 or 3 times a week this mixture Paul mentioned already a few times and twice a week all my snailies get a mixture of different turtlefood (soaked). They always have cuttlefish in their tanks and the small snailies or my fussy adult tigers get the cuttlefish rasped over the food. Off and on they get some defrosted sweetcorn and peas. I personally don´t think it is the food I give to them. But I think it could have been the high temperature. Or I just have kept the weaker ones from the batch.
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Post by Paul on Jan 18, 2006 18:10:11 GMT
It sounds like it could be temperature to me, Emma is keeping mine for me because I didn't wish to take them whilst I had an illness going round, but when I get them in spring I intend to keep them pretty cool.
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gabi
Achatina tincta
Posts: 616
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Post by gabi on Jan 18, 2006 18:20:58 GMT
Here you can see, how terrible they look. Their shells are so worn, like I would have pressed citric acid frequently over them (but as no other snailie here has a problem with their shells, I am sure my cocohumus is not acidic ) or they are rasping on their shells, but never caught them doing that. Found one more now dead. 2 more are retraced and only 2 of them are sliming around. Looks like I will loose those other 2 too.
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Post by Paul on Jan 18, 2006 18:27:42 GMT
Are they dying from lack of eating (whatever the cause)? It sounds like it could be a factor. I'm just wondering what foods have been successful with this species. Perhaps getting them to eat now you have changed their environment may help them overcome how weak they may have become.
My baby Megalobulimus refused to eat and then lost weight and looked retracted. I managed to get him to eat my snail mix and he's gone from strength to strength since, to the point that I wondered why he was problematic before. So I'm wondering if this is something similar.
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gabi
Achatina tincta
Posts: 616
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Post by gabi on Jan 18, 2006 18:27:46 GMT
I kept them (before they got a week ago their own little tank) together with the limicolaria babies. My Limis are having wonderful shells and are growing fine and the little iredalei who are too have been in there too show no signs of worn shells and grow properly. Bad thing and could hit myself for that to have kept them too warm for a too long time. Just don´t get it, why they are growing so good at Livia´s home in this warm conditions (but she got the 2 biggest of my ones and probably they really have been in better conditons than the tinest ones I kept).
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gabi
Achatina tincta
Posts: 616
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Post by gabi on Jan 18, 2006 18:31:23 GMT
Yes, Paul, I think they are dying from not or less eating. I just gave them the piece of banana and had "soaked" the banana in the snail-mix. Hope they eat from that as banana too is very nutricious. And maybe their shell is too in this bad condition because of not eating for a longer time.
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Post by Paul on Jan 18, 2006 18:37:11 GMT
Just don´t get it, why they are growing so good at Livia´s home in this warm conditions (but she got the 2 biggest of my ones and probably they really have been in better conditons than the tinest ones I kept). We are assuming they require colder conditions on average. That doesn't mean that they can't cope with higher conditions and and perhaps do well. There is always seasonal variation also. It just sounded like yours were doing better with less heat and that seems to make more sense with what little we know about them. Yes, Paul, I think they are dying from not or less eating. I just gave them the piece of banana and had "soaked" the banana in the snail-mix. Hope they eat from that as banana too is very nutricious. And maybe their shell is too in this bad condition because of not eating for a longer time. It does seem to me that appetite could be responsible. Perhaps Livia's are less problematic generally and so they are affected less by climate. And it is impossible to know how similar your conditions really are. The weak periostracum on the shells, and the retraction and low energy do sound like the results of an eating problem. Do they eat cereals like porridge and hemp? If you can get them to eat it in front of you, you know you are staving of any more fatalities at least in the short term. The eating is the key, if a snail is eating, I don't worry because any minor problems can be treated or at least we have time to react. I'd go for cereals because they pack a much bigger nutritional punch than any fruit or veg and if they are off their food a little, they may only eat a few mouthfuls, so you want the bigest bang for your buck as they say.
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Post by Paul on Jan 18, 2006 18:38:54 GMT
Just to add that I would separate them from your other snails, for the simple reason that even if you do not observe them eating, you can check for faeces the day after. It has helped me a number of times. Sorry, just realised you already do
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Lottiz
Achatina achatina
Posts: 63
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Post by Lottiz on Jan 18, 2006 18:50:54 GMT
Sorry to hear that Gabi. I keep all of my A.craveni on Sphagnum moss. The moss is very moist, almost soaking wet. The A.craveni are kept in room temperature, which has worked fine, with a temperature ranging between 18ºC-21ºC. Maybe cooler... I still have +10 left and I haven't had any casualties. Knock on wood... The A.craveni lives on a relative high altitude in the wild, and the temperature can drop with several degrees so they don't like high temperatures. I know that Lotta have had some casualties, I'll forward this thread to her, so she can reply. Best wishes Fredrik -Hmmm, 3 of mine died a week ago. They wouldn't come out what ever I did! They didn't eat and they was just hiding deap into the shell. And it was my three lagest ones!The two still alive are the ones at the left: Mine has also only sphagnum moss and they want it very wet. I got temp. around 20-22, but when they started to look weak I let them have warmer...but it didn't help . When they died a fourth craveni also look a little tired, but now I keep them at 20 degrees again and they bouth look like they are going to survive... / Lotta
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gabi
Achatina tincta
Posts: 616
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Post by gabi on Jan 18, 2006 19:04:40 GMT
THEY EAT!!! They really eat now from the mixture and banana. All 4 of them! I haven´t done another pic, cause I don´t want to disturb them by the flash-light.
@lotta: I am so sorry to hear that. I personally think it is always so bad, when the dealers in Africa don´t tell us, how to care for them or where they have been found and what conditions are there. It is the same here with the lignus. I found already out a lot myself with those Lignus and this too was to late for one of those 2 I got.
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LisaLQ
Archachatina papyracea
Old friend (emphasis on the "old")
Posts: 2,995
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Post by LisaLQ on Jan 18, 2006 19:13:04 GMT
In your piccie, your cravenii with the bad shells look just like my dimis. I put it down to them staying buried in the substrate all the time. But they didn't eat much then either so I guess that could be the cause? Hope they continue to eat
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Lottiz
Achatina achatina
Posts: 63
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Post by Lottiz on Jan 19, 2006 6:54:46 GMT
THEY EAT!!! They really eat now from the mixture and banana. All 4 of them! I haven´t done another pic, cause I don´t want to disturb them by the flash-light. @lotta: I am so sorry to hear that. I personally think it is always so bad, when the dealers in Africa don´t tell us, how to care for them or where they have been found and what conditions are there. It is the same here with the lignus. I found already out a lot myself with those Lignus and this too was to late for one of those 2 I got. Yes, in matter of fact I know exacly were they have been pict. That don't help very much if I can't find the same herbs in stors in Sweden... I got one left... I found his friend dead last night... / Lotta
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gabi
Achatina tincta
Posts: 616
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Post by gabi on Jan 26, 2006 8:38:14 GMT
Today died the last craveni. Contacted already several times the last weeks the seller and haven´t ever gotten answer to my questions.
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Post by sezzy5889 on Jan 26, 2006 9:30:44 GMT
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Post by anjieburdett on Jan 26, 2006 10:20:58 GMT
I'm soo sorry Gabi, i didn't receive an email from you about the Crevani - sorry to hear about your little guys not making it. Unfortunately - the smallest one of my 2 died shortly after i received them and the other one too died yesterday Its very sad, they are such beautiful snails Sorry too that i haven't been on here much, i've had lots on my mind recently and lots of things to sort out. I've been very tired in the evenings too, so spend it sleeping lol. Anjie,x.
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gabi
Achatina tincta
Posts: 616
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Post by gabi on Jan 26, 2006 10:36:50 GMT
So it makes me even more think that there is something with this batch genetic. Lotta, you and me lives in very different parts of Europe and almost all of the snailies died within a frame of 2 weeks. That´s a sad thing.
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Post by Paul on Jan 26, 2006 10:44:13 GMT
I assume they come from the same supplier who sold Fredrik his, there aren't that many sellers of craveni.
Anyway, I can remember Fredrik telling me that the seller had told him that they are an incredibly diffcult species to raise to adulthood and that infant mortality is very high.
It could be a genetic thing, but it could also be very exacting requirements which none of us have figured out yet, especially with them being from areas of high-altitude.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2006 11:38:50 GMT
is it just me, or are south african species harder to look after? anyway sorry Gabi
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Post by Paul on Jan 26, 2006 12:53:58 GMT
It certainly seems that way. The authors of the Eastern S.African book suggest that they should be able to be kept quite easily although it does say only immaculata is suitable for commercial farming, probably because of it's versatility and egg-producing potential.
I'm gonna look into the conditions more than I already have, it'd be nice to do the same for that area as I did for West Africa. What makes it more interesting is that I have some fairly pinpointed localities for the South African species so we could get pretty close to finding out exactly what the environment is like.
For the West African ones I have map coords so although it is slightly more difficult, it should render better research.
However, I think microclimate has a lot to do with it. We know snails frequent places of decidious trees, they eat and live in the leaf litter. If only we knew what types, it may be easier to figure out the smaller environmental considerations if we knew more about what plants and trees grew there. A lot can be determined or at least guessed at from that.
But unfortunately, almost nothing is recorded about what they eat in their native habitats.
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