Metame: I was interested to read that you had a snail who had a prolapsed stomach - perhaps that's what my two had, but the 'protuberances' did seem rather near their mouths.

On the subject of posting snails, to be honest its something I wouldn't risk. One of my relatives is a postman, and he said that parcels always get thrown about at the sorting office, whether marked fragile or not

yes maybe.
i think i have a phot soewhere, i shall try and find it

and i get paranoid about posting them and wrap them so well they'd probably survive an air raid attack better than me ;/

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Hi
I am also interested in knowing how you do if one of your snails has to be put down. Is there any humane way of doing it?
I have snails for sale as well, I let mine have babies as this is the first time they have ever bred and these are my first pet snails, so it is an exciting experience for me. Now, the little ones are growing fast and nobody is interested in having them, so in case I am stuck with too many snails it would be good to know what to do. I don't like the idea of rehome centres, I might as well keep them and take care of them myself, but just in case, does anybody know any humane method?

i was going to pm you but i cant and think thats probably cause you only have 4 posts... i keep forgetting about that

do you mean killing them off if you have too many or incase they get ill?

for the former, the easiest way is to just catch the eggs before they hatch - pop them in a freezer bag and into the freezer.

ive only ever had one snail get ill on me and he didnt require putting down, i took him to the vets as he had a prolapsed stomach (my dad told me i was stupid taking a snail to the vets and i should just have killed him and told me how to... anyway, moving on...)

snails are generally pretty hardy, i find, and when they die they just die.

though doubtless there will be more knowledgeable people than me come along and add to that soon enough!

on a slightly seperate note if you ever DO need to take a snail to the vets, find a vet that specialises in exotic animals - reptiles and the like

Yeah, I have only been a member of this forum a couple of days. But strange that it should affect if you can pm me or not..

I wasn't thinking of any reason, I was thinking that it is good to know in case of any future events. And I was wondering how you put down a grown-up snail.. People suggest all kinds of cruel methods, but there must be a humane way of putting down a big snail.
I have had GALS for almost 2 years now, and my snails are second hand, so I don't know how old they are. I have had lots of pets all my life, but I wondered if snails are in pain the last few days before they die.. maybe it sounds silly..

it doesnt sound silly at all. its nice to be aware (or as aware as we possibly can) of how our pets are feeling.

to be honest i have no idea if a snail can feel pain. they must be able to feel something as garden snails are kept away from plants by putting broken egg shells around the pots/flower beds because snails dont like crawling over it. i think all living creatures, including plants, are able to feel pain.

i have been informed that killing a snail works instataneously in boiling water same as for crabs and lobsters as their nervous system is the same, however im not sure! i know this is true for tiny babies as ive seen it but for a fully grown snail?

and to be honest i have no idea how you would tell if a snail was in pain!

most of the time when my snails have been old or sick they've just... died, or sometimes hibernated and died.

i wish i could be of more use!

I've just found that one of my snails has a sort of rupture - it seems to be from his mouth too, so I don't think he would be able to drink with this
A few months ago I had two who had the same condition. I tried to euthanise them by giving them a drop of beer then gradually chilling them, not thinking that they couldn't take the beer though I think they tried.
Would appreciate any input - wondered if this was similar to what your snail suffered Metame?
Will put a couple of pics on... hope no-one finds it too gross!

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yes, that looks like it. I really advise trying to find a good reptile vet in your area because if it is it's stomach then it is easily sorted, the vet will push it back in and put some stitches in. Does the snail live alone or with others?

also Jane, i apologise for not replying sooner, i honestly didn't see your original post in this thread.

RE: posting snails, if packed properly they're perfectly fine, i've sent snails through the post which have arrived completely safely, however i have never recieved snails through the post.