I think an entire tank of about 30+ of my snails have died

They've all been borrowing in this tank and I left them to it, assuming they were in hybination. I've found several dead so far and whilst I can account for at least two being alive without needing close observation, I can tell without having to pick up any others that there are several more are dead, as when they're merely sleeping some of their body protrudes from the shell but many snails on the top of the soil (who's shells are visible but are partially burried) don't have any body protruding where it should be visible: they must have dried out.

A lot of them burrowed deep under the soil so I can't see their shells on the surface and I have no idea what has happened to them: I can't bear to check them all, whether burrowed on top of, or deep underneath, the soil.


As I haven't got heatmats I've put the temperature up to quite high and thought it wouldn't be too hot as the heating only comes on for a few hours a day. I forgot to spray them all this and last week because of all my AS Level exams: my mum took over feeding them all for me but hasn't been spraying. . . . I think a lot of them might have cooked in there as they were active a couple of weeks ago.

This is really scary and I don't know what to do. . . .I've been spraying loads and loads since I finished all my exams and realised that it looked dry in there. I don't know for sure that they're all dead but I have three tanks of snails and two, each with about 30 inside, are fine in general apart from I found three in total dead from these two tanks when I cleaned them out today (I was to scared to clean out the tank containing those I suspect to be all dead) which is abnormal but might be explained by the rise in temperature in the room and the lack of spraying.

Still: I don't understand why one tank is inactive and full of dead snails whilst the other two tanks are full of active, healthy snails (with acception to the mysteriously deceased GALS amongst the healthy tanks)

Three weeks ago my mum cleaned out the snails for me with my older sister (as I was stressing over exam revision at the time so delegated the responsibility to them) and between all 3 of the tanks found 5 dead snails.

I'm so devistated to think what they must have all been through, it's so heartbreaking. The thing is all of the ones that have died are no bigger than my little finger and all 1.5 years old. The tank in question is full of snails of that size and age doesn't contain any bigger snails. In the other two tanks, containing snails of a range of sizes and ages, where there have been about 8 deaths between them in the space of a month , only ones the size of my little finger have died.

I hope the fact that this whole description of events is so long and detailed hasn't put anyone off from reading it through to the end. I really need advice about what to do. I can't bring myself to look closely at each little GALS inside the tank I suspect to contain over 30 dead snails as I'm so devistated and feel so guilty. I want to stop more snails from dying but I don't know how to do this: the heating isn't on for long during the day so it's cold most of the time in their room and I have to provide them with warmth during winter. What if they carry on dying even with contant spraying during the day and a lower temperature?

The tank in question is plastic. I haven't pressed any of the tanks right against the radiator but it's on the floor near to it (and heat rises so it should be coolest where they are positioned).

Please give me some advice about what I should do: how do I bring myself to check over each snail in the suspect tank? I could never live with the guilt if I had to confirm each one was dead.

Thanks.

I'm very sorry to hear about your snails. They really do need a hot end and a cool end to move to if it gets hot - hence a heat mat. Try turning the tanks around so that the narrow side faces the radiator to give more of a difference in heat.

You really do need to spray more in the tanks, snails need to stay quite moist and humid. Try putting a very shallow plastic dish of water in the tanks to help humidity.

And unfortunately, though it is very sad, you will have to check each snail. Leaving the dead may encourage mites and things that eat decaying animals and they may attack/infest the healthy ones.

Make sure you check to see if there is a film of dry crisp mucous covering the hole. This is a key indicator to the snail still being alive and not dead. Not all snails move completely into their shells to hibernate. The crisp mucous that covers them allows them to retain moisture.

There isn't much else in definition between a live and dead snail. Dead snails will smell and the surface of their body will show yellow/grey patches of skin where decay sets in. Not pretty I know, this wont make you feel any better.

If you find some with crisp coverings, dont try to peel them off. Run them gently under tepid water (around 20 degrees C or so) and rub the shell gently to stimulate activity. If nothing hapens, place them back in the tank and try again later.

I wish you all the best with your snails.

i can only offer the same adive as GALSFTW - you said in your post that they normally have body protruding when they are only sleeping, but as GALSFTW says when they hibernate they build a covering over the hole so to speak. Any with this should still be alive.

Good luck and keep us updated!

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I keep everyone posted: thanks for all your advice

I dunno when I'll be able to clean them out and descover the damage: that's what worries me. I'm going on a college trip to France for a week (and have to leave my college on a minibus at 5.30am on Sunday!) so I've been so busy getting ready for it on top of day-to-day stuff and haven't/don't have time to do it: what do I do?

Should I pass the job onto a family member and hope they are able to recognise the difference between a hybinating and a dead snail? If I wait another week, it might be too late.

Didn't someone say that, if left breathing in gases given off by rotting corpses, the living/healthy snails will suffocate, or that mites eatting the dead snails could infest the living?

In one of the 'healthy' tanks (where I found three dead snails at the weekend), maggots seemed to be consuming them. It's very sad, but at least that sort of thing makes it evident as to whether they're alive or not. I don't want to leave it for a week in case things like maggots somehow transfer to the healthy, living snails in the problem tank (if there are such pests in the problem tank).

Yes this really needs to be done now. The bacteria in the tank is going to make the others ill.

If you can't do it, print off the tips i gave you in the previous box about identifying the living and get someone to do it.

You really have to clean them out again and change to soil and disinfect the whole lot.

It wont take THAT long, I mean you're able to be at the pc right now. Just run hurry right this second and do it. Because as you type they're still sitting there.

You're family could help with the packing bit instead and you give it a quick check over later and edit what they've done.

I was in France when the last person posted.

There just wasn't time to do it and sort out everything for my trip. I asked my mum to do it whilst I was away but she hasn't she even forgot to spray them each day so the problem has probably escalated to even more beyond my control.

Now I'm stuck with the winter vomitting virus that I picked up in France and have been banned from touching taps/going near kitchen for their food etc.

When I've recovered in a few days I'll have to sort things out. I hope they're all right in there. Before I went away, at least 11 or 12 were definitely alive and I couldn't say for the rest. Who knows now: I can't go and look at them or I could become even more ill due to their germs/cause them to be diseased.

so have they just been left?

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Are all these snails still in the tank? i ask because this was first posted on 23rd Jan and now its 13th feb! When you get a pet it really does need looking after.

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Bob the Chinese Hamster, Jamie the African Pygmy Hedgehog, Bugsy and Nelson the Guinea Pigs, and Stewie, Dora, Jessie and Billy the BunniesR.I.P My Beautiful Bridge Babies

I made a start on cleaning today (I've been throwing up since last Sunday thanks to some gastric bug I picked up in France but now I've recovered). I'm doing one tank a day and i've decided to buy a couple more, much bigger, tanks.

Any snails that don't look like they are still alive are being put in a box and I'll look out for any signs (like maggots/odours/very light weight compared to those of similar size) when the obviously healthy snails are back in a nice, clean tank. I can't bring myself to sniff individuals The vast majority in the three tanks look fine but a number from the 'unhealthy' tank are in the box. I'll keep you all posted and provide more specific figures when I've been through and sorted each tank. Then I'll count up the (potential) death-toll.

I hope some of the ones in the box are simply hybinating