mystery snail fell and broke shell

[Masha]

My one mystery snail crept out of the tank last night and fell some distance. There's a large piece chipped out of the front of its shell and a crack running across the growing edge.

I fixed the tank so snails cant get out anymore. It's still alive, just sitting at the bottom of the tank.

Can it breathe down there? I think it can still crawl because I found it in the middle of the room. Do I need to lift it to the surface, or do anything else for it?

 

[wildroseofky]

How badly cracked is it? Can you see any of its' soft body? You can make a patch out of a piece of eggshell and crazy glue. I got this from applesnail.net. apple mystery snails cannot repair their shell so if it is really bad you need to help it. If any of the outer rim is cracked it will go away but cracks in the main body will not. You can cover any hairline cracks with some crazy glue by itself. If you need a patch, just clean an egg shell and break a piece off just slightly bigger than the cracked area. Carefully put crazy glue around the edge of the crack and stick the egg shell on. Be carefully and do not get any on the snails soft body. It is not unusual for them to rest for several days after their walkabout. I have had mine do that several times. I finally gave up and put a top on the tank. Fix the crack and then just let the snail rest.

 

[Masha]

Thanks!
There is a halfmoon section chipped off the leading edge on the extreme right hand side, about half a fingernail size.

I haven't seen him close up all the way, but I suspect there would now be a gap if he tried to.

He has recovered - I saw him mating with my other mystery snail


I've closed the gap in the lid so I'm hoping that there will be no repeat escapes!

I'm a bit nervous of patching the shell, will have to figure that out.

 

[Masha]

Ok this is...really bizarre. It looks like he has mended nearly all the hole already? I used to see a distinct gap in the growing edge, but that has straightened out now? I can still see the line of the original break, the new growth is paler.

Is that possible? Could it mend itself that fast?

 

[wildroseofky]

Damage to the new growth will heal fast if there is a lot of calcium available. The warmer the water, the faster their life cycle and growth occurs too. Is it possible that the thin crack you saw was a growth line from fast growth. Mine got very thick growth lines that looked like cracks at first when I started giving them calcium. I freaked out when I first saw one and thought my snail had cracked its' shell somehow. I had to get a second opinion at applesnail.net.

 

[Fishfur]

And if you should try patching, be very, very careful not to get any crazy glue on the snail's body. It can cause intense irritation, possibly making things worse. It's safe enough on the shell itself, but never let it touch the flesh.

Snails can 'heal' holes up to a point, they do it by calcifying their flesh beneath the hole but it takes time to work, and plenty of calcium in the food and water.

Damage to the growing edge often will heal, though it may leave a permanent defect in the leading edge, it's usually not so bad as to prevent the snail living a normal life. Any change in the snail's water or food can lead to changes in shell growth too, which may be quite noticeable.

 

[Masha]

Thanks for the information, fishfur

I'm glad it looks like I wont have to repair his shell, it's now completely healed. I don't like working with superglue!

The new growth looks thick and healthy. The tapwater here has a fairly high ph (8) which helps, I believe.

 

[Fishfur]

Yep. Hard and alkaline is what they like best and do best in.