Hole in mystery snail. Sos!

[mysterysnail]

Hi All

I accidentally dropped my snail and now there's a huge hole, I can see his body T.T
Have tried using egg shells to fix but it's really difficult to get the shape right, esp the edges. Hence I use a piece of thin plastic (those plastic bags for rubbish bins) to cover it, with aquarium glue. (Have used alcohol wipes to All

I accidentally dropped my snail and now there's a huge hole, I can see his body T.T
Have tried using egg shells to fix but it's really difficult to get the shape right, esp the edges. Hence I use a piece of clean thin plastic (those plastic bags for rubbish bins) to cover it, with aquarium glue. (Have use alcohol wipes to sanitize the plastic before gluing it )

Anyone tried this method and works?

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

I don't use alcohol on snails or slugs unless trying to kill them. it dries then out really fast

Plastic is fine to patch holes. Egg shell or shell from a dead snail can also be used, assuming the snail died a while ago and was killed by some horrible disease.

Super glue (cyanoacrylate) is what most people use. It dries quickly (within minutes) and when dry, it's safe in water. Just be careful not to get the glue on the live tissue of the snail.

[mysterysnail]

Originally Posted by Colin_T

Hi and welcome to the forum

I don't use alcohol on snails or slugs unless trying to kill them. it dries then out really fast

Plastic is fine to patch holes. Egg shell or shell from a dead snail can also be used, assuming the snail died a while ago and was killed by some horrible disease.

Super glue (cyanoacrylate) is what most people use. It dries quickly (within minutes) and when dry, it's safe in water. Just be careful not to get the glue on the live tissue of the snail.

Oh no!! I wiped both side of the plastic with alcohol tissue, wait for it to dry then stick on the shell. Should I use tank water now to wash away the alcohol on the plastic (facing outside)? I cant wash the plastic inside cos it's alr sticked on the shell. What should I do??

[ADsnail]

Looks like you did a good job with the shell gluing. FYI for next time, the plastic won't be necessary, just a piece of chicken egg shell with the thin membrane attached (if you don't have that missing piece of snail shell), and the super glue. Chicken shell will crack as you press down to be sure it covers at the edges, so gluing another piece of shell over the big cracks on the repair piece is fine.

Wiping with alcohol isn't necessary, though now that you've done it there's really no harm. The important things are: snail being totally in the shell when you do that good gluing job, not letting the superglue touch the snail's sensitive body, and letting the glue dry 15-20 minutes before returning snail to the tank.

I've done this repair. It's an iffy procedure: sometimes it works, sometimes the snail does not survive because of injuries sustained from the crash and other factors. But you've done the most you can do, so hopefully your snail will make a full recovery.

[Aiken Drum]

What happens long term if the snail survives? Does the shell repair itself and the repair fall off with time?

[ADsnail]

The snail incorporates its new repairs and keeps growing around it, strengthening that area. It doesn't absorb the additional shell, so the new nickname for it is"Lumpy".

I've no experience with using plastic, so I'm curious what will happen there. Will it be avoided by the snail's own repair as time goes by? Incorporated into the new growth? My best guess is that it will slowly deteriorate on top of the glue and eventually not exist. But I'm really not sure.

[Colin_T]

If the alcohol evaporated before you glued it on, that is fine. If you spray wet alcohol onto a snail or slug, it burns them. Your snail should be fine because you let the plastic dry before gluing.

[mysterysnail]

The little guy just passed away last night sobs
Feels so bad and guilty for dropping him, hopefully he can forgive me

Want to thank the kind folks here for giving me helpful advice

[ADsnail]

I'm sorry he passed away