Kid wants to pet mystery snail

[amit.rajaram]

I know its a bit of a silly question, but I'm loving my 6 year old girl's interest in our aquarium and I want to keep it going.

We added a mystery snail to our community yesterday, and as I was taking it out of the bag, she was allowed to gently touch/rub its shell. Now she wants to know if I can take it out each night for a few minutes and allow it to crawl around her palm. Is there any reason to not do this? I know the mystery snails can survive a few hours out of water, so a few minutes should not harm it. Is there any other way this could harm the snail?

Also, if the snail happens to have attached itself to the glass, what's the best way to get it off and out the tank? A gentle wiggle free?

 

[Mattyfelts]

i wouldnt, once in a while is fine but its going to stress it a bit... it is an aquatic animal just wouldnt do it...

 

[icydeath]

If you would like, every few days I would let her hold it, but in the water. Let her pet its shell if she likes, then put it on her hand for a little. I wouldn't do this everyday, but every few days would be okay. Just do it with her hands in the tank so the snail doesn't get as stressed. (also dont wash her hands with soap, just normal water then dry it off)

 

[Nils]

Tell her to hold her hand underwater, and then pick the snail up and let it crawl on her hand. It's cool that she shows so much interest in the tank! Tell her hi from a fellow aquarist! Lol

Nils