How do you tell if a snail is dead?

[Patroklos]

How do you tell if a snail is dead?

I have some rather large turbo snails, an inch and a half in diameter, and they haven't moved in a few days. I pulled them out thinking I was playing coroner because I don't want them decomposing in the water and all of them are locked up tight. Previously when I have removed dead snailes they were hanging out of thier shell, obvioulsy dead.

So, are these guys dead or just being lazy?

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

im having the same problem rite now, i have left mine in the tank and after a few days its insides are comming through the "door" somewhere. and if you dont mind me hijacking this thread a little, how can we dispose of a dead snail but we want to keep the shell?

 

[Tommy Gun]

IME with turbo snails, there is a good chance that they may be alive if they are still hanging on to that 'door'. Could be a sign of water problems, or a sign of a tankmate bothering them. My hermit crabs tend to check out my smaller turbos every so often and they will clam up for a day or two afterwards.

 

[ccCapt]

Take it out of the tank and smell it. You WILL know if it's dead or not by smell alone.

 

[Patroklos]

They do smell bad, do they normally not smell?

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

so does any1 kno how to rid them of their shell so you can keep the shell?

 

[Patroklos]

I would say pull the body out and then boil the shells.

 

[DJLiquid]

Boil them body and all. They will be alot easier to pull out then. Trust me, this comes from a person that's eaten quite a few snails in his time.

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

turns out, when i picked it up it fell ot of the shell and was pretty well decomposed. and the smell, like rotten eggs but infinately worse. i almost hurled. im gaging rite now as i think about it. do i still have to boil the shell?

 

[mr86mister]

You might just want to soak it in hot water for a bit and rinse it out well. Then just throw it back in the aquarium. You could also find out if they are alive or not is take them out and push down on their "door" and if they contract further in then they are alive.

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

the smell is good enough trust me. lol.

 

[Ziggy953]

Hmm...I've had my tank up and running for nearly 3 years and I have yet to pull a "dead" snail out of the tank and boil it just to keep the shell. I don't bother with the dead ones at all. My hermits take care of them for me and after a few days I have a nice cleaned out shell.

 

[mr86mister]

lol Ziggy. Or that works fine too! I didn't think of that. I had a few snails die as well and they were cleaned out by my hermits within a night.

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

mine was in a 3 gal so there were only 3 small hermits and they couldnt pry open the turbo sanil, the torch was an easy meal for them though.