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Post by laurent on Oct 14, 2008 7:14:46 GMT
Hi, I'm again having trouble with my A. achatina... Last time, some of my snails got sick, and as a result, I lost 3 out of 5 in that tank. See here supersnails.proboards76.com/index.cgi?board=illness&action=display&thread=2260. The two survivors came out of it after a looooong time, and became active again, ate again, and everything seemed fine. I therefor made the bad call to put my 3 other snails (not from the same batch) together with them, after having cleaned the snails and the tank. At first, everything went well. the 5 of them got together well, and ate very well. One of the 2 survivors died 5 days ago (retracted a bit, then came halfway out of its shell, dead). Since then, the other 4 are active, but not eating at all. This time, I strongly suspect and infection or bacteria of some kind, as it seems to be passing along from snail to snail. Over the past 3 days, noticing they were not touching the food (except cuttlefish sometimes) I've offered them with every possible food, all at the same time, trying to make sure they'd find an interest in something. They slime over it, but would not eat any bit. I have one last tank with A. reticulata (no more Tigers, and they still are my favorite snails) kept under the same condition (soil, temperature, humidity, food, etc.). These are fine, and move, eat, live. Anyone has an idea / suggestion ? I'm really scared I'll lose all my tigers this time, and I find it very hard (besides, getting some new ones is probably going to be difficult). Laurent, sad again |
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Post by AlienSnail on Oct 14, 2008 7:59:35 GMT
Oh no that's awful for you and your snails.
All I can suggest is to re-seperate them again if you can, put each one on it's own if possible, though if none of them are eating then it's not a good sign. I'm really sorry to hear this.
It's very sad though, I really hope your Tigers recover, and that you do not end up without any.
xx
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Post by Tigs on Oct 14, 2008 11:20:22 GMT
One of my Queen Tigers died last week. Fine one day and popped its clogs a few days later. Went from having loads of Tigers to just two - which now live with Pumpkin. Touch wood they survive  |
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Post by AlienSnail on Oct 14, 2008 11:38:25 GMT
Yes I'm down to just one. The others died within a few weeks of the first one. I recon my remaining one will be fine as it's been a while since the others died and it's active and eating well. However I won't be getting any more Tigers for quite some time just in case this last one is still carrying the illness. It may be an immune carrier of whatever it was.
What happened to your's Tigs?
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Post by Tigs on Oct 14, 2008 12:23:28 GMT
Retracted and had white blotches/Scars. Died a few days later  |
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Post by laurent on Oct 14, 2008 16:45:40 GMT
Hi,
sorry about your snails ! Is there anything particular we do not know about Tigers that could be an explantion to these deaths ?
Laurent
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Post by AlienSnail on Oct 14, 2008 20:36:24 GMT
It is odd.
Perhaps Tigers get a wider range of illnesses than other snails.
I wish I could be of help but it's a mystery to me.
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Post by laurent on Oct 15, 2008 7:12:09 GMT
Hi,
I've isolated them by pairs, in plastic containers placed within the usual tank. They have food, but no substrate. After 24H, here are my observations :
* only one of them seems to be eating (and not much at all)
* I cleaned poo in both containers and that showed me they consumed something in the past days : coir. They're not touching the food, but they're eating the substrate.
* they remain active and don't go inside their shells : they remain partly or totally out most of the night and day.
So, where does that lead me ? not much, but I'm wondering : if they're eating the substrate, does that mean they have a bacterial imbalance in their intestines ?
I'm taking any idea !
Laurent
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Post by AlienSnail on Oct 15, 2008 8:06:54 GMT
Possibly they may have a bacterial imbalance. I don't know, but it does sound logical.
Perhaps you could mix fresh food with slightly spoiled food and put some in a blender. Mulch it up and mix it with some of the substrate? I don't know if this will work but my theory is they will get the benefit from the good bacteria and nurishment from some fresh food also.
I've never tried doing it though......
x
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Post by laurent on Oct 15, 2008 9:13:13 GMT
Hi,
that sounds good to me (not that I ususally mix spolied food with mine...). I'm going to try that tonight, but using substrate from the reticulatas that are fine, in case the Tigers' soil got spoiled (I'm wondering if slime isn't a vector of something, so I'm trying to take all precautions).
I'm trying to get in touch with some people in Ivory coast to see if they encounter these issues in their snail farms (man, how sad is that !).
Thanks for the idea,
Laurent
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Post by laurent on Oct 16, 2008 6:57:13 GMT
Today's update : I still only have one eating. They're all staying partly out of their hsell all day, and are active at night or when moved from one place to the other. That still isn't encouraging at all, especially considering the low amount of food the only one eating is absorbing...
Laurent
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Post by whodoesntlovesnails on Oct 17, 2008 23:12:30 GMT
aww, i am really sorry to hear this...and u still have no firm idea of what the cause may be?
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Post by laurent on Oct 18, 2008 15:07:16 GMT
Hi,
no idea at all. I find that their slime is kind of pasty, but nothing else than not eating would indicate trouble. For the past two day, They have all remained active (crawling around and even climbing on the terrarium. I saw one (perhaps two, but I'm not really sure) eating cuttlefish. The rest of the food is untouched, and there is no poo around, confirming the severe regimen they impose on themselves.
Laurent
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Post by laurent on Oct 21, 2008 7:00:12 GMT
Hi all,
good news, for no reason that I can determine. Sunday, the oldest of my achatinas decided to remain the whole day in the swimming pool (that is their bowl of water). He moved during the night but not much, and remained there Monday as well. I changed the water Sunday evening and Monday evening. All the others remained active, on less than the others, but still...
On Sunday I still had one confirmed eater (spinach but still in very small quantities), and a calcium muncher. On Monday, The oldest one, and the eater decided it was time to get some food. They ate in normal proportions lettuce, courgette and maybe spinach. I believe I still have a third rasping a bit of calcium, and the fourth is still moderately active and not eating.
Let's see if we can consolidate the return of their appetite...
Laurent
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Post by AlienSnail on Oct 21, 2008 8:22:59 GMT
Oooh now that's looking more hopeful  I hope they are now getting better. Thanks for the update x |
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