Alfred is not well :( Help?

[kate]

My white jade Alfred laid eggs almost a week ago, and since then he's not been very active and has been retracted very far back into his shell. He is not a very big snail, and I would say that when he is retracted, he is about an inch back in, perhaps even a bit more than that, yet his shell is only about 2.5 to 3 inches long anyway. :-( I am worried.
He wakes up if i give him a bath, which i've been doing every day now. But tonight it was particularly hard to make him come out, and so I think he might be getting worse.
When he is awake he usually just slimes his way over to the other end of the tank and then goes back into his shell...
I don't think he is cold, because the thermometer i have behind the tank says it's about 22 degrees, which is the usual temperature, and also his friend in the tank, Fluffy, is just as active as usual.
Alfred seems a lot smaller, body weight wise, which is probably because i don't think he is eating very much...
I have tried placing him on the cuttle fish too, and he just sits there, and doesn't rasp like he used to, but i figured he would be hungry for calcium, after all those eggs he layed.
I think there were about 100, but i have frozen them now. :-(
Is it normal for the snail to want to 'rest' after laying eggs? And is it likely Alfred will get better?
Please help. :-(

[kate]

Also his flesh, which used to be quite bright white and clean looking, has now gone a bit of a nasty orangey brown colour at the edges

[AlienSnail]

Hiya Kate,

Well although he's small for a fulica he appears to be around the sort of size that you can expect an adult jade to be. They seem to be a small variety of fulica.
It is normal for snails to rest after egg-laying, I had one that was also innactive for a few weeks, I thought it would die but it's back to normal now.
It could go either way. I suspect one of the problems with a small fulica laying eggs is that it may still be likely to lay a similar amount of eggs as a much larger one (well I've found this in my experience anyway, it may not always be the case), and this can take a huge amount of effort and energy for a little snail.
If you can get Alfred to eat anything at all try him with avocado, many people swear by avocado for building up a snail's strength. Sweet potato is another really good nutrient and starch-rich food that's good for building snails up.
I am not sure what to think about Alfred's orange tinge. My albino retics developed this wtihout any health problems what so ever, and I suspect it's normal for some albinos to get a little discoloured as they get older, but in Alfred's case I really don't know. None of my jades did very well health-wise and all died young, so I don't know if discolouration is normal for a jade.

It could go either way for him. He may re-build his strength when he's rested enough, or he may fade away. I hope the little fella makes it though.

Good luck, Kate

- Ness x

[feebix]

Could I also recomend not "making him come out" let him rest, you may well be forcing extra effort out of him that could tip the scales, keep your conditions constant and just wait with crossed fingers, hopefully he`ll come out in time and be ok.....

[kate]

Thanks for the help
I have been feeding him sweet potato, and he seems a little more active now. On Sunday he laid some more eggs - about 20 or so - and I've decided I want to keep them, incase he doesn't get better...
He is still retracted very far back into his shell when he is not awake though.
But i took your advice feebix and have not been 'forcing' him to wake up, and he comes out himself now.
Hopefully he will recover.

[kate]

Unfortunately Alfred didn't make it.

[AlienSnail]

Aw that's sad news. Poor little guy. It's sad but it happens, you did your best x