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Post by etana on Apr 25, 2018 7:53:20 GMT
Thanks for the kind words.
Unfortunately, last night when I came back from town at midnight, I saw Darius was having a third prolapse. I guess I was lucky that I saw it at that hour and not in the morning. There was another snail rasping on it as if he'd known what to do, I don't know, but I immediately grabbed Darius and used the needle again.
He seemed so tired. But he wrestled the gut back in once more, again pushing at both his own shell and also my finger. I helped him out with the very last bit and then massaged his back gently (he really doesn't retract anymore from anything I do! It's so weird). Finally the body parts seemed to go in right and he cheered up. When I returned him to the tank, he ran to another big margie (not sure who it was) and kissed him right in the face.
I don't know if the kiss was a "so glad to see you again!" or a "i think I'm dying, so goodbye" kiss... I know snails do both kind of kisses.
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Post by mutantboy on Apr 25, 2018 9:13:05 GMT
Sorry to hear Darius had another prolapse. I saw on the other forum that you decided to try castor oil. I hope that works.
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Post by jolovessnailies on Apr 25, 2018 9:16:15 GMT
Oh Etana love, that has made me cry. I so hope it wasn't a goodbye kiss. He was going up to that other snail for comfort and to tell him all about it. Everything crossed and prayers said. Thank you for keeping us posted hunni.
Hugs JO xx
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Post by etana on Apr 25, 2018 13:51:56 GMT
Well it wasn't a goodbye kiss yet. The two were sleeping shell against shell when I went to do tank maintenance. I woke Darius up and he was really happy to see me, I can't count how many snaily kisses and eye stalk pats I got when he was on my hand. I had cut my hand earlier so I was wearing gloves, and he super glued himself to the glove so tight, it took some trickery to get him off my hand. I still can't believe the change in him. No one had ever been so openly negative about me before he was born, and now after these ordeals he's such a lap snail. I can touch his eye stalks, massage him, anything.
He was happy, but a little dehydrated maybe.
I paid a visit to the pharmacy. I now have medicine quality castor oil, and a real doctor's needle and syringe set so I can help much better and with less damage to the snail if there's another prolapse. I will study up on the castor oil and apply it when I've decided on a dosage.
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Post by jolovessnailies on Apr 26, 2018 8:39:32 GMT
Oh that is lovely Etana back when they give affection back. I love the term lap snail and all those kisses and eye pats must have been just wonderful. He obviously wanted to stay on your hand love him but doubtless, he is getting lots of cuddles. I am sure his dehydration will pass hunni ad e will drink plenty of water over the next few days. Very good to be prepared if he or any other of your little ones has a prolapse. Let's hope it never happens again.
Hugs Jo xx
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Post by GrandTouringShell on Apr 28, 2018 21:05:46 GMT
Neat! Sounds like you really got your snail domesticated now. 😁 I also did not know that you can buy medical grade oil and needles. I thought things like that would only be available to medical staff.
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Post by etana on Apr 29, 2018 7:13:37 GMT
Yes GTS, in Finland you can buy both if you ask for them precisely and explain what they're for. The pharmacist was very curious about my photos of the big snail, and wanted me to go back later and fill her in on whether the prolapses had stopped happening.
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Post by jolovessnailies on Apr 29, 2018 11:34:02 GMT
That is so sweet Etana love, that she found it interesting and wanted to know how the little chap was. I bet she will want regular updates lol! How is the little fellow by the way?
Hugs JO xx
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Post by etana on Apr 30, 2018 22:34:48 GMT
He's stable, I think. He sleeps a lot and looks a bit thin, but his organs have stayed inside for 5 days now. At first the castor oil had him make angry faces at me as I applied it to his foot, but on the third day he reached over and swallowed a mouthful, and sat calmly as I massaged the oil in. He might have understood that it's helping (I hope it is helping, anyway).
I read somewhere that humans can ingest 0.6 ml of castor oil per kg of weight during a day, and have no limits to how much can go on the skin. I am putting 0.3 ml on the big snail's skin once per night, and if he happens to eat it off himself, that amount should be safe.
My friend who has studied nursing said that there could be a sterile inflammation inside the snail. Kind of like how humans get "water knees" if you know what I mean.
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Post by jolovessnailies on May 1, 2018 9:30:19 GMT
I am pleased to hear this Etana love and it is true, I think they know when you are helping them. I know what you mean about the water knees Etana love and I really hope the inflammation goes down and he is back to his old snaily self. Thank you very much for the updates.
Hugs JO xx
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Post by etana on May 1, 2018 15:02:26 GMT
Yeah, I also wonder if he finds the oil itself makes him feel better since he is now willing to even eat it, even though castor oil doesn't exactly have a reputation as delicious. Then again snails have weird tastes, lol.
I have my hopes up again. He was doing shell maintenance today, and snails who are too ill don't care to.
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Post by jolovessnailies on May 2, 2018 9:27:22 GMT
Oh bless him Etana love, it may well taste like honey to him and it is great that he is eating it on his own. I am glad he is taking care of his toilet also, tell him not to use too much aftershave lol! You are right, when animals are ill they lose interest in keeping themselves nice.
Hugs JO xx
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Post by etana on May 2, 2018 9:38:01 GMT
It happened again, I was oiling his foot and this time he was even more eager to eat it. He was hanging from the tank ceiling so I didn't have to even take him out for the treatment. When I stopped, he reached for the tank door and banged it with his eyes, and we joked with my bf that he wanted more medicine, but I try to not offer him too much as it's possible to mess up your system by having too much castor oil. We don't want him to get diarrhoea on top of his other issues!
His shell is very shiny now as some of the oil gets on that too. I'm contemplating treating the shells of my eldest snails with it. The coconut oil works too but castor oil seems less sticky.
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Post by jolovessnailies on May 3, 2018 9:31:14 GMT
That is so cute Etana love, he certainly is enjoying his oil. It is the same with us if we have too much of it it gives us an upset tummy. I love the eye banging on the glass and it must be a huge relief to you that he likes what is good for him. I bet he has a beautiful shell now. I used to use baby oil to keep my tortoises' shells shiny.
Hugs JO xx
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Post by etana on May 18, 2018 14:49:48 GMT
Boring update: No full prolapses have happened since I last wrote here.
There was a third snail with some facial swelling, I gave him castor oil too. The swelling went away.
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