Post by theodidactus on Jan 30, 2011 17:30:04 GMT
Hello everyone,
many of you already know that I'm pretty new to the world of snails, so I keep asking annoying questions. I don't know what's normal and what's not
I am the proud owner of five A. Fulicra snails, which were wild caught on the outskirts of Kaohsuing Taiwan. they are adorable and have become mascots of my small school.
Recently, two snails produced a small batch of babies, which I took as a good sign of me raising my snails right. The babies that I kept are still alive, and all my snails are enjoying a daily supply of Kale and tomatoes, occasionally strawberries, green beans, oranges, lettuce, and whatever produce I can find at local markets.
I'm a little worried: all the adult snails have stopped growing. They are of varying sizes, but none are producing growth lines which would indicate healthy shell growth. As all of them stopped growing within the last month and a half, I fear it may be something I've done, since it's highly unlikely these snails are the same age. I've also noticed that the adults are eating less, while the babies are chewing their way through kale like mad.
Using my acute scientific mind
, I've identified four possibilities:
- It is a seasonal thing: Do snails grow in seasonal cycles? It's winter in taiwan, and an unseasonably cold one at that. Would this have anything to do with it?
- My Calcium Supply isn't good enough: I've had a devil of a time getting these guys a decent supply of calcium. there's no store in town that sells cuttlebone, and liquid calcium supplements come with about 3 dozen chemicals that snails shouldn't be eating (this is the far east, after all). I feed them pure calcium carbonate, which I get from my chemistry supplier. They do eat it, but perhaps they're not processing it?
- they aren't getting enough vitamin D, which they'd need to use the calcium:8th grade bio comes in handy! The snail station, as my students call it, occupies several tupperware containers in the far corner of my classroom, it's exposed to sunlight during the day, but the snails generally sit in the shady areas. I suppose I could try a reptile light.
- They've lost their will to live: They live in a classroom where we teach History, Chemistry, and English Grammar 16 hours a day. Maybe all that tedium is starting to wear them down.
Anyhow, do help me out if you think you have a solution. I would like to finish out the year with the whole population of snail station #1 thriving. the situation is especially important, because there are two newborns in the tank and I want to make sure they have everything they need.
many of you already know that I'm pretty new to the world of snails, so I keep asking annoying questions. I don't know what's normal and what's not
I am the proud owner of five A. Fulicra snails, which were wild caught on the outskirts of Kaohsuing Taiwan. they are adorable and have become mascots of my small school.
Recently, two snails produced a small batch of babies, which I took as a good sign of me raising my snails right. The babies that I kept are still alive, and all my snails are enjoying a daily supply of Kale and tomatoes, occasionally strawberries, green beans, oranges, lettuce, and whatever produce I can find at local markets.
I'm a little worried: all the adult snails have stopped growing. They are of varying sizes, but none are producing growth lines which would indicate healthy shell growth. As all of them stopped growing within the last month and a half, I fear it may be something I've done, since it's highly unlikely these snails are the same age. I've also noticed that the adults are eating less, while the babies are chewing their way through kale like mad.
Using my acute scientific mind
, I've identified four possibilities:- It is a seasonal thing: Do snails grow in seasonal cycles? It's winter in taiwan, and an unseasonably cold one at that. Would this have anything to do with it?
- My Calcium Supply isn't good enough: I've had a devil of a time getting these guys a decent supply of calcium. there's no store in town that sells cuttlebone, and liquid calcium supplements come with about 3 dozen chemicals that snails shouldn't be eating (this is the far east, after all). I feed them pure calcium carbonate, which I get from my chemistry supplier. They do eat it, but perhaps they're not processing it?
- they aren't getting enough vitamin D, which they'd need to use the calcium:8th grade bio comes in handy! The snail station, as my students call it, occupies several tupperware containers in the far corner of my classroom, it's exposed to sunlight during the day, but the snails generally sit in the shady areas. I suppose I could try a reptile light.
- They've lost their will to live: They live in a classroom where we teach History, Chemistry, and English Grammar 16 hours a day. Maybe all that tedium is starting to wear them down.
Anyhow, do help me out if you think you have a solution. I would like to finish out the year with the whole population of snail station #1 thriving. the situation is especially important, because there are two newborns in the tank and I want to make sure they have everything they need.
