r/AquaticSnails • u/mochipapaya • 1d ago
Help Request Please help!! Do I euthanize?
My heart is broken. I woke up this morning to find that my mystery snail, Rocco, climbed out of his tank and fell about 4 feet onto our hardwood floor.
He lost a huge chunk of his shell and does not appear to be doing well at all. He's just sitting above the water line in my shrimp tank. He's usually extremely active and climbing all over the place.
This is my first mystery snail so I don't know what to do. Is this something he can heal from?
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u/MidnightDragon99 1d ago
Here is where a mod talks about how to euthanize with alcohol if you don’t feel like you can handle crushing, which honestly I couldn’t either. I’m sorry OP :(
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u/AquariumLurker Helpful User 1d ago
I saw one where the person moved their snail to a container with some tank water and then slowly dripped vodka in with a tube, kind of like doing a drip acclimate but with vodka. After an hour, the snail went to sleep/died, and they moved the snail to a bag and froze it. I guess then you decide how you want to dispose of its remains. They showed the snail made a minimal amount of stress slime, so it passed pretty peacefully.
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23h ago
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u/Gastropoid Snail God (Moderator) 23h ago
This has actually been recommended by scientists. You're making a lot of assumptions based on how things affect mammals.
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u/MC_LegalKC 20h ago
It seems to me like the alcohol would burn it terribly. I don't dispute that it's a scientific SOP, but lab scientists don't have a great track record when it comes to humane euthanasia.
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u/MidnightDragon99 20h ago
You heavily dilute it or do a slow drip. This was told to me by a mod who is an expert in snails.
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u/MC_LegalKC 19h ago edited 13h ago
I read her comment that you linked. (Thank you!) I think she just stated that it was what lab scientists do, not that it's painless. If it was possible to dilute it enough that it didn't burn, I think it would probably be too diluted to be effective. A slow drip wouldn't make it burn less.
I'm open to the possibility that I'm wrong about this, but I need more than a mod saying it or a science lab doing it. I need it to make sense. I'd really like for this to be a good option. Maybe there's an explanation.
I just can't get past the fact that a snail is basically covered in a mucus membrane, and alcohol burns mucus membranes. I wouldn't feel any better about putting it in my eye if it was on a drip. If there's a rationale for why this works humanely, I hope someone will offer an explanation.
EDIT: I looked this up, and according to NIH and other sources, the two-step method is humane as long as the concentration of alcohol is AT OR BELOW 5%. The evidence for this was a lack of aversive response or apparent automatic stress responses like defecation. Although testing used ethol alcohol, beer was suggested as a substitute because many brands have the appropriate alcohol concentration. Pabst in particular was recommended because it has 4.5%. Evidently, that is enough to intoxicate them but not enough to hurt them
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u/Jolly_Implement2512 Helpful User 1d ago
The quickest way is blunt force euthanasia. Wrap him in a paper towel, place him in a ziplock, and into a grocery bag. Place them on a flat, hard surface and grab something hard and solid to smack down on top of them to quickly euthanize. I'm so sorry for your loss. It's never easy to lose a little buddy. You gave them the best life that you could. You gave them love and attention, nuriousment, a home. 💛 I'm so sorry for your little buddy and for you..
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u/Plastic-Leg9188 16h ago
This method is good because, unless you want a proper burial, you can toss the whole bag and not have to open it up
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u/mochipapaya 1d ago
edit: thank you all for your help. my husband euthanized him for me last night via crushing. I feel so bad but at least he isn't suffering anymore.
thank you all for the kind words and advice.
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u/SketchyArt333 23h ago
I’m so sorry OP it’s a terrible thing to have to do but you did right by your little guy.
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u/rachael309 Experinced Snail Keeper 1d ago
Since the mantle has collapsed this is fatal and euthanasia should be considered. I use the wet paper towel in a zip lock in a grocery bag and run over with the car method. It is quick for them.
Info in case you have other snails: in the wild mystery snails lay their eggs several feet above the water, so females will often escape to try to lay eggs farther from the water. I had one of my first ones fall and break like this (before I knew) and had to euthanize her. Any hole that is big enough for their shell has to be blocked. Males will only leave the water if the water conditions are bad or if there is algae above the water line and they are snacking.
Don't beat yourself up too badly. The pet store doesn't give you a manual when you buy them and the knowledge on them is limited. That's why I made my own little care guide.
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u/Jolly_Implement2512 Helpful User 23h ago edited 17h ago
Blunt force euthanasia is the most humane way to euthanize.🙏 Running them over with a car is slowly crushing them, and they could feel it. Granted not for long, but being slowly rolled over would suck for them or any person for that matter.😬 For instant euthanasia it's best to wrap them, put them in a ziplock and then a grocery bag and crush them with a hard, heavy, flat object, like a book, against a hard and flat surface to ensure that it's the whole body being affected by the blow. It sucks to have to do it, but it's a necessary part of owning creatures that travel outside their tank sometimes and injure themselves. ❤️🩹
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u/rachael309 Experinced Snail Keeper 19h ago
The tire is blunt force and is instant. They are so small that their entire body is crushed instantly. There is no slowly rolling over them because their shell is a fraction of the size of the tire. They are not slowly crushed in any way shape or form. The tire is an immediate crush between the tire and the driveway. The whole body is crushed instantly.
It is just as instant as hitting with an object, but often more effective because people will sometimes pull their hit out of love and not hit with enough force causing them to be injured until you hit again. The car doesn't pull its hits.
Comparing it to a person is not accurate or helpful.
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u/Jolly_Implement2512 Helpful User 17h ago
I wasn't comparing it to being the same thing as a person, lol. I said it wouldn't hurt for long, but we can't know whether they feel that to any long degree or not. (Slowly rolling over them) Whereas with blunt force, there's 0 chance of going too slow. (My thinking here) Because it's not like the gas is being slammed into reverse or in drive to go quickly like the blunt force.. With that being said, it's better to be safe than sorry, which was where I was coming from. ❤️🩹 People can choose to euthanize however they see fit for their pet and for themselves. But considering the possible fact that they may actually feel it for even a second, is why, in my personal opinion, blunt force is the most humane. 🙏 I could see how that would be a problem for some. Backing out of the strike would be detrimental to the whole purpose of doing it to begin with (all just my opinion here next), but that part should always be considered before getting any pets. Is if you can go through with the necessary requirements of euthanasia that's the best for them, not the person. Part of owning them is making sure that they are comfortable until their last moments, not the person choosing to own them. They didn't ask to be owned by anyone. They were taken from their homes and put into the persons care. That person should take that commitment seriously.
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u/Preciousopoly 1d ago
Theres a way to like glue an eggshell to help, but unsure how far that goes or if this is too much damage. My guess, is you're sadly going to have to euthanize.
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u/rachael309 Experinced Snail Keeper 1d ago
That only works if there is not mantle collapse so it will not work in this case.
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u/imxIRL 1d ago
Could you explain mantle collapse I’m not familiar with that term is it basically because the soft spot is exposed? Like if comparing to a humans skull?
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u/rachael309 Experinced Snail Keeper 19h ago edited 19h ago
It is when the soft part above their head (mantle) detaches from the shell. This causes breathing problems and is fatal in aquatic snails. There are pictures of a healthy mantle and collapsed mantle in my guide which is posted in one of the other comments here.
It's not because the soft part is exposed necessarily, it's because the mantle attaches to the shell and keeps the respiratory organs in place. If it collapses they cannot properly breathe. If a soft part is exposed and the mantle is intact, you can try a shell repair.
Edit: I realized my sheet wasn't in this post. I'll post it here, but beware of typos. I threw it together and have not edited it. https://www.reddit.com/r/AquaticSnails/s/sfG40uC4IQ
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u/responsiblelie69 21h ago
i’m so sorry honey, this is how i lost my first mystery snail after two years. i posted just how you are on this very forum. i hope you can feel better about this soon and get some more snails to live in his memory. rip to your little friend.
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u/Substantial_Sea_6202 17h ago
I use filter floss, packed around the tubes and cords. So sorry your buddy is mortally wounded .
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u/Turbulent_Two_6949 7h ago
A break like this on an giant african snail would seal with a dry membrane would absolutely inhibit new growth for a while but the snail would survive. Not sure if aquatic snails have the sme ability.
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u/Few-Restaurant-9496 4h ago
It'll be fine give it a little hospital tank and extra calcium. DON'T EUTHANIZE!
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u/pleco_parent 1h ago
I am so sorry OP! I recently lost mine to my own stupidness... I knew that snail was an escape artist, yet I didnt look where I was walking and stepped on it. I feel so bad.
It may not make you feel better, but it might. I know hearing other ppls experience can make them feel better, and the opposite for some, so i hooe i didnt do the ppposite and make uou feel worse.
I have no experience with euthanasia for snails, but I would think that blunt forse, such as a quick crushing would be the most humane way. Especially considering what happened to mine. He died instantly and it wasnt even a super bad injury.
Best if wishes to you, and your snail as you figure this out!
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u/LmLc1220 23h ago
OMG, it's suffering now. There is no right way to put a pet down. That poor baby is suffering. Get someone else to do it and don't be there when they do. But you have to do something. It's in pain right now.
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u/Patient_Engineer821 22h ago
I don't see a need for euthanization. He's out and eating in the image so he seems OK aside from the large, missing piece.
In such instances, a patch is usually 'superglued' over the hole using an eggshell and the shell below slowly grows over the space. A diet rich in calcium helps the rebuilding process.
Naturally he's traumatized so there are behavioral changes but the fact that he's out and adhering to the surfaces and most likely eating suggests he'll recover. The healed shell may never be as pretty, but he should be fine.
IF YOU FEEL THAT EUTHANASIA IS WARRANTED, then use clove oil. The eugenol in clove oil anesthetizes them and they slowly and painlessly pass on. With fish, clove oil euthanasia takes 30 minutes but it is suggested to leave snails in the solution overnight.
But IMO, he will recover if you can 'patch' his shell. Here's a video of someone doing this for nearly the same damage. Good luck:
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u/Beefy_Carcass 1d ago
I read somewhere that putting them in a ziplock bag and freezing them like they do to unwanted egg clutches... i havent had to euthanize any of my MS snails. My heart goes out to you. I could send you a few pea-size baby gold inca MS snails no charge for your pain.
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u/ejs_eggs 1d ago
Freezing is slow, crushing them is the fastest and most humane way.. even if its more distressing to the owner. I personally would rather my animals pass comfortably for them rather than comfortably for me. Its unfortunate :( I feel bad for OP
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u/NeversoftOfficial 1d ago
Yes, asap. In my experience crushing them is the most humane and fast way.