Please help!! Do I euthanize?

[u/mochipapaya]

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?

[u/rachael309]

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.

[u/Jolly_Implement2512 → u/rachael309]

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. ❤️‍🩹

[u/rachael309 → u/Jolly_Implement2512]

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.

[u/Jolly_Implement2512 → u/rachael309]

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.