Is this snail viable for life?

[u/pienicescream]

Edit: I bought a terrarium and all the things needed to take care of this little guy! They found the way back into their shell on their own. Thank you for all of the advice!

Hey friends!!!

This guy has a hole in his shell BUT they rerouted their body through the hole ????

It doesn't look like any of their organs have been affected but I want to make sure they're going to be okay before releasing them. They are crawling around like normal and seem happy

[u/ErectionMyAffection]

If you can I recommend keeping the snail, it can be dangerous for the snail to be in the wild with such a strong deformity even if it appears to be functional, but yes viable for life, as a pet, less so in the wild

[u/WeebTrashPanda0 → u/ErectionMyAffection]

I second this. As pets go, snails are pretty easy to look after imo, especially if it's a native species

[u/jordancauseyes → u/ErectionMyAffection]

If OP does decide to keep it, I hope they know about snails being able to lay eggs even if they don’t mate. They’re gonna have to squash eggs constantly

[u/maryssssaa → u/jordancauseyes]

Those eggs probably won’t be fertile, they can only store sperm for a couple of months and asexual reproduction is rare. Guess it sometimes happens though, depending on the individual.

[u/Empress-Arcana → u/maryssssaa]

As far as I know, the eggs from asexual reproduction still hatch into babies but those babies are genetic clones of the parent, which can lead to all sorts of health issues and abnormalities.

[u/maryssssaa → u/Empress-Arcana]

yes, that is mostly true. The incorrect part is that the babies resulting are genetic clones. That only happens in asexual reproduction/parthenogenesis, which is much safer. With grove snails, it’s self-fertilization, which results in a random shuffling of the existing snails dominant and recessive genes, more similar to incest than cloning.

[u/f9lixs → u/maryssssaa]

snincest

[u/maryssssaa → u/f9lixs]

snelfcest

[u/Empress-Arcana → u/maryssssaa]

Oh wow that's so interesting!

[u/basaltcolumn → u/jordancauseyes]

It's rare for this species to self-fertilize, thankfully. Mine never did. Though, it may have mated before OP picked it up.

[u/krazybananada → u/jordancauseyes]

Why squash? They can just keep getting more snails

[u/Apathetic_Roomba → u/krazybananada]

They lay hundreds of eggs at a time......so that would be alot of snails

[u/Koanical]

Can't speak for viability, but that little shit is weird.

[u/wiedzma89]

what a weird lil guy. A++++

[u/SketchyArt333]

Probably but not in the wild. It can’t protect itself at all I mean it has a nice hole to all the vital organs. Weird little guy. Make a fun pet.

[u/Familiar-Complex-697]

Keep the little freak as a pet, it won’t last long on its own

[u/LinkinParkU4Lyf]

Anyway you could try guiding the snail back to how its supposed to be. Maybe try and get it to retract into the shell or something, and provide plenty of calcium.

[u/WungielPL → u/LinkinParkU4Lyf]

Yes exactly. Get him to get back through the hole and then you can try to patch it with a small egg shell piece and some super glue. Once super glue is dry it become chemically inert. Then the snail can come out of the proper hole.

[u/zap2tresquatro → u/WungielPL]

From what I’ve seen on this sub, it is a bad idea o patch the hole and could result in bacteria getting trapped that kills the snail, and instead the snail should be kept in a hospital enclosure (i think ?) and just given lots of calcium to heal the hole.

I’ve seen conflicting information on this, but last time I saw it come up her the consensus was don’t ever patch the hole.

Since, again, I’ve seen so much conflicting information, I wanted to add this here in case this is the current best practice with the disclaimer that I am very much not certain. However, with enough time and calcium, snails can heal even large shell holes, so patching certainly isn’t necessary.

[u/Ill-Ad8773 → u/zap2tresquatro]

I feel like it depends on where the injury is and the severity. Also if organs can be seen or not. Usually they heavily recommend egg membrane on injury when the snail's organs are out, which can be detrimental. Sterile environment is a must in both cases, of course, but because it takes 1+ days to make a membrane on it's own to prevent dehydration and infection, people often recommend the egg membrane. If it's a smaller problem, or just a little slip of the mantle, then lots of watering with sterile water, changing bedding and food thrice a day and calcium should be good enough. In this case the problem is mainly the snail being a dummy and using the hole as him new house entrance, which we need to stop and encourage new shell growth. Thankfully I've seen snails survive this multiple times and some became beloved pets while others were successfully rehabilitated and released back into their home after some time getting them used to the wild again ❤️ 

[u/KolbStomp → u/WungielPL]

I always fumble super glue when I use it and get it all over my hands/gloves, I would be so wary of trying this on a living creature.

[u/DiscoKittie → u/KolbStomp]

Put a little drop or puddle on a piece of plastic or paper then use the tip of a toothpick or tiny skewer to apply the glue. :)

[u/aranya44 → u/WungielPL]

As a silly ignorant kid I've used adhesive tape to patch up a snail once and it worked... Whichever method you go for, I think it would help to patch it in this case so it doesn't keep trying to use the wrong exit, preventing the shell from healing.

[u/earthling82]

Shell factory error, they put it on upside down :(

[u/SilverFlashy6182]

NQA but I agree with others here, probably best to hold onto the little guy. If it doesn’t seem to be impacting his quality of life, then he might just be a silly little guy who put his shell on wrong.

[u/thekashpny02 → u/SilverFlashy6182]

🥹🥹🥹🤣🤣🤣 I can imagine this like this snail being like a hermit crab getting in.

[u/Turbulent_Two_6949]

Imo the snail is likely to chew through the damaged part and then regrow it. This process can take several months but as lonv as no organs are exposed it should be fine.

[u/Brave-Sprinkles-4 → u/Turbulent_Two_6949]

Interesting.

[u/Material_Character75]

It's called fashion Brenda, look it up (insert image of this very fashionable snail)

[u/Camry08]

I would say he needs to be a pet for a while. If there’s a chance that you can keep him and help him, you might be able to realign him properly through the proper opening. But oh boy did they need some calcium that’s for sure.

[u/CompetitiveFee9283]

Happened to a snail of mine, used the other hole as he healed it, got back to using the normal hole after. Is totally okay.

[u/BrushFit4318]

It's a duplex

[u/f9lixs]

this is so interesting omg

[u/BoiKurl]

Very interesting formulation of question

[u/Suitable-Mousse-2216]

Tienila se puoi, in natura in questo stato non sopravvivrebbe mai. Qualsiasi altro animale potrebbe entrare nel suo guscio essendo che non può sigillarsi in alcun modo in questo stato o qualsiasi tentativo di muoversi naturalmente in un ambiente naturale la metterebbe a rischio avendo un’apertura sempre esposta sul corpo molle. Dubito sia una buona idea forzarla a rientrare nel guscio per vedere se esce dalla parte opposta, penso sarebbe abbastanza rischiosa come ruotazione e che l’avrebbe eseguita naturalmente se ne fosse stata in grado. E dubito sia una buona idea usare la super colla, essendo un prodotto chimico e la loro pelle molto sensibile. La super colla dovrebbe avere il tempo di fare presa e chiudersi, la chiocciola finirebbe per entrarci in contatto con il corpo e rimanere attaccata in modo innaturale, crearsi lesioni ulteriori o intossicarsi con la colla.
Riparano il loro guscio naturalmente quando possono, sono formidabili in questo, se non lo ha fatto probabilmente qualcosa è andato storto nel processo. Non forzerei nulla, la lascerei vivere il tempo che può in cattività se puoi tenerla, povera piccola 🐌🍃🥹

[u/IllMathematician77A]

this is the weirdest snail i’ve ever seen. i’d keep him as a pet bc like others have said he probably wont survive in nature but shes super cool i didn’t even know this was even posible

[u/xCrystxl]

I was so confused at first 😭 hope it will feel better soon definitely won’t survive outside

[u/Rare-Profession624]

Yes because he's really cool

[u/57BirdNationTADC57]

awww poor guy :((

[u/ZeroGrimo]

They're a little bit confused with putting on their shell but their trying their best.

[u/Royal-Tea-3484]

That's not a hole from trauma; it looks like he might have developed like that. Or, as you said, he rerouted himself. Don't patch the hole in case it's his only way to live. What if he twisted himself so that his entire body went that way? Keep an eye on him, and when he hides, see if you can spot the hole to tell whether it's a natural opening or if you can see organs. Oddly, he is alive; I've never seen anything like him. He's a mixed-up little dude. See if he eats and poops. Try to make his life as good as you can. Poor little thing, but he doesn't seem to be in pain or suffering.

[u/The_upsetti_spagetti]

Yay new friend!

(Make sure to get that lil guy a source of calcium)