Help with Giant African Land Snail

[Matilda]

I'm just wondering if anyone can help with my GALS...a friend was looking after her and my snail went into hibernation because the room was too cold. My friend ended up cleaning off the mucous door the snail was trying to build and so she never fully went into hibernation. Since I returned, I've kept her on a heat pad and kept her moist but she's fully inside the shell and smelling really awful. Does this sound like very bad news for my snail?

[big bill]

Hello Matilda welcome to the site sorry I cannot help but no doubt someone will be along shortly with some advice

Cheers ...Bill

[naturelover]

hi matilda welcome,i dont know what to say about your snail, dont know much about them,but if it smells too bad it dosnt sound like good news to me,but i am sure someone will be along soon to sort you out,enjoy your stay.

[The Woodman]

Hi Matilda
It sounds like very bad news to me I'm afraid. If she's been on the heat pad, I'd have thought she'd have been active, but if you havn't seen her or her foot when you look inside the shell, it's not good.

[smileysnake]

Can I ask how old your snail is, is it kept alone, and have you put food into its enclosure?

The first question has obvious meaning. The second is more a shot in the dark, as in some cases animals will deteriorate if they can't mate normally. As regard the feeding, whenever I've dealt with 'sealed' GALS's giving a mixture of lettuce/cucumber will often tease them out.

A couple of other possibilities. Firstly did either you or your friend clean them out? If so, did you use any form of detergent? Both snails, and spiders, are very sensitive to chemicals - only ever use clean water and elbow grease! Secondly, although related, they are both sensitive to Nicotine too. I have known spider (Tarantulas) die from Nicotine poisoning when kept by heavy smokers.

It may sound like I'm ignoring the circumstances leading up to all this, but in my experience these animals are quite hardy, and mearly being cold, or having the seal removed wouldn't be enough to cause a problem on their own. Unfortunately the odour does indicate we might be too late.

regards

[naturelover]

Hi smileysnake a warm welcome to the site,hope you enjoy your stay.

[GME]

Hope all is well with your snail and you can get some help on here. I don't know much on the subject unfortunately. Welcome to the site though. Hope you stick around after you get the info you're looking for