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Turbo snail hanging from shell?

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Stacyvamp

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Hello, could anybody please tell me a possible reason why my turbo snail is half out of his shell? Every time I try to push him back in the shell, after a few seconds he hangs out from it again.
I don’t think he’s hungry, I had plenty of algae that he’s been eating for the past week, and sometimes I give him seaweed pieces. today, however, he did not eat the seaweed. He’s been stuck in the same spot on the glass for three days, and he's coming more and more out from his shell. What can I do?
image.jpg
 
Am I seeing right that there is no operculum (hard trap door) on that snail? If so then it has either been injured or is declining for some other reason. While I don't have a great deal of experience with operculum loss in marine snails, in freshwater snails when it isn't directly the result of an injury (i.e. a predator tearing away the operculum) it is usually only dropped due to serious illness or other internal health problems that usually lead to death. In the later case, exact diagnosis and treatment is hard to impossible with these animals.

Also is that black area on the shell spire just a bit of stuff growing on it or an actual hole? If it's a hole, then that may well be the culprit for the health issues as it exposes the body of the snail to injury and infection (kidneys and liver etc. are back there).
 
Donya said:
Am I seeing right that there is no operculum (hard trap door) on that snail? If so then it has either been injured or is declining for some other reason. While I don't have a great deal of experience with operculum loss in marine snails, in freshwater snails when it isn't directly the result of an injury (i.e. a predator tearing away the operculum) it is usually only dropped due to serious illness or other internal health problems that usually lead to death. In the later case, exact diagnosis and treatment is hard to impossible with these animals.

Also is that black area on the shell spire just a bit of stuff growing on it or an actual hole? If it's a hole, then that may well be the culprit for the health issues as it exposes the body of the snail to injury and infection (kidneys and liver etc. are back there).
Click to expand...
I got him two weeks ago and I didn’t see this problem before, that’s strange. I think that black spot on the shell is actually a hole.… Is there nothing else I can do to save him?
 
Unfortunately not. If the snail was missing it's operculum at the time of purchase then it was already in decline. If it had one then and lost it since, it may have been injured by being pulled off the side of the glass too aggressively. In both cases unfortunately there is no way to help the snail, particularly if it has stopped eating.
 
Forgot something - shells can be patched by drying the area and covering with a bit of sterilized clam shell or even a smooth piece of plastic and then a dab of aquarium-safe marine epoxy putty spread over the top to hold it on. However, it should be done when the damage is fresh and/or if the animal is otherwise healthy. In this case I think the patching process would simply add to stress for the snail.
 
Donya said:
Unfortunately not. If the snail was missing it's operculum at the time of purchase then it was already in decline. If it had one then and lost it since, it may have been injured by being pulled off the side of the glass too aggressively. In both cases unfortunately there is no way to help the snail, particularly if it has stopped eating.
Click to expand...
I understand. How do I know when it’s completely dead?
 
Stacyvamp said:
I understand. How do I know when it’s completely dead?
Click to expand...

I wish I had a nicer answer for you than this, but the sniff test is the most certain way. When snails die they stink pretty fast, and a stinky snail is always dead. If you have a hang-on specimen container or something similar, this is be a situation where I would isolate the snail overnight to avoid polluting the tank and and/or a bristleworm party (while beneficial scavengers in small numbers, they don't need to be encouraged with a big meal).
 
Donya said:
I wish I had a nicer answer for you than this, but the sniff test is the most certain way. When snails die they stink pretty fast, and a stinky snail is always dead. If you have a hang-on specimen container or something similar, this is be a situation where I would isolate the snail overnight to avoid polluting the tank and and/or a bristleworm party (while beneficial scavengers in small numbers, they don't need to be encouraged with a big meal).
Click to expand...
He seems much better today? He moved a lot and is eating seaweed now. I got a better picture of him, what do you think?
 

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