Injured And Deformed Snail

[triliaeris]

Our snail's shell is deformed. It wasn't always like this, when we got him he was a normal looking ivory apple snail.

About six months after we got him, something happened (we don't know what) and his shell "blistered" almost and turned this red color. Well, this blister has forced his shell to grow in a diff direction. He seemed to be doing fine with the problem until recently. The shell is going to end up growing into him and cutting him eventually. Currently, he can no longer close himself in his shell.

Of course we are terribly upset by this.

What should we do? It's gotten to the point where it is now affecting him. Should we put him down before the shell cuts him (because at this rate it will and it will happen soon), or is there a way we can fix it?

Here is a pic of him. The hump on his shell is where the turn (blister) starts. (he was being silly when this pic was taken and trying to slime his way out of the tank!)

 

[Donya]

Don't put the snail down!!! It's not a deformity like it may seem, but rather a response to having the shell rim get a bit battered at the time he was as big as the jagged line on the shell. I very much doubt the situation is causing direct harm to the snail, because the fact that it's grown out shows that the injury is long since healed--unless there is visible soft tissue exposed behind the "lump" and just after the jagged line (can't tell from the picture), there is nothing to worry about. The shell rim will grow out again eventually; it's a pretty common thing that happens to snails.