GALS hasn’t moved for a week — shell growth looks wrong?
Hi! I’m looking for advice about my Giant African Land Snail.
Species: Lissachatina fulica
For about a week now my snail has stayed in the same spot in the terrarium and I haven’t seen it move or come out to eat. The terrarium conditions should be fine: humidity stays around 70–80% and temperature is 21–23 °C.
Calcium has always been available. There is cuttlebone in the enclosure, but the snail stopped eating it a long time ago, so I also offered calcium powder. The snail preferred the powder and was still eating it regularly a few weeks ago.
Today I gently lifted the snail from its spot and noticed:
- the newest shell growth (front edge) looks thin, translucent, and softer than the rest of the shell
- the shell edge looks slightly uneven/frayed
- some yellowish liquid came out when I moved it
- the snail is alive and retracted when disturbed, but stayed deeply withdrawn and did not come back out like it normally would
I have now removed the calcium powder and left only cuttlebone available.
Has anyone seen similar symptoms before? Could this be related to shell growth issues, stress, aestivation, or something else? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.