Emergency Snail ID Dieing snail found on sidewalk

[snakefrog]

Well, I live in Ohio, and currently it is pretty cold an a little bit a snow from a few days ago. It's pretty cold here. Well I was walking down the road when I saw a snail shell. I picked it up and examined it. I was pretty sure it was a type of salt water snail, just laying in the sidewalk, upside down next to somebodies lawn. I rushed it to my old school (which was nearby) then I dropped it off to be examined by my current teacher. She teaches Dog grooming, aquarium management and small animal care.

She was baffled for why there would be a saltwater snail and was thinking it was a land snail, because it made no sense.

My theory was somebody tossed it for whatever reason and left it to die.

It has a very rough and bumpy shell. It's a spiral or helix shape, and is about the size of a half dollar. It had some type of moss/algae growing on it with some bits of sand on it's shell. It still had water behind it's "shield" or footpad but when touched it wasn't very responsive. It also has small tube like coral or something on it's side which also suggest it's salt water in origin. Unlike most land snails, it's shell is not glossy.

It has a small dot like pattern that goes around it's shell.

I will upload more info as I go on, but it's most likely dieing. I don't want to plop it in saltwater if it isn't marine but a lot of it's features suggest that it is.

I doubt survival but I will do my best anyways.

Edit:

Here is a picture of a similar looking snail. The snail in the picture is a mexican turbo snail. The pattern is slightly different, but the shell shape and texture is a match.

The bumps aren't as large but this is the general Idea.

Also I forgot to mention it's sheil/cap/footpad is a spiral like shape, rather then being perfectly flat.

All I need to know is if it's saltwater or not. I will try to upload the real picture asap.

 

[d2mini]

Unless you have an ocean close by (you haven't filled out your location in your profile) chances are it's not saltwater. Would love to see a pic though. :)

And welome to LR. :wave:

 

[snakefrog]

Unless you have an ocean close by (you haven't filled out your location in your profile) chances are it's not saltwater. Would love to see a pic though. :)

And welome to LR. :wave:

Sorry, I am in a bit of a hurry. I found it in Ohio, and there is no body of water nearby. My mother sent a picture to a guy she knows who specializes in that area. I'm still awaiting his response. Will be uploading pics soon.

EDIT:
Pictures of the snail

And

 

[snakefrog]

The guy we sent the pictures too, is fairly certain it is a Mexican turbo snail, believe it or not. I'm not sure if he will survive, since he was left out in the cold for who knows how long, but I am going to put some saltwater in the pink container and place him in there, in about 5 minutes. Still would like to here your opinions on it, and what species you think it is.

 

[Marinne13]

what kind of saltwater are you putting it in? do you know anyone with a tank that has some seasoned water? it does look like a Mexican Turbo to me

 

[snakefrog]

what kind of saltwater are you putting it in? do you know anyone with a tank that has some seasoned water? it does look like a Mexican Turbo to me

Well, I borrowed some saltwater from my teacher. The salinity is 1.026 I believe. The water came from a nice saltwater tank. I don't want to put the snail in the tank just yet in case of possible parasites. It's just in a small container. Tomorrow I should be able to put him in our spare saltwater tank, which we had planned to use for growing brine shrimp.

He doesn't seem very responsive. Any tips for snail rehabilitation?

 

[little_fish]

I think the snail is going to be a goner. Sitting in the cold, then being put in freshwater and then being put in saltwater is more than these guys can handle. People seem to forget that snails and crabs are really quite delicate, much more so than fish and all of these drastic swings are probably going to kill it.

 

[snakefrog]

I think the snail is going to be a goner. Sitting in the cold, then being put in freshwater and then being put in saltwater is more than these guys can handle. People seem to forget that snails and crabs are really quite delicate, much more so than fish and all of these drastic swings are probably going to kill it.

Well unfortunately, it was to much for this little guy to handle. He didn't survive and to be honest, he was probably dead before I even found him. However, his death won't go to waste. I have a hermit crab who is in need of a new helix shell, and finding one that Isn't painted is kinda tough. It's the perfect size and I am sure my crab will like his new shell.

I still wonder what could have made somebody toss a nice snail like that out. Perhaps he was dead before he was even tossed out, which would explain being tossed out in the first place. Shame he didn't make it though, would have bin a nice little story to tell. Oh well, thanks for the help guys. If I ever need anymore help I'll be sure to return.