# Giant African Land Snail - Broken Shell!!



## hannahspanner (Nov 5, 2008)

I brought 2 GALS off a guy who didn't have them in very good condition, their shells were almost completely white, they were very dry and they had several minor chips in their shell. 

After lots of cuttlefish and care their shells started to slowly go to their natural brown colour and they looked healthier. 

However, when bathing one of the snails, the tip of its shell completely broke off (cue absolute panic). You can't see into the snails shell and so none of its body is exposed but the complete tip has come off and as such, some of the jagged shell around the edge of that is start to come off as the snail crawls (?) about their tank. 

The snail is fine itself, it eats, it moves around, it buries itself, it even successfully laid eggs so in snail world, it's completely happy. 

The snail still has daily access to cuttlefish and eats it daily as well but this shell doesn't seem to be regrowing. I've read online about using plaster of paris to fix breaks in snail shells but I don't want to do something to cause further damage to the shell. 

I'll happily include photos if someone could tell me how :blush: :2thumb:


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## hannahspanner (Nov 5, 2008)

Or if someone can put me in touch with someone else that would be brilliant :2thumb:


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## Cicindela (Nov 28, 2014)

Hi there, I got a gal posted to me once and an inch round piece of shell had been broken , you could see the inside where the snail breathes- I was so worried and when I first saw it i didnt think it would live but within a few weeks it had begun to repair and after a few months it had healed over-i didnt do any patching up etc , the petsnails forum has lots of stories of crushed or damaged shells and how well a snail can repair a bad break. I've heard than with a bad break you should wash off dirt- with bottled mineral water-still- and place the snail in a plastic container- just with a clean flower pot to hide in, cuttlefish and food, no substrate and keep it clean from faeces. That helps keep the body clean whilst repairing, but you're doesnt sound too bad at all, I was amazed to see a hole the size of a 50p disappear in weeks. Good luck and I'm sure others will advise.


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