How do I know if snail is dead

[MarcusSmith]

My wife told me that my snail was stuck on the intake of the powerhead, so she got it off and when it was on the ground it was still alive but the hermits and star were trying to get it so it retracted into its shell. Today 24 hrs later I checked the snail and the inside part is hard as a shell instead of fleshy, my wife says its a protective cover sort of like a door because its scared. What do you guys think.

 

[SeanT]

Sadly, the snail has passed on to the great reef in the sky.

 

[ROB2005]

You will know a snail is dead when your hermits, star and other scavengers begin to home in on him

 

[Phyxius]

The hard cover is a protective shield they retract when they pull into their shells.

The others mentioned that the other critters will home in on it if its dead and its true. I always know when one is actually dead or just fell and is retracted. When its dead the hermits and nassarius are all over it.
If your real brave and think its dead pull it out a and give it a sniff. You will never mistake the smell of a dead snail.........

 

[pagojoe]

The hard thing in the aperture of the shell is the operculum. Just because the snail is withdrawn into the shell doesn't necessarily mean it's dead, and every Turbo or Astraea species that withdraws will have the trapdoor sealing the shell up. Stars will sometimes try to eat live snails, and a few succeed. The hermits may also do this, but it does sound like your snail is probably dead. Take it out and sniff it. If it doesn't make you gag, it's still alive.

Cheers,



Don

 

[MarcusSmith]

I took the snail out and took a few sniffs. It didnt smell bad. But while I was trying to pull the snail up to the surface a couple hermits and the serpent star came running toward it I had to push them away. Im thinking its dead but not long enough for it to smell bad or its injured and the other guys smell it. I putting him in the fuge.

 

[joeychitwood]

My longest living snail sat in the corner of the tank for a couple of days without moving. This has happened in the past, but I decided I'd better check it out, so I pulled the snail, which was the size of an apricot, out and gave it the dreaded "sniff test."

OMG! The snail was unbelievably dead. I encounter some pretty awful odors at work, but a dead snail has to be in the top five. Next time, I'll make one of my kids sniff the snail.