when a snail dies

[LMOUTHBASS]

how do you really know?
last week i found a clump of snail eggs on my glass i removed them not wanting an army of snails - but afterward i thought that was stupid because they were from my bluesnail which i really like! he's fun to watch
then last week he slowed down a bit n stayed in his shell - he's pretty big - but my loaches started diging into his shell to pick at (before he woulnt let them n they left him be) now his foot appears to have rotted away n a hole popped up on his shell he's been laying in one place for a while but from time to time i find him in a different position so maybe he's still kicking -
my thoughts are though - maybe it's his time n laid the eggs knowing this sort of like a Charlottes Web type thing?
i feel awful i moved him to a secluded corner where no one was bothering him but then he popped up in the middle where he's been laying for some time i think its over for him n it stinks he was so much fun to watch - he climbed everythiung:sad

[OrionGirl]

The best way to tell with large snails is their operculum--that thin shell they cover the opening with--if they pull it close, the snail is alive. If not, it's dead.

The big snails I have tend to be pretty active. If one sits in the same spot for more than a day or two, I check them. Little snails--well, I have lots of kuhli loaches and puffers, and they clean out snails shells very quickly.

[LMOUTHBASS]

OG seeing how that operculum thingie has rotted away i assume he's a gonner - :sad
i first noticed a whiteish splotch on that thing when he pulled it shut n my loaches picking at it - then it grew larger n larger n just sort of was gone pretty much i wonder what mightve happened to my poor lil' fella he was the best - whatcha think about my egg laying thoughts though? that he laid them knowing the end was near? do they do this?

[OrionGirl]

Not to the best of my knowledge, no. They normally lay eggs when there's enough food available to support more.

Snails and loaches is a pretty risky mix though--sort of like asking a kid not to eat the candy in the jar.

[aquariumfishguy]

If he's been like this for a couple days, as soon as you pull him out of the water you should be able to smell a distinct smell...its so bad, you'll wish you never touched the thing in the first place. I had a large snail who died after 3.5 years and he never sat in one place for more than a half hour. After 2 days of not moving, I grew concerned and when I went to remove him the body popped out! :eek: It smelled up the room for a day or two!

[LMOUTHBASS]

poor lil' bugger was gone :sad - i pulled him out n a giant air bubble came out of his shell n then his limp lil' body was hangin in there way in the shell - no smell though - gosh i liked him - i wonder what did him in - he ate like a pig n i always gave him veggies- i liked him so much that sometimes when i put in fresh squash i woul put him right on top of it so he got first dibs! lol
man i'll miss him