Anyone ever have a snail escape?

[Wet Elbows]

Woke up this morning to find my mystery snail on the floor, about 3 feet away from the tank. Sadly, it was too late to save him. I've had him for a few months and never had a problem with an open tank (no lid). Not quite sure what happened but I'm guessing he found his way out, off the stand and onto the floor. Anyone else have this happen? Never kept snails before i started my planted tank so I was wondering if this is common.

Edited August 3, 2022 by Wet Elbows

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

I've only heard about it so I duct tape the gaps in my lids. I'm sure there's prettier ways to do it, but this is the lazy way.

You sure he didn't make it?  They have a lung for air breathing.  In the wild they go down in the mud in times of drought and they use their lung.

[lefty o]

years ago, the first nerites i had escaped. other than the first couple ive not had any houdini's, but those first ones were bound and determined to commit suicide.

[k0olmini]

All the time man. 

[Biotope Biologist]

My ramshorns "escape" every night. They climb out of the tank onto the island with my fern and eat algae and moss. Found an assassin snail burrowed up there too. Lazy bones I tell ya.' They are always doing everything other than what I recruited them for.

[Flumpweesel]

Glasgarten Snail Safe might prevent a recurrence although vaseline would probably do the same job. You just rub it on the side of the tank and the idea is it forms a barrier the snails won't pass

 

[AnotherHumanPerson]

I occasionally see pest snail shells a few inches to a foot away from my tank. I personally welcome them leaving, I have way too many.

[Bev C]

 I have to keep a lid on mine my mystery & nitrite are escape artist every time I have the lid off for cleaning We play chase  the whole time, and I am constantly putting them  back I lower my water level 

and both of bristolnose pelco when they were young always tried to escape if the water was high or the lid  was off, I had to lower the water level to keep them in .  And after my 1st pelco  Al died I got a  wee baby pelco he was so small   had him 1 day, and he escaped through a hole  I found him died on my counter where my tank was on   then I got Marvin  I ask for a little bigger pelco , but he liked to try to escape when he was young too when the lid was off ..  When my pelcos got older ,  bigger and fatter, they did not try to escape 

Edited August 3, 2022 by Bev C

[Guppysnail]

Mystery snails lay outside of water. They also traverse rocks that grow soft algae. Mine crawl up the intake on hobs and escape that way. I’m always paranoid. I’ve found mine several time no matter how I fit my lids and barriers around filters. Luckily I check first thing every morning and last thing every night so I’ve not had deaths. 

[Robert Keeney]

 

Mystery snails lay their eggs several inches out of the water. They will climb out of your aquarium, looking for a place to lay their eggs. I have lost many of them. The only way I have found to keep them in an aquarium is a lid with no holes big enough for them to escape.

I lost hundreds of them in this outdoor tank before a red-shouldered hawk finished them.

 

Here is an egg cluster.

[Wet Elbows]

UPDATE!!

The little guy did make it! I will admit I don't know much about snails and i just assumed they only survive in water. He looked and felt bone dry at 5am this morning so I thought ge was a gonner and threw him in the trashcan.  Came home from work and put him in the tank and within 5 minutes he was moving around!

I have a glass lid but I've kept it off for now to help keep the temperature down some. May have to reconsider that now. THANKS EVERYONE!

[BeeD]

I did have a nerite climb out of a 10 gallon once. Found it on the floor. I guess it didn't like its quarantine tank. I knew it was unlikely to be carrying anything, so into the main tank it went and all was well.

[Robert Keeney]

If the door on the shell is closed tight, the snail is still alive. I should have mentioned this earlier.

[Tanked]

I have used the Vaseline method @Flumpweesel mentioned, but did not keep up with it.  My Nerites have vacationed in the UGF, on the HOB and under the rim, but none have actually left the aquarium. 

[redfish]

I have a nerite that loves to stay just above the water line in my 5 gallon tank.  The other nerite stays under the water.  Neither has escaped complete yet.

[RonBFree]

When I first kept MS's I learned the hard way that if you give them an opening big enough they will crawl out and die

[Huckleberry]

I have a mystery snail who likes to leave his tank and go visit his girl friend in another tank.