Meadowlark Goes Walkabout

[Alesha]

My brand new mystery snail decided to go on a voyage of self-discovery today, I guess. He got out of the Marineland Portrait tank and onto the dresser, down the leg, or fell, or something, and was on the floor by the bed. 

We've put him back in and taped the back plastic lid securely in place. He is moving around, apparently unfazed.

Me on the other hand???  I don't know if I'll recover!

[Lizzie Block]

What an adventure he had! My nerites do this very occasionally. Always gives me a small panic attack too 😅😅 Then they just keep on trucking like it never happened! Gotta love snails lol

[Alesha]

Just now, Lizzie Block

What an adventure he had! My nerites do this very occasionally. Always gives me a small panic attack too 😅😅 Then they just keep on trucking like it never happened! Gotta love snails lol

I've had them wander up above the water line & even on tank lid, but I've never had one completely leave the tank! Geesh! 😳

And I still can't believe that he was strong enough to push aside the plastic "lid" behind the glass one. (Granted, it's not connected to anything... thus the reason we *now* have it taped down with packing tape!)

But yeah, he seems to be none the worse for his travel! I'm keeping an eye on his shell too. I'm worried that if he fell, he might have a crack. Will probably add some tums to the tank, just in case. That's supposed to strengthen their shells, right?

[Lizzie Block]

11 hours ago, akconklin said:

I've had them wander up above the water line & even on tank lid, but I've never had one completely leave the tank! Geesh! 😳

And I still can't believe that he was strong enough to push aside the plastic "lid" behind the glass one. (Granted, it's not connected to anything... thus the reason we *now* have it taped down with packing tape!)

But yeah, he seems to be none the worse for his travel! I'm keeping an eye on his shell too. I'm worried that if he fell, he might have a crack. Will probably add some tums to the tank, just in case. That's supposed to strengthen their shells, right?

Oh man, that's a strong snail. I figure mine crawl out because I have some open top tanks. But, good idea with the tums, I hadn't heard of that before! I'm sure that would add lots of calcium to the water to strengthen the shell. And hey, he won't get heartburn either LOL 

[Tanked]

Medowlark is a show stopper! Before I bought four Nerites, the most interesting thing about snails was watching the gravel seemingly move by itself.   I’ve seen the Nerites bridge the gap between two plants pulling the opposing leaf closer until they could climb aboard.  The first time one disappeared, I spent twenty minutes lying on the floor with a flashlight searching.  Two days later I had four snails again.  This disappearing act continued until I finally caught the traveler climbing out of the UGF. 

A thin film of petroleum jelly on the underside of the rim might keep Meadowlark at home.  What kind of snail 

[Alesha]

Meadowlark is a mystery snail. He's the first one I've owned. Quite a bit bigger than my Nerite, for sure. 😉 Hey...great idea with the petroleum jelly. I'll research that a bit. For now, the packing tape is holding it in place. 

[Brandy]

I have that same tank, and one day I heard a bunch of loud splashing.

A nerite had climbed onto the filter outflow and was munching away, completely unconcerned as the water was diverted by his shell straight up, hitting the lid and raining back down. 😆

[Alesha]

4 minutes ago, Brandy said:

I have that same tank, and one day I heard a bunch of loud splashing.

A nerite had climbed onto the filter outflow and was munching away, completely unconcerned as the water was diverted by his shell straight up, hitting the lid and raining back down. 😆

😆😆😆 Oh my word! So funny!!! I think I'd have appreciated the sound effects...at least, I would've know something was amiss! Instead I almost stepped on him. (shudder!) I would've been heart-broken. So glad I looked down!!!

And isn't it funny how snails are always represented as being the s-l-o-w-e-s-t creatures? Because they can really book it when they need to!!!!

[teenage fish]

Another hilarious antic by my large mystery snail is he tries to climb up the tiniest strand of hornwort root. He thinks he can hold on to it and it looks like he’s folding himself. Ah, the joys of mystery snails.

[Alesha]

3 minutes ago, teenage fish said:

Another hilarious antic by my large mystery snail is he tries to climb up the tiniest strand of hornwort root. He thinks he can hold on to it and it looks like he’s folding himself. Ah, the joys of mystery snails.

Oh wow...that would be funny! I've noticed Meadowlark doesn't move around much since his adventure. I'm wondering if he was injured in some way while out and needs to be resting/healing. He seems to be ok, just doesn't move around the tank like he did at first.