I was netting debris from my pond, and I scooped up a large, almost
golfball sized snail. I picked it up to return but when I did, a hard
membrane fell off of the opening and the body of the snail fell out,
it was only about 3/4 of an inch long. And in the shell there were
what looked like eggs. I put the "body" back in and put the shell in
the water, but now is its just floating. Does anyone know what is
going on here? Oh, and by the way, what do they eat and how many
should I keep in a 50 gallon pond.

Thanks,
Gary.

The snail is surely dead. I would net it out.
You don't want it decomposing in a small pond
and messing up your water quality.

Snails eat a variety of things depending on what kind of snail they are. They
eat rotting debris and fuzzy algae growing on pots, sides, rocks and plant
stems. Some of them eat the plants themselves. It sounds like you might have
(or had) a japanese trapdoor snail. That is a good pond snail.

I've adopted all my snails from plants that I bought at the nursery. You can
often find two or three different varieties in a tub full of nursery plants.


kathy :-)
A HREF="http://www.onceuponapond.com/"Once upon a pond/A

"G-Hoch" wrote in message
om...
I was netting debris from my pond, and I scooped up a large, almost
golfball sized snail. I picked it up to return but when I did, a hard
membrane fell off of the opening and the body of the snail fell out,
it was only about 3/4 of an inch long. And in the shell there were
what looked like eggs. I put the "body" back in and put the shell in
the water, but now is its just floating. Does anyone know what is
going on here?

Sounds like a gonner. Get it out before it fouls the pond.

Oh, and by the way, what do they eat

Whatever they can get their...hands?...on? Everyting....Don't worry about
them. Snails are the cockroaches of the pond world.

and how many
should I keep in a 50 gallon pond.
snip

Muhahahaha...like you have a choice. I once heard a rabbit say to another
rabbit, "Not again...what do you think I am? A Snail?"


--
BV.
www.iheartmypond.com

Muhahahaha...like you have a choice. I once heard a rabbit say to
another
rabbit, "Not again...what do you think I am? A Snail?"

How about the caterpillar that was going down the street and started
mating with another. The *other* turns around and says, knock it off
buddy, i'm a french fry.

Muhahahaha...like you have a choice. I once heard a rabbit say to
another
rabbit, "Not again...what do you think I am? A Snail?"

How about the caterpillar that was going down the street and started
mating with another. The *other* turns around and says, knock it off
buddy, i'm a french fry.

"G-Hoch" wrote in message
om...
I was netting debris from my pond, and I scooped up a large, almost
golfball sized snail. I picked it up to return but when I did, a hard
membrane fell off of the opening and the body of the snail fell out,
it was only about 3/4 of an inch long. And in the shell there were
what looked like eggs.

A snail's body is physically attached to the shell with connective tissue.
If those connective tissues came apart, it's because they probably rotted
off, after the snail died. Any eggs in there are probably also dead, so I'd
just toss the whole thing out.

Sameer

"G-Hoch" wrote in message
om...
I was netting debris from my pond, and I scooped up a large, almost
golfball sized snail. I picked it up to return but when I did, a hard
membrane fell off of the opening and the body of the snail fell out,
it was only about 3/4 of an inch long. And in the shell there were
what looked like eggs.

A snail's body is physically attached to the shell with connective tissue.
If those connective tissues came apart, it's because they probably rotted
off, after the snail died. Any eggs in there are probably also dead, so I'd
just toss the whole thing out.

Sameer

"G-Hoch" wrote in message
om...
I was netting debris from my pond, and I scooped up a large, almost
golfball sized snail. I picked it up to return but when I did, a hard
membrane fell off of the opening and the body of the snail fell out,
it was only about 3/4 of an inch long. And in the shell there were
what looked like eggs.

A snail's body is physically attached to the shell with connective tissue.
If those connective tissues came apart, it's because they probably rotted
off, after the snail died. Any eggs in there are probably also dead, so I'd
just toss the whole thing out.

Sameer

Unfortunately I had already put the snail back in the pond. But I did
a deep cleaning and water change yesterday.

Thanks!

Unfortunately I had already put the snail back in the pond. But I did
a deep cleaning and water change yesterday.

Thanks!