Hey I'm new here. I'm bit worried about my snails. 5 or 6days ago I noticed one had dots in it's eyestalks, then last night I noticed other one had too some dots. Stalks moves, functions and feels normal. I decided move them to other tank anyways. I cleaned tank where sick ones were i changed peat too and used some disinfect cleaning product clean it. Now it would be nice to know at least something. i have heard that it could spread and snails get killed after while. They are otherwise healthy no sings of weakness yet. Now I daily just check is there some one else get same illness too or how sick ones dots are doing. Feeding and hygiene has been good as it can be with snails. If they can't be cured how long is wise to keep them separate or when to know when they suffer too much? If they get well is it safe to put hem back with others?

Snails are about 11 to 12months old.

Here is few pictures.

Um, it could be its eye?

do you mean the dirt on the eye?

i dont know what im looking at here

Those red dots on snails upper stalks where eyes are, it's weird 'cos these two don't have those dots anywhere else on their foot. Normal stalks should be same color as that skin, but those dots shouldn't be there. You can really clearly see them as in pic when light passes skin little bit.

Yes it looks little bit "dirty" from eyes those are the dots I mean. I know nother keeper here who has same kind of dots in her snails eyes too, it could be some kind of infection, but I don't really know where it could come. Some other cases I have heard dots are only in eyes not any where else on body.

i see it now, diseases are pretty rare in gals (which makes them such a successful pest!)

none of my CB snails have ever had a disease

so the questions are

are they wild caught?

have they come in contact with any other species of snails? (especially wild uk ones)

you have to consider that it could be knocks or abrasions. or perhaps a reaction to something in the environment.

where did you get the info about it spreading and killing other snails? do you know what the disease is called?

none of my snails have this and i have a few of different species. some might have bent or wonky eye stalks but none have these red blotches

I bought my first snails from pet shop and these are their babies. Pet shops here just take almost anyones snails to sale so I don't know anything about their parents.

I have made sure that other species don't contact with each other. Only thing is on summer I bought some more fulicas from same store and I can't sure how often they clean that tank. Some shop are keen to keep terariums clean and some keep them when they remember. I kept new fulicas many weeks separately before I put them with others. I have few times bought some herbs which don't have insecticide in it. So never can be sure if something is been sliming on herbs before harvesting.

I got some information from one Finnish snail forum and few told me their experiences to me. In here Finland where I live we don't know much about illnesses. When some snail get sick it's mostly just trying to think what to do or what to change in terrarium environment. Yes and some keepers here still think that bathing would be cure to everything. Like one response was like "I bath my snail really often and rub it "tummy" a lot too. I think that helped" Foot rubbing might not in my point of view won't affect on eyes.

This spreading thing is that some keeper had loads of snails and all got dots and died away after while. So all snails died to same symptoms.

Yes it's could be some damage too, but if everyone else would get it too in near future, I think it could be something else. Time will tell is it just damage or something else. Sometimes it really hard to identify is it illness of something else when symptoms can be really much same, but still ends up little bit different.

Nothing much changing in terrarium, I try make sure that temperature and humidity in winter would be as stable as possible.

There is a parasite, a flatworm, that infects snail eye stalks but I don't think it is this as I don't think it infects this species. Leucochloridium paradoxum.

I think it can't be peat what I'm using neither it should be natural and high quality natural peat. Although sometimes some people have found some small millipedes from it really rarely. I have always used same brand and no troubles yet. Have to later tonight see have dots fade little or gone worse.

I think if snails don't hurt themselves near future and dots don't fame then it's something else. I'll guess I just wait and see.

Hmmh.. I now week has gone since I noticed those dots. Well they still have dots, don't know if there more of them or same amount than always. Dots haven't fainted anyhow they have got darker, other snails are healthy. Sick ones seem to fine but I haven't seem them eating or then I'm looking them wrong time of the day. Have to see does food get any rasping marks after night time. So far so good, but not any signs of getting better or worse.

Yeey, snails dots are finally much lighter so they are getting better. What ever they did have problem will be mystery till now. I lose them mysteriously some day soon maybe it's some illness. Everything seems good so far, they haven't stopped making eggs which they do best. ;)

Little update. Still they have dots behavior is normal so I'm not worried. I came to result that it's just "something". Seems like stalks have been swollen sometime and now stalks don't look as thick as they use to do.