If a snails shell is damaged is it self repairing?

Answer 1

Yes, shell is secreted by glands on the snail, that's why it's so strongly attached to it.

Answer 2

A snail cannot move to a new shell. The shell is part of its anatomy. The snail is attached to the shell by muscles, and never leaves the shell until it dies. The shell grows right along with the rest of the animal, and often shows growth lines representing periods of growth. The shell grows in a spiral pattern by deposition of calcium salts, mainly calcium carbonate, along the thin edge of the shell by a special organ called the mantle. If the edge of the shell becomes broken, the snail just deposits additional calcium carbonate, fills in the break, and then continues its normal growth. Scars from such repairs can often be seen on various parts of the shell. However, if a break occurs somewhere on the shell other than the growth edge, the snail may not be able to repair it effectively.

Answer 3

Depends on how badly it is damaged, and the humidity of the environment. So, let's talk about the common land snails that go into escargot. Yes, under favorable conditions, the shell will repair. New mineral will be deposited at the site of the crack or missing bit. The new material doesn't have the artistic pattern of the original shell, but lacks in pigment so it's easy to tell where the break had been.

...and yes, when I was a kid I sadistically partly smashed snails.

Answer 4

snails ARE NOT slugs that have crawled into other shells, they are a separate species.
They build their own shells a little bit every day they add it on the end of the existing shell, (the open end) this is why shells have lines on them, each line is another days worth of building!. They use calcium which they get in their diet by eating chalk or other calcium rick stones, to secrete a substance that they add to the shell and which then hardens. Snails are born with tiny shells fully formed but soft and transparent!
If the shell is not too badly damaged they can repair small holes or cracks but major damage means death to the snail sadly. they can repair extensive damage to their shells if it by the entrance where they add to it.

Answer 5

To a certain extent. If the damage was light (small crack or split) enough for the snail to retreat and repair itself it will do so. If the shell was completely crushed unfortunately its the great lettuce in the sky for that Snail!

Answer 6

I was removing some quite large stones in my garden at the weekend and was making sure all the snails were safely put aside but accidentally one of the stones rolled back over a snail. It's shell was well crushed. I don't think it survived but I could't look. It would be like a car crash victim needing cut out of the mangled wreckage. It's poor little body was likely speared by shards of shells. I was most upset!

Answer 7

I dont think so.
It just keeps extending the opening edge of the shell as it gets bigger but I dont believe it fixes it because it would take too long and by the time it would have done that (if it could) it wouldve caught an infection from the open wound and or dehydrate and die.
Snails can't leave their shells, only crabs can, because they just live in the shells of dead snails and move into bigger shells the bigger they grow.

Answer 8

Quit stepping on snails!

Answer 9

No, a shell is just a shell they have made their home and will not repair itself. If you knocked a hole in a wall of your house, would it repair itself?

Answer 10

no the snail will just move to a new shell