how long can snails live out of water?

[asherah]

I found a snail on my floor...=p
I picked him up and he stuck to floor ..yuck.. anyway he was all sticky so I don't know if he was still alive or not so I put him back in the tank =p
Do you think he was dead??

amanda

[Delphinus]

Hard to say. I've found some snails pretty much dessicated-looking and threw them back in and they recovered. And I've found snails dessicated-looking and threw them back in and they were.. well too far past. It basically depends on how long they are out of the water. They can look dry on the outside but not be dry on the inside.

Some snails species are intertidal and thus they will wander out of the tank like this. It's unfortunate. Eventually their luck will run out and you will find them too late. Nerites, Marguerites, as far as I know, are both intertidal. And I'm sure there are others commonly imported which are intertidal.

[digital-audiophile]

I used to keep a few nerites, but I kept finding them all over outside the tank, one by one they started dissapearing and I would find them days later far away from the tank (we have 5 cats and I am sure they enjoyed nothing more than batting these snails across the house)

[asherah]

ROFL
Mine was a gold ring cowrie =p He was a few feet away in the kitchen My living room, kitchen and dining room are one room =p

amanda