Today I am here to share a very unique experience about my pet snail...We brought him from a beautiful valley of Chikkamangaluru, Karnataka where we went for a holiday in 2018. One of the evening probably, we saw him crawling next to our door with a tiny head out of his tiny shell looking for a safe place to hide. We picked him and kept him in our room for two days and fell in love with this tiny creature of about one centimeter. So we brought him along with us to Bangalore in a small box within mud and few leaves to feed him on the way. We named him Albert because of our hypothetical guess of him being a male; only to learn later that snails are hermaphrodites ie they have both male and female parts and they can lay eggs on their own...!
As Albert grew, his shell became bigger, spiral and stripped; he actually grew into a handsome young man of around 12 centimeters long. He loved eating all types of vegetables, particularly the cabbage; slide into water bowl and would slug his slimy mascular body completely into the shell and slept for long hours. Albert would finish his tour sliding on the wooden cabinet and would show his beautiful double tentacles (we called them antennae...lol) which are known to be sensitive to smell. I would caress his shell every time I came back from work and he would brighten up and show his antennae, was among the most satisfying moment of my life...The thought that Albert recognizes me, he knows me filled me with joy and I accept that I loved him.
It seems that snails body is attached to the shell and they cannot survive without their shells. Few small cracks can be plastered but loosing more than 60% of the shell is devastating. Just a week back, we found Albert on the floor with his shell broken and separated, probably from a fall during his little tour. He survived for four days, did eat and drink but his slimy body was getting dry and the shell couldn't be re-attached. We googled and found one rare unsuccessful surgery which happened in Israel. Albert died 3 days back, we gave him a proper burial in our garden and I kissed him Goodbye.
I promise that even a smallest creature will find a way to communicate if we try to understand them. Albert did express his happiness and joy through his unique movement of antennae; and I found it very satisfying to understand him, feed him and clean him. Its difficult to let go but sharing your emotions through writing definitely heals !
Thankyou for coming in our lives and giving us so much affection. Way to go Albert..!
Amrit.
