My new wild has a little shell erosion(mostly pits). Im worried about it progessing so can I 'paint' his shell with nail polish? Does it have to be clear? Does the brand matter?
Thanks a lot,

BTW I do supplement calcium and have decent water.

I think u should not 'paint' his shell w/ nail polish. The nail polish might be toxic and nail polish does not have a great smell to it. I would just leave it how it is.

Some people paint snail shells ( i know that they paint hemit crab shells) but I would not paint with nail polish or anything - it is toxic if I think so right.

I agree real nail polish would be toxic for the guy.... are wild
snails land snails or water snails sorry just checking.
Isn't there something like nail polish that you put onto your snails? im not sure....

my snail that i got free in a plant for my pond was missing half his shell but it grew back i would just keep the water really good and the shell will probably grow back.

You shouldn't use nail polish, but you can buy non-toxic paint from a craft store.

Use nail polish! It helps prevent further erosion as well as help to fill the pits a bit. I've used nail (aka snail) polish on my adult blue and gold, and apart from looking shinier, their erosion has gone down.

Buy clear nail polish, it doesn't matter what brand or if it's base coat, top coat, whatever... mine is "nail enamel".

Just paint them where the damage is and let them dry completely. If the holes are all the way through, don't paint them because you don't want any of the polish to touch skin or internal organs.

Lol I knew you would answer this Airwen I remember a post where you were drying your nails and snails at the same time

Hehe yup... well I figured, heck, why not? It works on your nails too, I still have my 4th of july polish on cause I put lots of coats of clear enamel stuff on after it.

Oh yes sorry... it doesn't have to be clear. It can be any color, if you really want it to be. You can paint it bright red if you really feel the urge to, but to keep the natural colors go with clear.

Thats crazy! I would never think of that!
It doesn't hurt them??

I think i'll just lay off the snail polish... my snails act crazy WITHOUT the fumes!

Thanks for the response Airwen. I knew I wasnt crazy for asking about painting a snail. I read about it on Applesnail.net.

How long does it last on their shell before they need repainted? None of the holes go completely through the shell they are just little pits that Im sure will get bigger eventually and I want to slow that process down.

Thanks again,

To slow it down, the best way is to add more sources of calcium as well as painting the shell. I don't know, I'd renew the coat a few times a year, as I know when it's colored the flakes will chip off. That's why I painted my fingernails with the stuff too, to see when I should repaint.