Tel Aviv vets forge a trail in snail care, slowly

If you’re out walking on a rainy day in Tel Aviv, and suddenly hear the dreaded “crunch” that tells you you’ve stepped on a snail, don’t worry, these veterinarians have got you – and your snail – covered.

Vets at the Haclinica surgery have developed something of an expertise when it comes to molluscan medicine, specializing in repairing broken snail shells.

Their latest success story is Chevi, brought in recently by a distressed woman who trod on him. Chevi’s shell was so badly damaged that it had separated from its body.

Using glue and tweezers, the vet on duty patiently stuck the pieces together as the clinic documented the entire process on Facebook.

Fixing Chevi went viral.

Moved by the number of likes (238), shares (57) and requests for further information, the clinic has now posted tips for home snail shell repair.

1. A damaged shell can be repaired “with gentle patience” with epoxy glue or three-second glue. Make sure to keep the glue on the outer side of the shell only.
2. The recovering snail should be kept in a closed, but well ventilated, aquarium with a cover.
3. Add liquid to the aquarium to maintain the damp atmosphere that the snail needs. We recommend adding about a half centimeter of water to the aquarium and spraying the snail with water from a distance several times a day with a spray bottle.
4. The shell needs large quantities of calcium to repair itself, so add lime stones to the aquarium. You can buy stones like this made for rodents in pet shops.
5. Food: Snails eat everything aside from foods containing salt, which is harmful to them. From experience, we know that they particularly like vegetables, especially lettuce, cucumber and pepper.
Full recovery can take from a few weeks to two months.

Chevi is recovering and will spend many weeks at the clinic.

He follows in the slime of the hapless Hilik.

Hilik — whose life story is immortalized on a (Hebrew) YouTube video clip — arrived at the clinic five years ago with a large break in his shell.

After recovering, he was released into the garden “to continue his free and happy life.”

He ate his way through the gardens of Tel Aviv for 10 joyful months, until he broke his shell again and was delivered to the surgery door once again.

During his months-long recuperation, he could be found — and filmed — wandering, at a snail’s pace of course, all over the clinic.

“We were happy, but sad to see him go,” the video clip ends.