ANESTHESIA OF MYSTERY SNAILS (POMACEA BRIDGESII) BY USING ETHANOL, EUGENOL, AND MAGNESIUM SULFATE

Safe and reliable anesthesia protocols are crucial in snails because performing physical examinations and procedures can be inhibited by snails contracting into their shells. There is minimal literature on snail anesthesia and no published protocols for mystery snails (Pomacea bridgesii). This study aimed to evaluate three anesthetic agents for mystery snails. Pilot trials evaluated ethanol, magnesium sulfate, magnesium sulfate combined with ethanol, eugenol, and eugenol combined with ethanol. Eighteen different protocols were evaluated in the pilot phase of this study. Ethanol (1-40%), magnesium sulfate (50,000-150,000 mg/L), and magnesium sulfate (50,000-70,000 mg/L) plus ethanol (5%) were ineffective or unsafe as anesthetic agents in this snail species. Eugenol (500 µL/L), eugenol (50 µL/L) combined with ethanol (1%), and eugenol (100 µL/L) combined with ethanol (1%) resulted in 50% of individuals anesthetized. Eugenol (500 µL/L) combined with ethanol (1%) resulted in 100% of snails anesthetized. Subsequently, a randomized, blinded, complete crossover study compared eugenol (500 µL/L) and eugenol (500 µL/L) combined with ethanol (1%). Both protocols resulted in 91% (11 of 12 snails per protocol) of snails anesthetized. Adding ethanol had no statistically significant difference on anesthetic induction or recovery times. Based on these results, eugenol is a safe and effective anesthetic agent for mystery snails at 500 µL/L. Ethanol does not improve the anesthetic efficacy of eugenol in this snail species.