I had a similar thing happen with a large whelk.  I put it on an any hill
and they wouldn't touch it!  Being discouraged, I threw it in the Lake in
front of our house when the water was high...having no idea it would stay
there.  Three months later, the water level dropped and there was my whelk
(looking sorta ridiculous seeing a knobbed whelk sitting on the shore of a
fresh water lake)

There was not one ounce of anything left in it!  I never thought of this
method of cleaning shells.  But I'll remember it in the future.  Don't know
if fish or turtles got the meat--probably little fish.

Carol
-----Original Message-----
From: G Thomas Watters <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Monday, July 26, 1999 11:02 AM
Subject: freeze-dried snails


>I recently defrosted a large bag of snails from the beer refrigerator in
>the garage. They (the snails, not the beer) have been in there for 14 years
>and are quite freeze-dried. I placed them outside to "soften" but they are
>so desiccated that they are still mummified after a month of 90+
>temperatures and near 100% humidity. Ants, flies, chipmunks, even the
>raccoons won't touch them. I hesitate to "reconstitute" them in water as I
>fear they will turn into a putrifying mess. Has anyone any experience with
>this situation? We're talking big snails - Busycon, Strombus, etc.
>
>
>*****************************************
> G Thomas Watters
> Ohio Biological Survey &
> Aquatic Ecology Laboratory
> Ohio State University
> 1315 Kinnear Road
> Columbus, OH 43212 USA
> v: 614-292-6170  f: 614-292-0181
>******************************************
>
>"The world is my oyster except for months with an 'R' in them" - Firesign
>Theater
>
>"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and he
>has to buy a license" - GTW