# Cleaning empty snail shells



## spydrhunter1 (Oct 5, 2012)

At work we found a pond with large native snails, looking around we located 6 empty shells. All are about the size of a 50 cent piece. They are covered with filamentous algae and stink like crazy. Any suggestions on cleaning them? I would love to use them for land hermit crab shells.


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## The Snark (Oct 5, 2012)

Bioling them in water 20 minutes will sterilize them which will kill the bacteria which is causing the smell. Or keep them in a high humidity environment and let the bacteria finish their job. That would take a few weeks. A saline solution would aid in the sterilization and act as a preservative. The only way I can think of to get rid of the organic materials without damaging the shells excessively would be a strong solution of hydrogen peroxide, but that will turn the shells white.


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