Snail (HD)

Spawns:	The Jungle
Health:	1 HP
Damage:	• 1 (Acid Bubble) • 1 (Contact)
Stunnable:	No
Corpse:	No
Size:	Normal (1x1)

The Snail is an enemy that may be found in the Jungle. They are slow and fragile, but have a tricky ranged attack that can be difficult to avoid.

Snails do not return in Spelunky 2, but have a spiritual successor in the form of Hermit Crabs.

Behaviour

Snails can not move off of ledges, normally performing a loop behavior of moving a short distance, blowing acidic bubbles of slime that float upwards in a wavy side-to-side pattern, and pausing shortly before moving again. The bubbles will damage and stun anything it hits upon contact, and can be tricky to avoid while descending, as the Snail will usually blow three or four bubbles at once.

Interestingly, a Snail's bubbles are capable of harming other characters as well as the Spelunker, and it may actually kill itself if it blows bubbles when up against a wall.

Strategy

Because the bubbles only travel a short distance horizontally before floating upwards, it is best to attack a Snail from the same height by throwing objects or by utilizing a ranged weapon.
It's fairly easy to attack them from behind, but you should avoid trying to stomp them as you risk being hit by any bubbles it may suddenly produce.

If a Snail is at the bottom of a hole that needs to be descended down into in order to progress with no other route around, the player's best bet is to either time their jump carefully, avoiding the bubbles and any the Snail may be about to produce, or to try and drop an object or a Bomb down to kill the Snail from a safe distance.