Re: Interested in diamond backs

Hi JP and welcome to the group! Here we go, diving into the debate. There will be different opinions about raising dbs in either medium. There are pros and cons to both methods and success stories abound from people using either method. Benefits of brackish water: 1) The salt in the water serves as a good antibacterial/antifungal agent that keeps away external diseases that affect the skin and shell. 2) This is the natural medium that diamondbacks live in – whether you believe in evolution or creationism, this species has chosen to inhabit brackishwater environments. Benefits of freshwater: 1) Ease of preparation (none) and seems to work well as long as water conditions are good. 2) Provides possibility for other freshwater lifeforms to share the same setup; eg. freshwater plants, fish, etc.. I’m sure others could add to the list. Ben (not Cook) posted a good reply recently to this very question on the kingsnake.com Turtle Forum: “it is quite true that they seem to fare well in freshwater if they are cb and raised that way. however, keeping them in brackish water would ensure against many possible disease problems, and as such this should be remembered if the turt(s) ever is to come down w/anything–try keeping it brackish if it comes down w/ anything. if you decide to go the extra mile (and buck for salt) don’t forget that diamondbacks still must have access to freshwater AT LEAST once or twice a week to drink–no one seems to know how this works in the wild, but unlike true marine turtles they apparrently can’t live off of saltwater. as to keeping them with freshwater turts i don’t suggest it. i’m biased in that i just don’t like mixing species, but this aside freshwater turtles may carry pathogens that those slighter diamondback immunities are susceptible to (such as certain fungal strains).” Hope that helps. – Chun — In diamondbackterrapins@egroups.com, “JP Arsenault”