a Diamond back? That is the question…..
- This topic has 2 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated 23 years, 11 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
My sister is giving me (what SHE believes is a Diamondback). I haven’t seen it yet, but this is what she was told. She is coming home to visit in a week and will bring it with her. Here is my question….. (please don’t think I am stupid here….) I own 2 RES & 1 Painted and know that they are aquatic turtles. Is a Diamondback aquatic? The reason I am questioning this is she told me it was a “tortoise”…. All the websites that I have seen indicate that this is indeed an aquatic. My nephew has it in a dry tank, with a pan of water -he only puts him in there to eat. My sister made the comment that “he (my nephew) can hardly get him to get out of the water!” If it is an aquatic, I want to have his setup all ready to go – I need to know if his care is any different to what I am doing now, and if my tank is large enough, can it be housed with my other turtles. Or… does this little guy need brackish water.
Diamondback terrapins are indeed semiaquatic just like RES and painteds. True aquatics are represented more accurately by sea turtles. As for the setup, that will depend on how big it is and how big it will get. Females can attain shell lengths of 9″. Not sure of your current setup so I can’t really comment on whether or not it is adequate for a diamondback. However, it doesn’t sound like it needs brackish water since it obviously hasn’t been living in it! Hopefully you will not be in for a surprise when your sister brings it home. All the best and let us know what she brings back! Chun Tail Moderator
The deeper the water the better. And you need a basking area for it to climb out and bask under a heat-producing light (like a 100W spot) and a UVB light (special 18″ flourescent bulb) for 10-12 hours a day. Turtle food is usually Reptomin Turtle Pellets, Freeze-dried Gammarus Shrimp, Nutrafin Gammarus Turtle Pellets, for example as a staple, and treats like crickets, worms, bloodworms, fish (seldom)… You’ll probably get a lot of input on that from other members 🙂 Fresh water is fine. Mine is kept in fresh and is thriving with my RES. The setup is identical to that for a RES. Walt —–Original Message—– From: Chun-Ming Chew [mailto:diamondback_terrapin@…] Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 5:43 AM To: diamondbackterrapins@yahoogroups.com Subject: [diamondbackterrapins] Re: a Diamond back? That is the question….. Diamondback terrapins are indeed semiaquatic just like RES and painteds. True aquatics are represented more accurately by sea turtles. As for the setup, that will depend on how big it is and how big it will get. Females can attain shell lengths of 9″. Not sure of your current setup so I can’t really comment on whether or not it is adequate for a diamondback. However, it doesn’t sound like it needs brackish water since it obviously hasn’t been living in it! Hopefully you will not be in for a surprise when your sister brings it home. All the best and let us know what she brings back! Chun Tail Moderator
- The forum ‘Diamondback Terrapins’ is closed to new topics and replies.