Decision Time

[mikemato]

I have a three year old Northern DBT that hatched on my sister’s lawn in North Wildwood NJ. It’s the Northern variety with the big spots. “Sneak” appears to be a female according to the pictures that I have found on this site and through other links. I’m coming to a cross roads because she is rapidly outgrowing her aquarium. If it were up to me, I’d drop the $$$ and get a the big set up, but space in the house and my wife protests. So I have a tough decision to make. 1) Upset my wife and spend the money. 2) Release her into the wild. 3) Find another good home. I’ve had this turtle for over three years and have done my best to provide the proper housing. She was the size of a quarter when I got her and now she is over six inches across the carapace and still growing. She has always had a healthy appetite, immediately trying to eat anything new in front of her, never shown any signs of any sickness and is just a great pet. She has always had excellent turtle instincts, can disappear in a pile of rocks in seconds, hense the name. My question is, what is the right thing to do now. I can easily start over with some new hatchlings. My nephew finds them regularly. This turtle has always lived in fresh water. I think this an excellent example of the species and I would like her to have the chance to breed, but I’m concerned about the shock of the salt in the back bays if I release her directly into brackish water. Maybe I could release her up stream a bit where the salt content is low and let her find her way down? I would be willing to give this DBT to a good home that would provide the proper environemnt, but I won’t mail it. I live just outside of Philadelphia and would be willing to take a drive to deliver her to a good home or back to the Jersey Shore. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. I’m still deciding. – Mike

[rcftx]

Mike…After a diamondback has been raised in captivity for three years, hand fed and accustomed to humans…I think the transition back to the wild would be very difficult at best. I am sure it can be done, however I think the odds of success are rather low given the time she has been in captivity, accustomed to fresh water, and fed probably a different diet than in her natural state….take a picture of her and post it on the site, I would be curious to see what she looks like. Regards, Rich —————————————————-This mailbox protected from junk email by Matadorfrom MailFrontier, Inc. http://info.mailfrontier.com

[Diamondback Terrapin World]

Hi Mike, Personally I would have to workout something with the wife. But if that isn’t an option; placing it in a home that already has DBTs and a good setup for them would probably be your best second choice. After 3 years and the fact that she is nearly an adult, I don’t know if she would be able to adapt to being in the wild. I know there are a lot of headstart programs out there but they only keep hatchlings for about 8 months and release them when they are between 3 and 4 inches. I am sure we have some people on the egroup that live in your area. Make sure you see the setup of the adopting family. Good Luck Jonathan http://www.diamondbackterrapin.commikemato Diamondback Terrapin World http://www.diamondbackterrapin.com

[Stephen Chew]

Mike, Some suggestions regarding your options: 1) Drop some $$$ into bribing your wife – butter her up get her a diamond, gift certificate to the mall, etc. Then drop more $$$ into a new setup once she has consented. 2) I don’t see why she wouldn’t have a good chance in the wild. You could try acclimating her with live foods that she has to hunt down. If you’re near enough, get some potential food items from the bay and see if she will take to them. Also, start salting her water. I think this is a better option than to risk releasing her into improper habitat. Having said that, some are against releasing captive or rehabilitated terrapins into the wild for fear of contaminating wild stock with disease. I think this is hogwash and research has already proven that there is almost no chance of headstarts introducing disease into the wild. 3) Finding a good home for her shouldn’t be hard at all but you might have to change your mind on the shipping.. All the best. -Chun — In diamondbackterrapins@yahoogroups.com, “mikemato”

[DGGrekoff@aol.com]

In a message dated 7/9/2004 8:12:10 PM Pacific Standard Time, mikemato@… writes:

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