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I just joined this egroup.. so I dunno if I’m posting correctly or not, but I just got a db, I had them, well my dad had them when I was younger..along with a few other species of turtle. I also work at a small pet store and have dealt with lots of turtles… but anyway… I was told that he’s been eating, food sticks, tuffies, meal worms, and waxworms. Through my reading I have read that feeding frozen smelt and food sticks is good. Should I be feeding tuffies etc.? Also, I wanted to know how much salt do I need to add to the water? Right now I have 1/4 teaspoon per 10 gallons, but some how this doesnt sound right. sorry, I’m a beginner, and obviously I would like to do the best that I can for my new guy. Thank you for any information. -Teal
Hi there! I am kinda new here also…and am in no way an expert, but I have kept a variety of critters, including a db…and since I happen to have a minute, thought I would toss my opinion in… : ) It seems to me that the salinity necessary for a db can vary. (Helpful, huh?) In a natural environment, these guys usually live in “brackish” water, but the amount of salt content can vary greatly from place to place, or due to things like weather, etc… (High rainfall…less salt…) I would suggest that you find out how much, if any, salt the turtle had in his water at the former keeper’s set-up… If the turtle currently is healthy…he probably was well-adjusted to that type of water…and keeping things the same will keep his stress level low… -Abby : )
Also, you don’t HAVE to make the water salty (brackish). DBTs thrive in fresh water. Mine is! Walt —–Original Message—– From: azmarston [mailto:azmarston@…] Sent: Friday, May 10, 2002 7:19 AM To: diamondbackterrapins@yahoogroups.com Subject: [diamondbackterrapins] Re: hello—salinity Hi there! I am kinda new here also…and am in no way an expert, but I have kept a variety of critters, including a db…and since I happen to have a minute, thought I would toss my opinion in… : ) It seems to me that the salinity necessary for a db can vary. (Helpful, huh?) In a natural environment, these guys usually live in “brackish” water, but the amount of salt content can vary greatly from place to place, or due to things like weather, etc… (High rainfall…less salt…) I would suggest that you find out how much, if any, salt the turtle had in his water at the former keeper’s set-up… If the turtle currently is healthy…he probably was well-adjusted to that type of water…and keeping things the same will keep his stress level low… -Abby : )
Teal, I agree with Abby, I would first find out how much salt the pervious owner was putting in the water. Is this a hatchling or an adult? If it is a wild caught adult, you most defiantly need to add salt to the water. If it is a captive born diamondback and you keep the water very clean mostly you will not need to add salt to the water. For my adults, which are mostly wild caught, I add 8 pounds of rock salt (two boxes of the store bought rock salt) for my 110-gallon tubs. I gotten away with adding less salt for a while but I find that the terrapins do better with more salt. I was doing about a half a cup of rock salt for every 10 gallons. With the amount I of salt that I am using now my saline level is between .008 and .010. If the saline level is to low for a wild caught they can develop shell rot (soft white patches of shell) on its carapace or plastron. Or they can develop skin fungus (white or light gray growths on their arms and legs). The main thing is just to be aware of you terrapin and watch for signs that his water might not be clean enough or he needs for salt. Good Luck Jonathan Helms http://www.geocities.com/diamondbackterrapins — In diamondbackterrapins@y…, Glaeser Walt-P55431
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