HELP!!

[pam_baum]

pam_baum

July 30, 2003 at 4:09 am #18727

Hi! I live in Pa & recently was given a Northern diamondback terrapin as a gift from a well meaning friend who thought it was a BOX turtle & picked it up for me. I’m trying to read as much as I can about these turtles, but I really need some quick answers! I have this poor terrapin in a shallow amount of fresh water with a spot for her to get out and dry off. I need to build or buy some decent housing for her. So..what type of thing should she be living in? I was thinking of constructing a wooden area about 4 foot by 6 foot with some sort of tub or whatever for water in 1 end? I know I’ll need heat and sun type lights above. How deep do they like their water? Should there be both fresh and brackish water available? Will it hurt her to eat worms occassionally(this is what my friend was feeding her for about 2 weeks, also leaf lettuce)? ALL ideas would be very welcome! Thanks- Pam Baum

[Jason Williamson]

Jason Williamson

July 30, 2003 at 1:39 pm #18730

Hi, If you have room for a 4′ x 6′ pen you may want to buy a decent sized stock tank (50 or 100 gallons). If you can, you could put it outside until it winter begins and then move it in. Then just provide a basking site by using a log or board and buy or build a filter and you should be fine. Salty or fresh water is a personal choice and both have their advantages and disadvantages. Salt staves off fungul infections and shell rot but is a little more work in that you have to buy salt, measure it and so forth. Fresh water is great too but you should keep a close eye out for fungal infections on the skin and shell. And good filtration and regular water changes are even more important with fresh water. Take a look at http://www.diamondbackterrapin.com for some photos and info. on terrapin housing. If you just have one terrapin, you don’t really need to set up a nesting box. I think just a basking site will be fine. ,Jasonpam_baum

[Chun-Ming Chew]

Chun-Ming Chew

July 30, 2003 at 6:11 pm #18733

Hi Pam – welcome to the group! Several things regarding your gift: 1) Firstly, where did your friend pick your turtle? The reason I ask is because diamondback terrapins are not indigenous to PA so we want to positively ID it. 2) Secondly, if it is indeed a terrapin, then there is a very high probability that it it either a nesting female laden with eggs or one that has just finished depositing her eggs. If this is the case, you may want to consider having your friend release it back into the wild to help preserve population integrity. 3) Thirdly, if you decide to keep it, I would highly advise that you provide it with a larger volume of water than you do land; and brackish water at that. The depth of the water does not really matter that much since terrapins can be found in ankle-deep water to knee-deep. You can feed it in a separate smaller container to keep her enclosure cleaner and provide freshwater for her with every feeding. Worms are perfectly fine though they are used to a diet of molluscs and brackishwater crustaceans. Keep us posted! Chun Tail Moderator — In diamondbackterrapins@yahoogroups.com, “pam_baum”

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