Just found…

[elirasava]

Hi, I was at the Jrsey Shore over the weekend and found a turtle the size of a quarter on the sidewalk. We took him home and did our best to give him a good place to live. Found out he was a water turtle but didn’t know what kind. My wife is teacher and checked with a lot of contacts and we found out that it was Diamondback Terrapin. Her contact said they’re hard to take care of and we should take it to the marshland and release it. I’m pretty sure it will get eaten quickly so I’m not up for returning it right now and want to keep it through the winter. We have a house down at the shore and the turtle was found three blocks from the house. We go there every summer so we would be returning him to where we found him. Can anyone give me any suggestion to help make it easier to: A) be sure we take care of him properly until release. B) Rebut the other person who said we should take it back now so that I can give inttlelegent arguement to keep it through the winter C) Give me an idea of growth rate and habitat so I know whether to keep him in a 10 gallon over winter or if a 55 would be better. Thank you

[Nicole Shank]

Hi, I also found both my turtles (dbts) at the jersey shore; they were about quarter-sized as well. A friend who lives there and watches them hatch all the time told me that they are almost always all eated by crows and other birds. Only a very few survive when they are so small. I took both of them home and have had them about a year. I am not sure about re-releasing as I’ve become attached and worry about crab traps, motor boats, etc., but that is of course a personal decision. There are many other people on this site more expert than I am, but I would say you can easily tell your friends that the little guy’s chances of survival are much better if you keep him through the winter at least. They grow really fast at first (once they start eating) and mine were about 3 or 4 inches across after 9 months or so. You can also feed him live food (maybe once he is a little bigger) and so accustom him to eating “wild.” Good luck and enjoy your new friend! They are really wonderful animals and I love my two dbts! Nicoleelirasava

[Stephen Chew]

Hi and welcome to the group! In answer to your questions: 1) It is not hard to take care of a hatchling terrapin. Set him up in either tank with ~1″ of water to start off with. You can increase the depth as he grows, making sure you have adequate filtration at all times. Provide plenty of cover in the water like plastic plants and a rock/cork bark for basking. Make sure water temperature is 76F-84F. Provide UVB lighting and feed him turtle pellets or krill. It may take several days and even a week or two before he learns to eat the food. Here are a few websites with care information for your perusal: http://www.neoterrapin.com/care http://www.diamondbackterrapins.com 2) There are entire organizations that have been founded to do what you are doing. Terrapin populations are dwindling throughout their range due to various challenges so headstarting has become a common tool to give the terrapins a fighting chance. A yearling has a much better chance in the wild than a hatchling so if you are really intent on releasing it next year, then you are doing a noble thing. 3) It can grow up to 3.5″ by next spring depending on environmental factors like temperature (higher temp, higher growthrate). If you have room and proper equipment (lighting, filtration, etc.) for the 55gal. then by all means use it. Hope this helps – keep us posted! -Chun — In diamondbackterrapins@yahoogroups.com, “elirasava”

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