Home › Forums › Diamondback Terrapins › mystery of disappearing terrapin
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August 5, 2010 at 11:59 am #22766cogmob
Do terrapins dig into the dirt to hide? Please excuse the length of this question, but I’m very confused by my terrapin, who seems to disappear and reappear. I have two 4-yr old males who have been living in an aquarium their whole lives. I had always wanted to build a pond for them, but I was renting. In Sept we bought a house in MD, so I made it one of my spring projects to build an above ground pond (pictures in Sean’s New Pond photo album). I was so proud of it; it was a fortress and I was convinced they could not escape. The walls were 15 inches and made of 4×4 wood and plexiglass. I even put a wood framed chicken wire top on it to keep predators from getting in. Everything was fine for the first month. Interestingly, they seem to revert back to their instincts in the pond. I think they get complacent in the aquarium and sit under the lamp much of the day. I saw less of them in the pond, but I think they were happier. I had to reach in and pull them out to feed them (in a plastic tub) because they would sit at the bottom and not notice the shrimps that I dropped in the pond. There are plants in there (lilly, sumberged grass), and I have no idea if they eat it. They do not eat the snails or goldfish also in there. One day I went to pull them out to feed them, and I could only find one. It’s only an 85 gallon pond, so I can reach around in the pond to find them. I reached into every corner repeatedly. I searched everything for an hour. The next day, the same thing. I searched every night for four days and I could only find one turtle. I was baffled. The lid to the pond was not disturbed, and I cannot imagine a way for them to escape, but he was clearly not in the pond. That weekend I drained the pond as best I could (down to about 3 inches) and searched. I searched the whole yard. I was very upset and I was convinced that he was gone. I had to go on vacation for two weeks, so I pulled the remaining terrapin inside into an aquarium so that my neighbors could keep an eye on him. I was using a canister filter in the pond (not designed for ponds) and I didn’t want to worry about it failing while I was gone. It did fail, and when I returned it was broken. It took me a week to buy a pond filter and insert it (draining the pond again). I decided to let the filter run for a few hours before putting the remaining turtle back in the pond. When I went out an hour later to check the filter, I saw a turtle head pop out of the water. That wasn’t possible — my terrapin was still inside the house. I waited a while and saw it again. I went inside to check the aquarium wondering if I had put him in the pond and forgotten, but he was in the aquarium. I suddenly had two turtles again. I put both of them in the feeding tub and they both ate. I put them back in the pond and I was very happy. Somehow, that turtle, who had not been fed by me in about 1 month, and who had apparently lived in an unfiltered pond for 2-3 weeks was alive and well. Last night I went to feed them, and one is missing again. The new pond filter is MUCH better and the water is so clear I can see the only remaining turtle swimming on the bottom. I searched the whole thing and it was the same as before. WHERE DOES HE GO? There is some dirt displaced in the corner as if one was digging. I poked around in there, but I couldn’t find him. I didn’t dig too much because I didn’t want to dig up the whole thing. The pond is inescapable, but I cannot find him anywhere today. Any ideas? Sean
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August 5, 2010 at 12:49 pm #22767Lisa
Oh yes they dig to hide. After two years of hearing me rant about not being able to find my turts my husband built me a smaller pond. My larger pond and ladn area with plants, nesting pit tons of room to hide. I could sears for days into weeks before finding one. I would get so upset. As long as you know it is escape proof then it is fine. You can eliminate the plants at the bottom and that would help but they probably like to hide in them for protection. They love to dig into any potted plant and I found one of mine underneath a lily they had substrate soil and rock. He was there for 3 days before coming out to eat and that was with my small pond that they are now in. but in my larger pond I still don’t know where all their secret hiding places were but in the fall they were all accounted for. It took awhile days but we finally found them all. This fall will be much easier. But I just couldn’t handle the hiders I worried because we had predators. Now i don’t have any worries. But yes they hihe and hide well, I think they just want to cool off. It is frustrating but put your mind at ease they cannot escape. If you want to eliminate hiding you can take everything out of the pond. But believe me they have alot more fun with things to tear up and hide within. It’s just up to how much it bothers you. But it is perfectly natural. I know my friends are laughing at me as they read this because this hiding drove me crazy through 2 pond seasons. Lisa Lee *For those who are following my health I am #1 on the transplant list. I am struggling but still enjoying my turts to the fullest. They are my “calm”….
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August 5, 2010 at 1:02 pm #22768cogmob
Thank you. We wondered if it was the heat. He didn’t do this in April and May. June and July were oppressively hot in DC this year and that was when he disappeared. In fact, the day that he reappeared was during a cool week, and when it got hot again he was gone. I wanted them to explore a bit, which is why I left a decent amount of ground with some plants for cover and shade. As long as he’s doing what he wants to do I’m ok with it. Thank you.
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