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[jen logue]

jen logue

October 20, 2003 at 11:54 am #19048

hello! My boyfriend recently found what we now know is a baby diamondback terrapin… the quarter size baby was found blowing in the wind dangling from some kind of “spider web type material” on a construction site in S. Jersey. At first glance he thought it was a beetle or something, but when he got closer he realized it was a baby turtle. Not wanting to leave it, he brought it home. We went to the local pet store and bought a small tank, food,a basking lamp, flourescent lamp, a filter and a rock for him to bask on. Aside from that, we are both clueless on how to care/raise a healthy turtle. We have a 125 gallon aquarium with about 40 fish, a cat, a dog… and now a new turtle. We would appreciate any information on how to care for this little guy!! thanks, jen and brian Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Shopping – with improved product search

[Todd Stockwell]

Todd Stockwell

October 20, 2003 at 1:24 pm #19050

Hello Jen and Brian; Welcome to the world of dbts and this group! There is a wealth of experience here. Please ask any questions you might have and we’ll do our best. Like most online groups, we tend to respond better to specific questions than the general, opened-ended inquiries just because we all are busy and tend to let the less-specific go hoping someone else will get the ball rolling. There are lots of similar discussions pertaining to your situation in our archives if you have time to scan past messages looking for titles along the lines of asking for help getting started with hatchlings. However, we realize you’re anxious to get some basics covered rather than searching archives. So, take a look at these two great websites first: http://www.geocities.com/dterrapin/ http://www.diamondbackterrapin.com These will give you some ideas on set ups and care as well as pics of hatchlings and adults. The two most common problems with acclimating hatchlings are getting them eating (especially if they were already eating in the wild) and gettig the temperature right. I like to keep young turtles pretty warm, at least until I see some good growth happening. Make sure the basking site is a little warmer than the tank water (80 to 82 degrees for the water and around 85 for the basking site). Just make sure the actual temp on the basking site doesn’t go above 87 F or so and ends up too hot. Some keepers go with lower temps, but I like to keep them warmer until they get up to a couple of inches. A little fellow from the wild may require some live foods to get eating. Several of us on this list prefer to get all of our hatchlings eating pellets as a staple diet and then supplementing with other things. Zoo Med hatchling diet, Baby Reptomin, and Hikari Cichlid Gold pellets are small enough for hatchlings to eat and seem attractive to most dbts. Try the pellets first. Then maybe some dried gammarus shrimp with the pellets next if no interest in the pellets for several days. Next option I would use would be frozen cubes of fish food – bloodworms, glassworms, and omnivore diet. If those all fail, then maybe try live bloodworms, ghost shrimp, guppies, etc., to see if live food will get the feeding response. Also, as our standard caveat, be aware of any local and state regulations regarding the collecting and keeping of native wildlife. Todd jen logue

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