Re: Crushed Coral and hatchling terrapins

[AbhainnShell .]

AbhainnShell .

January 18, 2004 at 10:38 pm #19300

hi there eric. I can’t say for diamondbacks but for most turtles I’ve met and or heard of are fine with the finer grained substrates so long as they aren’t eating out of it constantly. (always feed in the water… hunting for food on sandy dryland is fun, but not the best when they run back into the water and swallow their catch with a mouth full of substrate.) I recommend having the majority of the gravel/substrate grain size at least 1-2cm with a small amount of the finer grains… you don’t want to get much smaller than 2mm or else you UG filter will have a difficult time getting the water to flow through. Having some of the smaller grains increases the surface area for the bacteria to grow on which then translates to more bacteria and more filtration capacity. By having a majority of the larger grains in there it makes it less likely for your turtle to ingest the smaller ones… the big ones tend to rest on top and the smaller ones settle down between. I use a ratio of 1:3… small:large sized grains. My turtles do tend to dig around and make big mounds while searching for goodies… seems to keep them entertained too… lots of fun rearranging your living quarters! anyways, water takes the path of least resistance, so to keep your filter running well you will have to get in there and ruin all their fun by smoothing it out every now and then.But, like I said earlier… I don’t have any diamondbacks yet… anyone else have anything to add? I’d like to hear too! Thanks! Michelle —-Original Message Follows—- From: “ericruest” Reply-To: diamondbackterrapins@yahoogroups.com To: diamondbackterrapins@yahoogroups.com Subject: [diamondbackterrapins] Crushed Coral and hatchling terrapins Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 01:31:47 -0000 I have two small Northern Diamondbacks and I am putting them in a 55 gallon setup. I have an undergravel filter Along with some decent sized gravel. i was wondering if i shoud use crushed coral in addition to the gravel (or instead of). I know the benefits but I am concerned that they will eat too large a piece of coral and become impacted. Is this a ligitimate concern or are they strong enough and smart enough to crush it with their mouths? Their shells at this point are about 3″ in length. I would appreciate any thoughts. Thanks MSN 8 helps ELIMINATE E-MAIL VIRUSES. Get 2 months FREE*.

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