Rescued with turtlehomes
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Hi everyone iam going to get twelve of the Diamondbacks rescued from N.Y by turtlehomes ,first should i hibernate them as i will get them next week iam in south texas my winters consist of mostly cold in the 40,s a little thirtys if so what is the best way to hibernate these girls ,what would be the best food for these fresh wild caught girls ,i live on 20 acres so iam preparing a habitat according to the info i can find but any help will be appreciated ,any websites on more info you have please let me know iam a expieriened keeper buy not with Diamondbacks so iam trying to get educated and how about the saltwater whar is the best way to make the water correct sorry so long thanks Jack in texas email elvabtx@… oh these are all i suppose Northern Diamondbacks and females i will be looking for adult males to buy
I would bet that many of those rescued terrapins are already carrying fertile eggs. I would make a nice nesting area for them, just in case they pick up their natural cycle and decide to nest again in the spring. I understand that terrapins can remain fertile for up to four years after a mating, but the eggs become increasingly less viable as time goes by. Good luck and thank you for your rescue efforts. Marguerite WhildenThe Terrapin InstituteP. O. Box 501Grasonville, MD. 21638410 370 9171410 757 9268
Lori and I had this same conversation, just the other day. We felt hibernation may not be a good idea depending on how they’ve adjusted to their new environment. For the most part are they eating? We thought it might be best yes to lower temps but keep them fairly active an eating especially if they have not acclimated themselves yet. Yes, she felt they may be viable and would definitely need a set up for that. Not all WC adapt easily, but if feeding well and things are going well, I think lowering water temp is fine. But leaving them in a very cold pond might not be. I would use caution this first year. Living in Texas you will have sunlight so they can bask. I’m not sure how big your pond is but I would attemp to heat it and keep them eating through this first year, thats just what Lori and I were thinking. I have no experience in this but I would think allowing a weakened diamondback to go into complete hibernation, might be a mistake. I am sure more experienced breeders than I will chime in on this one and we should all listen and decide what is best for our individual WC. Lisa
I have experience with hibernation of diamondback terrapins in Texas…and I would definitely not allow them to hibernate until I have had them for an entire season first. If they are not properly nourished the chances of loosing them in a “Blue Norther” is extremely high. So my recomendation would be to bring them in this winter until you have properly fattened them up and allowed them to become acclimated before they were subjected to colder temperatures which will put them into a state of hibernation. Rich —————————————————-This mailbox protected from junk email by Matadorfrom MailFrontier, Inc. http://info.mailfrontier.com
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