to whom it may concern ( diamond back terrapins)

[casmann24 <casmann24@yahoo.com>]

Hi my name is caryn A year ago last may i rescude a hatchling terrapin in long island ny and i’ve been raising it ever since. recently she became ill so i took her the vet. and he gave her a vitmine A shot (which i found out later you should never give a vitmun A shot to a turtle). well to get on with my story the vet told me i shouldn’t keep the turtle in fresh water she should be in brackish water, so i assumed that my error of keeping her in fresh water is what got her sick so went surfing the web and i fould this website http://www.geocities.com/dterrapin/care/ which told me that terrapins should be keeped in brackish water with a ppm of 1.015 – 1.017 . so i followed the directions and made my tank that ppm which is approx. 25% seawater and with a PH of 6.4 . in doing so i noticed my turtle would no go in the water even if i placed her in the water she would quickly swim out i have the water temp at 76-80 and her basking area at around 86, but she would not go in the water and also wouldn’t eat. so just today a week later i gave up with the brackish water and went back to fresh water and as soon as i did soo i placed her in the water and know she is swiming around again and she is constantly keeping her head under water like she is drink to rehidrate herself is that possible? but i’ve been sitting by the tank for nearly an hour now and i still haven’t seen her take a bite out of any food. i feed her shrimp, reptomin pelets and koi food pellets. Please if you have any advice what i should doo please please help me i don’t want anything to happen to her i love her soo much If anyone wanted to know her name is Frankie Please Help Caryn

[Sean Tanner]

Hi caryn, She should be just fine in fresh water as long as you keep the water clean and clear. I’m fairly new to keeping terrapins myself, but I haven’t had any problems with my two. The breeder I bought my last one one from raises all his in fresh water as well as many others do. Just keep the water very clean. Sean — “casmann24 http://mailplus.yahoo.com

[Stephen Chew <quadricornis@yahoo.com>]

Hi Caryn, What was Frankie ill with? Her refusal to eat may be due to a combination of her illness and stress. I would not recommend keeping her in brackishwater since you have raised her in freshwater without incident. I did notice that your pH is a little too low. Has it always been that low? At this point, it is hard to offer any constructive advice without knowing the symptoms of her illness. Please clarify and hopefully we can provide some recommendations that may be of use. All the best. Chun Tail Moderator — In diamondbackterrapins@yahoogroups.com, “casmann24 http://www.geocities.com/dterrapin/care/ with in go gave around is by food me

[Caryn Asmann]

Thank you so much for all your helpful information. I really appreciate you putting time aside to help me out. My baby Frankie got this illness where her eyes would not open and were very puffy. I took her to the vet and the vet gave her a vitamin A shot and gave me drops for her eyes. Her eyes are now back to normal, thank God. At that time the vet recommended putting her in brackish water. I did so for about two weeks. After seeing that Frankie would swim out of the water really fast, made me wonder. Last night I changed the water back to fresh and she was in heaven. It looked as though she was drinking a gallon of it. In my personal opionion, I think she got sick due to the cold winter draft (since I kept her tank in the hallway) and due to my error of not changing the water once a week. The tank always had a water heater and a heat lamp on it but I think that she was still too cold. Now she is in my apartment with her ceramic heat lamp, her UV lamp which I keep on for about 12 hours a day and her heated water kept at about 78 degrees. My biggest worry is that she hasn’t eaten in a few weeks. Perhaps three, and I am getting worried. I am hoping that now, with her stable environment in which she is happy with, will bring her back to full recovery. Do you think she can recover after having been without eating for so long? It is amazing how attached you can get to these little turtles. When I brought her to the vet people thought it was pretty funny. Hey, I am an animal lover and I truly believe that if you find a turtle it will bring you luck. And let me tell you, she surely has. Thanks once again for all your help. Have a happy and healthy new year. Best Regards, Caryn — “Stephen Chew

[Author]

Posts