Rescue terrapin needs home asap

cjf

This chap now has a home!!!!

I rescued a terrapin and need to find him a home asap. I found this poor thing in a hamster type plastic cage in a dark shed, all the water had obviously dried up it was filthy and he was just lying there beside his dead terrapin pal I know nothing about terrapins but could not leave him there so picked him up and took him home. I have a half barrel pond iv been preparing for my fantail full of plants and few baby pond snails it's been going bout 2 weeks now was due to add my fish in week four but had nowhere for this fella so put him in it. He ate all the snails and half the plants within 24 hours poor thing was obviously starving. I honestly didnt think he would live but he's totally come around. Am aware he needs a heated tank so need to find him a terrapin home ASAP anyone know of a terrapin rescue or anyone own terrapins with room for one more? I really don't want to bring him to a per shop as this is most likely where he came from and the thoughts of him ending up like that again sickens me. He fits in my palm and has green and lighter green face I say he but no idea if male or female. If anyone can help please pm me desperate for this guy to have a better life.

tallus

You should try to post a photograph so we can identify what species he/she is. Also, where are you based ? Geography might be an issue if someone decides to rehome.
Try feeding dandelion leaves and see what reaction you get. Also, you should take a look at the Tortoise Trust website as the information contained on that site is invaluable.

cjf

Thanks for reply!! This guy now has his forever home.. With me!! Funny how things work out! A friend of a friend heard I'd taken in this terrapin and offered me their old tank for free it's huge and came with lid and two uv strip lights! Their terrapin was 15 when her outgrew it so we will have a good few years before this chap needs a bigger tank!! Down I went to the pet shop got new filter, heater and a basking lamp! He's never had a basking lamp judging on the "tank" I found him in so he is loving it up on his rock now! Been googling like a lunatic on terrapin care and guy down in pet shop keeps them himself so can drop by if I have questions or need advice!

Also now named terri cause still not sure if boy or girl! And based on google pics he's a yellow belly slider terrapin!

tallus

The best place to go for advice in Here in my opinion.
Fair play to you for taking on the Terrapin. They do need a lot of tlc. You should try to expose him/her to natural sunlight if at all possible.

cjf

Thanks for link il defo check it out from what I been reading so far I have alot to learn to make sure he lives long and happy life! Is sunlight through a window ok? On researching their care for just one day I'm already so surprised they such common pets sold in so many pet shops seems they really have such specific needs!

tallus

Sunlight through glass is of no benefit other than providing heat, as UV Rays don't travel through glass. There are some combined heat lamp/UVB available. They have an effective lifetime of around 9 months or so and then the UVB element of the lamp deteriorates rapidly and the lamp is only of use for heating.

cjf

Thanks for info! Have two uv strip lights in the lid that i got new strip bulbs for and his basking lamp is separate thing that hangs over his rock- not had any sun in a while but next sunny day will make sure he catches some natural rays!! He is eating loads and swimming round like a mad thing so seems much better than when he first came! One little section of his shell shed off which I think is a sign he is growing! He's a gas little thing great fun to watch!!

tallus

They don't shed their shell cjf. If the scutes are falling off it's an indication that there's some sort of deficiency there.

There could be a host of reasons as to why it's happening. Calcium deficiency, would be top of my list, but I'm no expert on turtles and it's very hard to tell without knowing much of the past history.

cjf

Oh thanks guy in pet shop said they do shed off thin layers of bits of their shell doggie due his boosters so il have a chat with my vet when I go down see if there are any supplements to give him past history is unknown but judging on how I found him I Wouldn be surprised if he lacking nutrients there was dusty tub of goldfish flakes beside the container! Wouldn't feed my fantail those flakes so doubt he was getting much of anything from them!

xoxyx

Fair play to you cjf. Glad to know this story has a happy ending!!

cjf

Thanks just a shame I didn't find them sooner and could have saved his poor tank mate- Im a believer of keeping animals in pairs so they have a pal not sure if turtles need a companion read few conflicting things on net some say you can't introduce another or they'll fight and they don't need a turtle companion some say they do- if better for him il look at getting him a pal ... Im very much an In for a penny in for a pound person!

antocann

sounds like your doing a good job op keep it up , they make great pets ,and are simple to look after once you have everything you need

tallus wrote: »

They don't shed their shell

wrong , they do indeed shed , once a year. i am a keeper my self ,

tallus

antocann wrote: »

wrong , they do indeed shed , once a year. i am a keeper my self ,

Fair enough anto, I stand corrected

My first feeling tho.. when I heard that one turtle was dead, and another was found without water etc, I thought the worst, and imagined that some sort of shell problem had set in.

cjf

So here is a little pic of Terri! 90% sure she is a she now!! Been comparing pics on google! Terri just loves that rock under her basking lamp!!

antocann

tallus wrote: »

Fair enough anto, I stand corrected

My first feeling tho.. when I heard that one turtle was dead, and another was found without water etc, I thought the worst, and imagined that some sort of shell problem had set in.

my post sounded like i was tryna be smart , lol , just i typed it fast




how much water do you have in with the terrapin ?

cjf

If she goes to side of tank and stands up on her hind legs she can just poke her nose out of the water. Does she need more???

antocann

add more if the tank can take it ,but it looks like you have enough , mine tend to dive in the water , so the more water the better , but make sure it cant climb out their lttle feckers for trying to :rolleyes:

but your setup looks perfect for it ,

cjf

Il add a bit more no harm! It's like a big fish tank so very deep and has lid so no way she getting out!! Thanks!

jacdaniel

Hi

Yellow belly turtles are great swimmers so you can easily add a couple of inches of water and he'll love it! The only thing I can point out is that turtles shouldnt really have a lid on their tanks. It causes condensation which leads to respitory problems.

I recently got rid of my lid. I bought a UVB 10.0 bulb and a heat bulb. I got 2 cool lamp holders in Ikea and put them shining into the tank.

If the tank is big you could get a combo bulb to provide heat and UVB. For food you should feed him the Reptomin pellets.

Finally..... Turtles need a really good filter. External cannister filters are recommended but not cheap!!!

ryan84

I have two of them. A male and a female. We had problems with the female this year. she had a prolapsed womb(or turtle equivalent) had to go to the vet to have it removed and seems to be ok again now. hard to know with a turtle. anyway the vet reckoned it was due to bad nutrition.

I had always fed them the turtle food from the pet shop that I was recommend. (Really they shouldn't be selling them at all since they know so little about them) But turns out its not great for them. So now we go buy fish and shrimp from the supermarket.

For the amount they eat it works out cheaper than the stuff from the pet shop and they actually come swimming over to us now when we go into fed them. Also got something from the vets. A powder to sprinkle over the food. It has added vitamins to keep them healthy.

I cut up the fish and put it into bags in the freezer, then just take out the amount I need the evening before.

We hibernate them for the winter. Any time I have a question about them I normally email the reptile zoo in Kilkenny. They are very helpful. Good luck with your turtle

cjf

Thanks some good tips there!! Will defo be getting bigger filter at some stage! Was surprise addition so didn't have the funds to go all out with the filter! Once get her a new one can put the other in my half barrel pond less cleaning all round for me!! The lid had two panels on it which I took off so it's really just a frame which has her uv light in it the basking lamp hangs over her rock need to keep her in a nosey bold dogs out!! Although she put her face up to the glass when one of my dogs puts her nose to the other side .. She won't do that for me!! It's very cute!! Must try the fish Abd shrimp just to mix it up for her!!

cjf

I have an outdoor barrell pond with quite a few snails in it now! I read that turtles eat snails is it ok to feed the excess pond snails to Terri? They just small regular pond snails? Have to remove them every so often to keep number down so wouldnt be all the time just a few every few weeks or so. Read the shells are good for calcium ? Terri doing great added more water advised above and she is loving it! Starting to come up to me when I go in the room now and beg for food. . progress!

cjf

So turtle is doing great, her tank is much better now got new external filter (thanks to boards advice), heater and turtle dock. She is active and still a grubber. Have not seen her on the dock yet but been leaving some of her food on it and its always gone when I check back so she must be going up there! Yesterday found a small bit of shell in her tank, wasnt too worried as her shell was so uneven when we found her and there were like smaller scales over nearly all of her bigger scales which have slowly come off and she is looking alot smoother and even now! But today I came home and found all of this . . should I be worried? go to the vet? She seems fine and way happier in her tank now its a steady 26 degrees all the time and she is as mentioned eating great and very active its just alot of shell cant even see a spot on her where it came from but looks like side pieces. . .

rabbit.84

cjf wrote: »

So turtle is doing great, her tank is much better now got new external filter (thanks to boards advice), heater and turtle dock. She is active and still a grubber. Have not seen her on the dock yet but been leaving some of her food on it and its always gone when I check back so she must be going up there! Yesterday found a small bit of shell in her tank, wasnt too worried as her shell was so uneven when we found her and there were like smaller scales over nearly all of her bigger scales which have slowly come off and she is looking alot smoother and even now! But today I came home and found all of this . . should I be worried? go to the vet? She seems fine and way happier in her tank now its a steady 26 degrees all the time and she is as mentioned eating great and very active its just alot of shell cant even see a spot on her where it came from but looks like side pieces. . .

Shes just growing. She should eventually shed all of her shell. All OK

cjf

Phew thanks a mill panic over! Just got a fright when I saw so much of it!! Hurrah she growing thats good!

antocann

yep she is shedding , its kool the way they shed the hole shell , you can piece it together like a jigsaw