TO GO: 2 Terrapins

[waynepunkdude]

Someone thought it's be a good idea to have them in the office but the poor bastards need a home, I think they are about 2-3 years old and they are lovely but a work place is not right for them.

[NancyJohnson]

A mate of mine had a pair and he used to feed them on cat food. They just got bigger and bigger...they were about the size of a CD, with veracious appetites. He put them in a small pond near his house and allegedly they ate everything in it. Fish, ducklings , small children etc. When the pond was drained they found the terrapins, alive and well, and about a foot long.
P


[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='1340462' date='Aug 15 2011, 11:16 AM']Someone thought it's be a good idea to have them in the office but the poor bastards need a home, I think they are about 2-3 years old and they are lovely but a work place is not right for them.[/quote]

[MB1]

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='1340462' date='Aug 15 2011, 11:16 AM']Someone thought it's be a good idea to have them in the office but the poor bastards need a home, I think they are about 2-3 years old and they are lovely but a work place is not right for them.[/quote]

MB1.
Better than the Dole!

[bremen]

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='1340462' date='Aug 15 2011, 11:16 AM']Someone thought it's be a good idea to have them in the office but the poor bastards need a home, I think they are about 2-3 years old and they are lovely but a work place is not right for them.[/quote]

I've asked at the (agricultural) College of West Anglia - they might take them but the woman who'd make the decision is on holiday right now. Let me know if they still need a home in September.

[KingBollock]

Depending on the species they can get very big and need a lot of room. And yes, they eat a lot too. Another thing about them that people don't realise is that they bloody stink! If you're keeping them indoors you need very, very good filtration and you need to keep on top of it else it will block up, often, and it only takes a short while before the water turns to muck. There's a liquid that you can buy that helps to neutralise the smell.

Another thing is that they are quite nasty when it comes to food, keeping more than one in a single tank can be difficult as one will often bully the other and starve it to death. I feed them a special Terrapin pellet, frozen Bloodworm, occasionally live Crickets (left over from feeding my Tarantulas) and very occasionally live Ragworm (left over from Sea Fishing). They love live food and go mad for it, it's very cool watching them hunt for it.

They also need special lighting. They need UV lighting else they will develop bone and shell problems. The UV light will need to be changed every 6 months or so as it's UV output will diminish. They also need a basking spot. Because I keep mine indoors the heat given off by the UV light is enough.

I have three in a tank in my living room. I have three different species though. One will feed mostly from the surface, one mostly from the bottom and the other will go between. So I've found a way to keep more than one in relative peace. The top feeder is quite large and I will have to upgrade their tank in the next couple of years because of him. The other two are quite small species and won't grow more than 4 to 6 inches long.

If you keep them in a pond you can't keep anything else in there with them, they will eat [i]everything[/i]. If you keep them in a tank there's not a lot you can do to make it look pretty, they destroy everything. I have gravel, heavy rocks and a large piece of driftwood in with mine, all things that they can't move or wreck.

Some Zoos will take them in, I remember seeing one place that had hundreds of them in a lake. All of them had been abandoned by people that thought they would make good pets.

You can see a couple of photos of my Terrapins here: [url="http://www.myspace.com/my/photos/album/1953041"]http://www.myspace.com/my/photos/album/1953041[/url]
There's Mud Pie (the big one), Worf (the spiky one) and Knobneck.

So, before considering taking them on, take what I've said into account. If you think you're up to taking them on then they can make great pets, I love mine to bits. They each have their own personalities and they're fascinating to watch.

[Billy Apple]

I had a few of these (I'm assuming Red Eared) Terrapins back in '83-'84 when there was a real craze for them. But unless you have the time and space, they're not a great pet. They do smell, and more over they can carry a multitude of diseases, salmonella being the main one, so the're not good for kids to handle. And, yes, they do have the potential to grow substantially. I would contact a local vet, or aquatic pet specialist and see if they know of any enthusiasts who might take them in. Otherwise you might take my cousins tack back in '84.. ME. 'Hows ya Terrapins?'... CUZ. 'Oh, me Mam said they've got Salmonella, so we flushed them down the bog!'

[Billy Apple]

[quote name='KingBollock' post='1342076' date='Aug 16 2011, 04:35 PM']and very occasionally live Ragworm (left over from Sea Fishing).[/quote]

As an aside here. You fish with Ragworm? Years ago I would sea fish off the coast of Northumberland, using Ragworm that I dug up from the beach at low tide. I've heard this is now illegal. Is this true, and if so, where do you get yours?

[KingBollock]

[quote name='billyapple' post='1354918' date='Aug 29 2011, 02:03 AM']As an aside here. You fish with Ragworm? Years ago I would sea fish off the coast of Northumberland, using Ragworm that I dug up from the beach at low tide. I've heard this is now illegal. Is this true, and if so, where do you get yours?[/quote]
All of the local tackle shops that do sea fishing stuff sell them, so I would imagine they're legal. I don't know if there's a technicality or a by-law banning their use though.

[Billy Apple]

[quote name='KingBollock' post='1354935' date='Aug 29 2011, 03:07 AM']All of the local tackle shops that do sea fishing stuff sell them, so I would imagine they're legal. I don't know if there's a technicality or a by-law banning their use though.[/quote]

It's not the worm that is illegal to use, but different beaches have different by-laws concerning digging. Did a bit search, and it varies from county to county.

[RhysP]

[quote name='KingBollock' post='1342076' date='Aug 16 2011, 04:35 PM']....they can get very big and need a lot of room. And yes, they eat a lot too. Another thing about them that people don't realise is that they bloody stink![/quote]
Sounds just like my step kids......

[daz]

[quote name='KingBollock' post='1342076' date='Aug 16 2011, 04:35 PM']Depending on the species they can get very big and need a lot of room. And yes, they eat a lot too. Another thing about them that people don't realise is that they bloody stink! If you're keeping them indoors you need very, very good filtration and you need to keep on top of it else it will block up, often, and it only takes a short while before the water turns to muck. There's a liquid that you can buy that helps to neutralise the smell.


If you keep them in a pond you can't keep anything else in there with them, they will eat [i]everything[/i]. If you keep them in a tank there's not a lot you can do to make it look pretty, they destroy everything. I have gravel, heavy rocks and a large piece of driftwood in with mine, all things that they can't move or wreck.

Some Zoos will take them in, I remember seeing one place that had hundreds of them in a lake. All of them had been abandoned by people that thought they would make good pets.

You can see a couple of photos of my Terrapins here: [url="http://www.myspace.com/my/photos/album/1953041"]http://www.myspace.com/my/photos/album/1953041[/url]
There's Mud Pie (the big one), Worf (the spiky one) and Knobneck.

So, before considering taking them on, take what I've said into account. If you think you're up to taking them on then they can make great pets, I love mine to bits. They each have their own personalities and they're fascinating to watch.[/quote]


Id llove to see pics of your terrapins, but that link just takes me to my own pics? Im asumiung it would take me to the myspace front page if i didnt have a account there?

[KingBollock]

[quote name='daz' post='1369945' date='Sep 11 2011, 10:18 PM']Id llove to see pics of your terrapins, but that link just takes me to my own pics? Im asumiung it would take me to the myspace front page if i didnt have a account there?[/quote]
I hadn't spotted that. It looks like a generic photo album address for when you access it through your own home page.

This should work:

[url="http://www.myspace.com/kingbollock/photos/albums/animals/1953041"]http://www.myspace.com/kingbollock/photos/...animals/1953041[/url]

They're not very good pics and only about 3 of them are of my Terrapins. They were taken a long time ago while we were still experimenting with filtration.

[adledman]

aaah spiders!!! didnt need to see them! glad to see someone posting some proper facts about keeping terrapins. lets hope they go to the right place this time. another so called pet that grows and becomes not so cute. mr bollock has made some valuable points and these are not kids toys and following the "ninja turtle" films england went mad for them and a lot of people flushed them or dumped them in rivers and ponds and in some places they have decimated fish and newt and other native species. i remember walking past a local river and seeing two terrapins sat sunbathing on the side of the river about the size of a dinner plates!

[RhysP]

[quote name='adledman' timestamp='1316518794' post='1379017']
I remember walking past a local river and seeing two terrapins sat sunbathing on the side of the river about the size of a dinner plates!
[/quote]
Roath Park Lake in Cardiff is full of them & they're all bloody massive!

[daz]

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1316531977' post='1379285']
Roath Park Lake in Cardiff is full of them & they're all bloody massive!
[/quote]

dont they die off in the winter? I know last winter the avarage temperature was below freezing for 31 days on the run!! (well in the north West anyway.)

[lemmywinks]

[quote name='daz' timestamp='1316535525' post='1379357']

dont they die off in the winter? I know last winter the avarage temperature was below freezing for 31 days on the run!! (well in the north West anyway.)
[/quote]


There's some in Stanley Park lake in Blackpool the size of dinner plates, been there years and survived it freezing over. There's also one in a little pond i sometimes fish which is 2ft at it's deepest and freezes over as soon as someone mentions "frost".

Tough b@st@rds!