Terrapin Talk #2 – Diet & Health

Terrapin diets are actually pretty simple once you understand the specific likes, or dislikes, of your specific boy or girl. Gus and Lady both have been on diet of vegetables and fruits since they reached adolescence, as younglings no larger than the palm of my hand, they both wake up every morning and climb down from their basking docks or resurface from the bottom of their tanks when they are cold and chow down on a slice of cucumber and a handful of other Terrapin safe greens and fruits.

If will come with experience on the foods you can give them and in what quantities that you need to measure out each feeding, whether you are still feeding them dried food (shrimps or pellets) or have moved onto the vegetables you will normally find indicators that you are over or underfeeding when observing your Terrapins. Gus for example will leave pieces of his breakfast floating in his tank after submerging them for hours on end, he has a much smaller appetite than Lady and will go back to his food later on if we leave it available for him. Lady on the other hand leaves no survivors from her devouring and will very rarely have any signs of food left in her aquarium 10 minutes after her meal. Essentially you need to learn your Terrapins as they grow and develop into adulthood, they will change their needs as they age, and certain elements will change within their diet and health requirements. Let me go through some key elements on their dietary and health needs. 

Diet

What is safe for your Terrapin, which is the golden question as with all aquatic creatures if you get it wrong things can deteriorate unfortunately quickly. While I watched them grow from tiny pieces of bobbling brown shells, I fed them the recommended mixture of Terrapin safe pellets and dried shrimp mixes that can be bought from most pet supply stores or purchased online, be warned, the shrimp mix absolutely stinks and will need to be keep dry, sealed and away from direct sunlight. As they grew and their needs changed, they no longer relied heavily upon the small proteins from shrimps and pellets which I slowly phased out of their diet. 

As adults I have a much larger choice when it comes to feeding Gus and Lady, they no longer consume shrimps or pellets as they are not reliant on the nutrient dense foods for development. Instead, they now live on leafy green vegetables, sliced bell peppers, cucumbers, watercress, apples, pears, bananas in small quantities and a mixture of berries. Once again, I recommend that before you feed your Terrapin anything new in copious quantities that you consult your Terrapins vet, who is hopefully an exotic animal specialist, and micro dose them with a small amount of the new food first to get them used to the taste and texture. Watch for signs of change of in their body language and respond accordingly if the food is negatively affecting them. 

Water

Filling up the tank can take some time, it is a labour-intensive task if you do have a pump set up, which let us face it few people have sitting around their homes. I have been using tap water to fill my Terrapins tanks for 14 years without issue, despite multiple online sources that claim it is deadly to their well-being, it can indeed be safe to fill a tank with tap water if you take some precautions before and after. For instance, once the tank is filled, the tank will be sat in the sun for a few hours for the UV lights to break down the minerals that can be dense in quantity within the tank. Allowing the water time to sit and absorb some sunlight is a great idea, if you cannot have the tank itself in the sun, I would recommend leaving large buckets of water in the sun instead for a few hours and then filling the tank with these buckets of filled water.

If you are worried about your Terrapins behaviour with the new water setup, I would recommend picking up a PH reader for your water. These are cheap, available all over the internet and in almost all pet supply stores. Many stores and online aquarium retailers also sell water treatment packages that can be mixed into your tank to balance the levels of PH and make the contents that extra bit safe for your little floating friend. It is always worth checking with your water provider first to get hold of the list of chemicals in your tap water, not only is this helpful for you, but it will allow you to approach the Terrapins water in a direct manner. Thankfully, my water supply is both clean enough to safely drink and contains minimal chlorine which means it is generally safe for my terrapins to swim in/drink. For my own peace of mind, the tanks are facing the windows in my home so the sunlight can help clean the water of any build-ups of minerals that might become harmful over time.

Signs of Sickness

Terrapins are actually fairly easy to analyse for signs of sickness, for ailments that are not internal Terrapins how tell-tale signs that they cannot hide from their handlers. I have never had to experience this for myself thankfully, but everyday I will check Gus and Lady over for these signs in order to catch any disease or infection that might be developing, if you see something that concerns you, it is vitally important that you get them to the vets or animal specialists as soon as possible. So, the first sign you are looking for is a build up or blockage around the nose, eyes, and mouth. It could be white but also milky green in colour, it will clot their breathing and form an almost discharge crust about their face. If you see anything similar on their faces, call your Terrapins vet immediately and if they are unable to help, ask them for a recommendation for an exotic animals’ specialist. 

Secondly, keep an eye on their shells and skin for signs of molding or infection. Tiny reflective white spots on their shells both above and below can be another flashing beacon that something is wrong with your companion’s body. This could be something caused by unclean water or lack of UV light allowing them to bask safely, which is vital to a Terrapins wellbeing. Other signs of illness or a developing sickness with your Terrapin to look out for are lethargy (does your Terrapin sit around all day and not want to move for food or basking), buoyancy issues such as floating sideways or struggling to stay afloat and swollen eyes. Each of these can be indications that something is wrong with your Terrapin, and they will need immediate attention, find a well-reviewed exotic animal specialist preferably and get them in for a check-up as soon as you physically can. Time is crucial with amphibians/reptiles, and they can fade depressingly quickly if left without treatment for too long.

Keep your eyes peeled and give your Terrapins a visual check-up once a day, they will let you know if they are not well through their appearance and body language. Find a vet you trust with exotic animals, take actions to ensure their water is safe/clean and balance their diet while slowly introducing more vegetables into their feedings for prolonged life. If you have any further questions feel free to drop me a line, I have given the information here that I have learned myself and will still be learning their behaviours for the remainder of their lives. Take care of your little shelled friends.