Diamondback Terrapin Care Infographic
This infographic is a care guide for beginners on how to look after Diamondback Terrapins. It’s a comprehensive guide covering several aspects of terrapin care:
- Tank Size: It suggests a minimum of 55-65 gallons for the terrapins’ tank, with high salinity water conditions.
- Habitat Setup: The required habitat setup includes a dock, heater, filter, and lamps.
- Diet: Diamondback Terrapins are omnivorous, and their diet can include shrimp, feeder fish, and worms.
- Appearance: The infographic describes the terrapin’s appearance, noting their diamond-shaped rings on the carapace, skin grey with white spots and black streaks, and the upper shell color varies from brown, grey, green, or black.
- Ideal Tank Size: For a 6-inch male terrapin, a 55-gallon glass aquarium is recommended. If the terrapin is larger, a bigger tank, about 65-75 gallons, is advised.
- Basking Dock: A basking dock is necessary for the terrapin’s indoor habitat. It can be bought commercially or made from various materials like rocks, logs, plastic, metal sheets, or foam.
- UV Lights: The importance of UV lights is highlighted, with a specific mention that 2.5 – 5% UVs are perfect for terrapins and should be kept on for only 10 hours a day.
- Heating and Filtration: The guide suggests the expected basking temperature (80s to 90s degrees Fahrenheit), the installation of a water filter to eliminate diseases, and a tank heater (250 – 350 watts) suitable for a 55 to 65-gallon tank.
- Diet Detail: A detailed list of foods is provided, including various meats, vegetables, and fruits like bloodworm, crab, seaweed, apple, shrimp, and more.
- Symptoms of Sickness: Symptoms indicating a terrapin is sick include loss of appetite, weight loss, lethargy, discharge from mouth, eyes, and nose, foul odor, soft spots on the scutes, trouble walking, breathing, and wheezing.
- Common Health Issues: The terrapins can suffer from hypovitaminosis, respiratory illness, shell rot, obesity, parasite attack, and metabolic bone disease.
About Author
Muntaseer Rahman started keeping pet turtles back in 2013. He also owns the largest Turtle & Tortoise Facebook community in Bangladesh. These days he is mostly active on Facebook.
