seeking Terrapin

leonardo6

Hi guys,

im looking for a yellow bellied terrapin about 3 inches in size as a companion for my current terrapin. ive been looking around pet shops but they only sell them as tiny little ones as nobody seems to want bigger ones, anyone have any ideas for me???

ziggy23

hi

I had 2 a while back but gave them away unfortunately. I got them as small and they grew really really quick. Would the big one kill the small one?

Pet world in Blanchardstown has them. I have actually seen alot of them around recently .

Demonique

Reptile Haven sometimes has ads up about turtles for rehoming

jen_23

leonardo6 wrote: »

Hi guys,

im looking for a yellow bellied terrapin about 3 inches in size as a companion for my current terrapin. ive been looking around pet shops but they only sell them as tiny little ones as nobody seems to want bigger ones, anyone have any ideas for me???

Alot of people who buy turts before realising they grow and don't neccessarily stay small and cute get rid of them once they grow and need more money and bigger tanks.
You could try taking out a pink pages add. You'd probably be quite successful. I often see people giving turts away.

Regardless of where you get the turt be sure to quarantine for a few days before adding into the tank to rule out any possible contagious infections it may have gotton from it's previous hime be it a pet shop or another owner.

ziggy23 wrote: »

hi

I had 2 a while back but gave them away unfortunately. I got them as small and they grew really really quick. Would the big one kill the small one?

Not neccessarily but larger turts are usually more dominant in a tank. They could prevent the smaller turts from eating food which would lead to seperating at feeding times to ensure both are being fed adeqautely.

The bigger turt could also nip and scratch the smaller guy leading sometimes to infections such as conjuntivitis or septicaemia. It's easier in my opinion to integrate turts of about the same size. less hassle

Chiaki

go to the reptilecommunity forum, alot of people are getting rid of their terrapins once they pass the cute pet shop stage and realise whats involved
try donedeal, the buy and sell etc. advertise in pet shops too
just make sure they are roughly the same size, an inch is too much of a gap! even if you have to see 4 or 5 different terrapins its better than a dead terrapin or a vet bill

ziggy23

I gave mine to someone who had a keen interest in them. Gave them the tank and heater and everything. They do smell the place out though don't they? I was cleaning the tank out every 2 days but my house still smelt like Dublin zoo. I remember goin to a house party once and the guy had 2 tiny terrapins in a tank no heater or nothing. He didnt even realise one of them was dead:mad: He ended up throwing me out of the house cos I would'nt stop goin on about how stupid he was!

Harris

I had 2 boarding with me and they only went home last sunday. The owner is looking to rehome them and they are bout 3 inches. You would have to take the 2 of them and the tank, lamp, heater, filter etc is all included.
PM me if you are interested. They were no trouble and def no smell off them. Much easier than turtles.
Cheers

P.S.- They are free with all the gear to a good home!

leonardo6

thanks everyone for getting back to me. ive been in and out of loads of pet shops in the past few weeks including blanch and reptile haven, they all sell the baby ones and complain that people bring them back when they are bigger, i really think they shouldnt be let sell them so small coz people buy them thinking they wont get any bigger alot of pet shops have told me people dump them in canals which is awful.

Ziggy23 i was the same as yourself when i first got mine i was cleaning him every 2 days but after researching them more i found out i was annoying him more than anything else and i got the filter for the tank and treatments for the water and now i only change it every few weeks and it doesnt smell at all.

Jen_23 thanks for the tip about quarantine i dont think i would have thought of that!!!!

jen_23

Ziggy you could also try doing 50% water changes on top of what leonardo said and get even a little longer out of it. Also remove hte tank from direct sunlight if you have it near direct sunlight - it promotes algae making it smell very bad.

We kept our guy away from windows and it never seemed to smell too bad and I slept in that room so definitly would have noticed

Leonardo I completely agree with you. In the US it's against the law to sell turts under 4" . To be honest the law is there for the wrong reason it's something to do with children and salmonella but atleast people know they are not tiny so does the job When Ireland catches up with the times maybe it'l happen

ziggy23

leonardo6 wrote: »

thanks everyone for getting back to me. ive been in and out of loads of pet shops in the past few weeks including blanch and reptile haven, they all sell the baby ones and complain that people bring them back when they are bigger, i really think they shouldnt be let sell them so small coz people buy them thinking they wont get any bigger alot of pet shops have told me people dump them in canals which is awful.

I agree with you there they don't give you much info on them at all and it's terrible in some of the petshops they have about 100 of them crammed into one tank the poor things:(
My bf got me the 1st one and was sold a little dish thing that your man in the petshop said you could keep him in it was tiny:eek: It's only when I did some research I realised you need a heated tank for them. Another reason I gave them away was the cat used to be plonked on top of the tank looking for some terrapin dinner!!