my terrapins

[traceyd]

hi

i have inherited two yellow belly terrapins and although the set up is great and they are both ultra active and can be very funny, i don't know how old they are, can any one give me a guide or something. i would dare say that the shells are approx 12cm length.
thanks tracey

[Graham]

Size is a very unreliable indication of age, 12cm could be as little as a year, or maybe 4 or 5 years, possibly more, it all depends how they've been kept, what and how much they've been fed, how healthy they've been, and to an extent what sex they are.

Did the person you got them from give you no idea of their ages?

[traceyd]

thanks graham, to be honest from what i have heard they had not been kept well at all, when i got them they came with just a tank and a few rocks that was covered in green algee, i came to get them as my family have a household full of pets,and after hearing the history of them not been looked after properly i could't refuse.

It has been said that from what they were and what they are now the differance in amazining, both pepsi and cola are happy, alert ,and very active.

I now that the previous owners must have had them for approx 1yr and i have had them since december 2008 and can see they have grown but that probably down to them getting fed twice daily with the occasional snail or two

[Graham]

At their age they should be fed no more than every other day.

[NicolasB]

Originally Posted by Graham

At their age they should be fed no more than every other day.

Hi Graham,

just came across your post about the terrapins, you say to not feed them more than every other day? what age should that be from?

i have a YBS, which is about 10 months old now, and he is about 10cm! i have been feeding him every day since i got him, with his water at about 26C but havent had a basking spot. i am in the process of building him a new tank (750mm x 750mm x 200mmH) because he is getting too big for his existing tank and in the new tank i am installing a basking spot too.

any advice on how to slow him down a bit and prevent him from growing too quickly with out depriving him of his much loved food?! he is just too funny when he wants food and i cant resist feeding him!

thanks in advance for your help!

[Dean Cheetham]

You have to stay strong lol they will give you the sad puppy look although its hard you just have to not give into him/them lol.

[NicolasB]

at what age should they go to being fed every second day?

[Dean Cheetham]

erm i would say maybe 6 - 8 months of age but i could be wrong as i dont keep terrapins, im sure someone will answer correctly if i am wrong.

sorry i cant be much help to you.

[Dean Cheetham]

i just looked at the care sheet and it doesnt have it included in it so i couldnt even give you a link.

[Graham]

at what age should they go to being fed every second day?

You can start cutting down from about 6 months, letting them go a day a a week with no food, then a couple of days a week, until by 12 months they are only being fed every other day.

The amount and type of food is important too, an amount equivalent to the volume of the turt's head is an easy way to measure it, and this caresheet should give you an idea of what type of foods The Terrapin Tank • View topic - North American Sliders

10cm is not that big really for a turt of that age, they do grow very fast in their first year. You can reduce the water temp now too, at this time of year you can do without the water heater, but I would turn it down a degree or two every few days and then remove it when it no longer comes on.

A basking spot with the correct lighting and heating is absolutely essential and you need to provide this asap, YBS are a real basking species and will spend most of the day sunning themselves if they can, it's extremely important for young growing turts as a lack of UVB at this time can result in health problems that could stay with them for life.