Terappin...

[Nick]

Just under a month ago my dad found this walking accross the garden:

He put it in the pond as we found out it was a red eared terrapin from looking on the internet so we put it in our pond but so far we cannot work out where it has come from. If it was one of our neighbours it would have had to have come a seriously long way say 200 metres. We contacted some terrapin sanctuary place nearby but they said it is fine in our pond so right now we are lumped with a new pet

My question is, does anyone know what these things like to eat? I gave it some apple earlier just before i took that picture but it ignored it haha.

 

[Peter.Cort]

probably like lettuce.

didja name it yet!?!?!?!

if ya didn't name it peter after me!

 

[atomic tofu]

terrapins are funky for turtles...or just because i'm a vegan...that said...the funkiness goes because the terrapins tend to be meat eaters...and can be pretty darn vicious. You are in england yes?

red eared slider - Red-eared slider - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Diet
Red-eared Sliders are omnivores and eat a variety of animal and plant materials in the wild including, but not limited to fish, crayfish, carrion, tadpoles, snails,and will eat other turtles, aquatic insects and numerous aquatic plant species. The captive diet for pet RES should closely match the natural diet and can also include other foods such as feeder fish, dead, thawed fuzzy mice, earthworms, cooked egg with the crumbled shell included and leafy greens. Commercial turtle foods should be used sparingly due to insufficient scientific research and vitamin and mineral imbalances. [5] Calcium (for shell health) can be supplemented by adding pieces of cuttlebone to the diet. Younger turtles tend to be more carnivorous (eat more animal protein) than adults do. As they grow larger and older, they become increasingly herbivorous. Live foods are particularly enjoyed and add to the quality of life of captive turtles. Providing a wide variety of foods is the key to success with captive RES.
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I saw a nature show, maybe Nat Geo...where some terrapins were hunting birds. They would wait, and rush the little bank to catch thirsty birds. I think they were an african variety. Ever since then, I have always remembered it...and how creepy the little terrapins can be.

 

[Nick]

probably like lettuce.

didja name it yet!?!?!?!

if ya didn't name it peter after me!

lol yes peter, it only emerges like once a week

and thanks for the link atomic, appreciate it

 

[Trotter]

All kinds of them around here. Gotta watch out for them when you're mowing the yard.

 

[Nick]

Haa cos in the UK they're only pets so it must have been somebodies but who's is the question, my mum reckons its been in the pond all the time we've lived here which is about 13 years and was left my the houses previous owners but i dont think that could be right cos we surely would have seen it before

 

[Peter.Cort]

turtles are pretty sneaky animals from time to time broski. haha. when i was with my grandparents visiting in florida we were mulching in the backyard, and there were some turtles laying eggs, so we didn't mulch that day or we would have gotten bit!

 

[Nick]

mulch.?

 

[Peter.Cort]

yeah. like bark mulch. keeps the ground from drying out and smells nasty!@

 

[Kharn]

Fertilizer.