What do diamondback terrapin turtles eat

Diamondback terrapin populations have declined considerably in many parts of their geographic range and are listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Terrapin populations fell to dangerously low levels in the 20th century after a long period of large-scale harvesting for their meat.

Commercial harvest of terrapins ended in Maryland in Other factors causing declines in terrapin populations include the loss of salt marsh habitat and destruction of nesting beaches due to waterfront development, road mortalities of nesting females, boat strikes, bycatch and continued legal commercial harvesting in one state.

Nesting terrapin females are vulnerable to predation by raccoons. Eggs and hatchlings are preyed upon by a wide variety of animals including crabs, crows, gulls, herons, rats, muskrats, foxes, raccoons, skunks and mink. Survival rates of nests and hatchlings are very low due to predation and flooding. As the National Aquarium's general curator, Jack Cover ensures that all animals in our care thrive in healthy, beautiful habitats.

The broad-shelled turtle can tuck its neck and head under the leading edge of its carapace, or upper shell. The green sea turtle gets its name not from the color of its shell but from the greenish shade of its fat.

This species was first discovered in the early s by Steve Irwin, the late Crocodile Hunter, and his father, Bob Irwin. A distinguishing feature of adult Kimberley snake-necked turtles is their very long chin barbels. Overview Diamondback terrapins are aquatic turtles with concentric, diamond-shaped markings and grooves on the scutes plates of their carapaces top shells , which range from medium gray or brown to nearly black.

A Note From the Caretaker Maryland requires all recreational crab pots to be equipped with turtle excluders to protect terrapins. Quick Facts Learn more about the diamondback terrapin! Meet the Expert Jack Cover As the National Aquarium's general curator, Jack Cover ensures that all animals in our care thrive in healthy, beautiful habitats.

Therefore, always reduce your likelihood of problems by not crowding Diamondback Terrapins and offer them plenty of clean, aerated water. Indoors, a basic setup in a large aquarium, tub, or stock tank will be sufficient to hold a pair or trio of adult diamondback terrapins. Add an efficient filtration system. Add a variety of floating and submerged aquatic plants to the terrapin enclosure.

In addition to helping keep the water clean and healthy, plants will add some variety to their diet. In much of their natural range, Diamondback Terrapins are found in brackish water. Therefore, many keepers add salt to their enclosures. Most keepers feel that Diamondback Terrapins raised in captivity do not require this raised salinity level, but we believe that some aquarium or marine salt helps.

Salinity prohibits or greatly reduces the growth of many types of bacteria. We add about one tablespoon per gallon for our Diamondback Terrapins' enclosures both inside and outside. These turtles love the sun! Basking is an important part of a Diamondback Terrapin's daily routine and sturdy basking sites should be available to babies, juveniles, and adults.

As carnivores most Diamondback Terrapins will readily accept any number of commercial turtle diets. There are seven different subspecies of the diamondback terrapin, according to where they are found:. Where can you find them in the wild? Researchers from Ohio University and Oregon State University tracked the movements of diamondback terrapins and found that adult females tend to go into deeper waters than adult males and juveniles. They also discovered that the bigger turtles were more inclined to spend time in deeper waters than the smaller ones.

Diamondback terrapins are highly sexually dimorphic , which means that the males and females often have distinct characteristics , making it easy to tell them apart. According to this study , male terrapins have narrower and smaller heads. They also have darker markings on their upper shells or carapace. Females, on the other hand, have narrow and short tails. Their vents are below an overhanging upper shell. Researchers J. Davenport and E-A. They can be very creative in finding and drinking even the smallest amount of freshwater.

If you give them fresh water, they can get rehydrated in less than 15 minutes. There are some interesting things that you should know about these aquatic turtles:. Now that you have a better understanding of how diamondback terrapins live in the wild, you can take better care of them as pets. The first thing that you should figure out when you start to care for diamondback terrapins at home is where to put them.

You can keep them inside the house or find an excellent spot in your yard to house your terrapins. This site , however, recommends outdoor housing for your terrapins.

While you can keep terrapins indoors, it is recommended that you keep them outside where you can set up a bigger housing for your turtles. These medium-sized turtles can grow a lot, especially the females, so it is best to give them enough space for when they get bigger. Outdoor setups will also reduce the need for you to keep a very large tank inside the house. However, if you are going to care for terrapins indoors, prepare a tank with at least 60 gallons. This will allow you to give your terrapins a lot of water to swim in.

They often leave scraps of their food floating in the water, which gets dirty and murky real quick. This happens even when you have excellent filtration systems. So you can just imagine the disadvantage of having to clean the tank inside the house. Terrapins also like big basking areas. Being aquatic turtles, terrapins benefit a lot from drying out. Allowing them to come out of the water will help prevent shell rot. Plus, basking sites are easy to create: you can use river or slate rocks, barks, and other materials.

Having a basking area outdoors means that your pets get to benefit from natural sunlight. Indoors, you will need a heat lamp to keep your terrapins healthy. The light from the sun or the heat lamp will supply your pets with the necessary vitamins and will help them synthesize calcium.

One downside of keeping your terrapins outside is that they have several predators that you need to guard them against , including several species of reptiles, fish, birds, and mammals. Some of the most common predators are raccoons, skunks, and foxes. Hatchlings are also often snatched by herons, crows, or gulls.

Apart from the tank, here are the things that you should have when you care for a diamondback terrapin:. Natural sunlight will help their shells grow faster and harder. Unlike most turtle species, terrapins can survive in full saltwater. Other turtles tend to avoid salt water and can only survive by not drinking or eating anything.

Diamond terrapins love salty water in the wild. Diamondback terrapins thrive in brackish or salinated water , so the most logical thing to do when you care for them at home is to house them in slightly salty water. However, some people do not like using brackish water for their aquarium set up. Fortunately, according to this Spruce Pets guide , you can keep them in freshwater provided that you monitor their health. Any sign of sickness, and you should switch to salty water. Brackish water represents the middle ground in salinity levels : it has more salt than freshwater but not as much salt as seawater.

The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation of the Government of West Australia shares the difference between freshwater, brackish water, and seawater by salinity. To prepare brackish water , you will need a slightly alkaline hard water with a pH level of 7. It should also have a specific gravity of around 1. By contrast, freshwater has a specific gravity of 1. Keeping the right pH level and specific gravity in mind, you can start creating a brackish water aquarium. Remember , do not add salt directly to your tank water.