Meet The Terrapins

 

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The terrapins live as a group now housed in summerhouse with a light and radiator. I have had my first for eighteen years. Some have been in very poor condition when they arrived whereas others have been quite well looked after. They suffered from the Ninja Turtle craze and were then abandoned when the novelty wore off. They are a constant headache because if they are Not kept warm and clean they refuse to eat! Their favourite food is smoked ham or salmon or fish fingers (especially the batter!)

I have to say out of all the animals I take in the terrapins are possible the most worrying as they take a lot of time because they have to be kept clean and warm otherwise they will not eat! They also in general come from the most caring owners who donate sufficient funds for their keep for some time to come and often keep up with their progress over time. The problem people did not consider when they take these animals on is how long they can live for. Borris who was in such terrible condition when I acquired her, (yes her I did not find this out until she was severely ill years after I had her and had got used to calling her Borris!) is now at least in to her 30’s and Pip is over 40!!!!

 

Pip  - He was kept on his own in a small tank for nearly twenty years. He had a near miss when I had only owned him a few years and he fell in some bleach while I was cleaning him out at the same time as cleaning all the surfaces. I put milk all over him and phoned the vet but luckily he seemed unharmed and I never used bleach anywhere near an animal again!
Borris – She was kept on her own in filthy water, in very bad health with vitamin deficiencies and a soft shell which twenty years later has only just begun to improve. I only found out that she was a she when she went into a coma when I was on one of my few holidays and her carer hadn’t realised how important it was for terrapins to be kept warm. She was at the vets for weeks and wouldn’t eat so I brought her home to be with Molecule who was missing her to have her put down. She perked up incredibly much to everyone’s amazement and over ten years later is still going strong!
Molecule – He was found abandoned in a tomato plant! He was the size of a fifty pence piece at the time but soon made up his growth. He once went into the vets for a check up and my Jack Russell mistakenly thought he was a stone while we were travelling and picked him up with which he bit her. She was quite shocked but he seemed unbothered. He is now one of the biggest of the group
Watford – Her name is not that original but she came with none! Two came from Watford as their owner was tired of them, sadly the other one had an abscess which needed operating on and she died under the anaesthetic. So far I have only lost two terrapins even though I had a rather steep learning curve to over – come when I first was given two nearly twenty years ago now.
Timmy – He  I have a feeling he is a she but I am not good at judging!) came from a nearby village and his owner was bored of him and he had been kept on his own also.
Joshua – His owner felt she ‘didn’t have the time for him’, he had been kept on his own in a tank and I have never seen such a reaction from a terrapin when put in my enormous tank with the others, he formed an immediate attachment to one and followed her around continually for days, she later laid some eggs! I am assuming therefore that he is indeed male!
Gonk – he had also been kept on his own and his owners felt they ‘didn’t have the time for him’ He proved very difficult to take a photo of as on dry land he wouldn’t come out of his shell and in the water I got some strange reflections so excuse the picture until I get a better one!

Funny 1 & 2 – I am hoping to find out what breed these two chaps are as I have not seen the like before I just know they are not Red eared like the others. I was concerned about them initially as they kept away from the others all the time and one seemed to get a vitamin deficiency over the winter. Thankfully they now seem to have settled in and will even climb on top of the others to get nearer to the heat lamp! One has a ridge along their back so I am wondering whether one is male and one female. Any experts out there could perhaps give me some information on them!
Three lads The Boss, The Manager and The Deputy – These chaps came from a man who had kept them at his office and he had sold the business and couldn’t take them home. They had I gather had a large tank and I need to be careful now that I do not get them over – crowded but they seem to settle in very well.