Baby Diamondback Terrapin shell questions.

[Loops117]

Hello all. This is my first DBT, and i've been worried.

CB Diamond Back Terrapin
10g tank.
Floating basking log
75w swamp basking bulb.
LED UV light.
water temps are always between 74-76 f.
Fully fresh water, no salt added.

I have been madly and frantically searching google for baby terrapins and shell rot. This doesnt look like other aquatic turtle shell rot.
I did however read about a baby RES having a similar issue, and it was nothing to worry about. Apparently baby aquatic turtles form their first layers of skin and shed differently then their 2nd, 3rd, and so forth.
So what im hoping is exactly that, my little fella is just shedding, and it looks totally different then my darker colored turtles.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

[Yvonne G]

I'm not a water turtle person, however, I DO know that the diamond back terrapins require brackish water to thrive. Can they live in regular water, yes, but do they thrive? No.

@Markw84

 

[Tom]

I'm not a water turtle person, however, I DO know that the diamond back terrapins require brackish water to thrive. Can they live in regular water, yes, but do they thrive? No.

@Markw84

Ditto for me.

And @Loops117 ? There is no LED that makes UV. Are you sure its not a cfl or MVB. Compact florescent lamp, or mercury vapor bulb?

 

[Loops117]

I'm not a water turtle person, however, I DO know that the diamond back terrapins require brackish water to thrive. Can they live in regular water, yes, but do they thrive? No.

@Markw84

Oh man. Ive been reading a lot about these guys since before i made my purchase. I read that wild caught terrapins require Brackish at the minimum, while CB babies can be introduced to fresh from birth, and wont require brackish for the duration of their life. I also contacted other terrapin owners (On Instagram), and i've yet to talk to any that keep their CB terrapins in brackish water. I used both my research, and p2p information to decide my terrapins water conditions.

However, I have considered giving my terrapin brackish, or even salt water baths on occasion for health. I have not done so yet for i feel introducing salt may require me to constantly use salt in the future. Its not that i dont want to, but i dont want to introduce my turtle to conditions he/she may not require. I have other turtles in a large setup that im hoping to eventually move my terrapin to.

 

[Markw84]

I agree with Yvonne - you will not get a nice looking shell and constantly fight skin fungus and shell rot without brackish water. What I see in the picture is the way the scutes tend to look when in fresh water. Also, most young turtles will often not shed for 1-2 years until they get larger. I know you will see lots of people selling diamondback terrapins swearing they can adapt to fresh water. I've tried for years. They do not. Why is there no native populations of diamondbacks throughout their huge range that have populated fresh water habitats? There are countless opportunities and locations over the past milleniums for them to access great habitats of fresh water just inland from where they occur. But not one population exists in fresh water in the wild.

Also, there is no LED commercially available that emits UVB - the portion of the UV spectrum required to synthesize vitamin D3. So you do not have a UVB bulb.

 

[Loops117]

Ditto for me.

And @Loops117 ? There is no LED that makes UV. Are you sure its not a cfl or MVB. Compact florescent lamp, or mercury vapor bulb?

You are correct. It was my mistake for even saying that. It was used to grow plants for my paludarium.

I agree with Yvonne - you will not get a nice looking shell and constantly fight skin fungus and shell rot without brackish water. What I see in the picture is the way the scutes tend to look when in fresh water. Also, most young turtles will often not shed for 1-2 years until they get larger. I know you will see lots of people selling diamondback terrapins swearing they can adapt to fresh water. I've tried for years. They do not. Why is there no native populations of diamondbacks throughout their huge range that have populated fresh water habitats? There are countless opportunities and locations over the past milleniums for them to access great habitats of fresh water just inland from where they occur. But not one population exists in fresh water in the wild.

Also, there is no LED commercially available that emits UVB - the portion of the UV spectrum required to synthesize vitamin D3. So you do not have a UVB bulb.

Very helpful realization there. Pointing out that they've had the chance, but never naturally moved to fresh puts all of this in to better perspective.
Is it possible to give my terrapin baths in brackish, or salt water to help? Or will this need to be a full time switch. This puts a big dampener in my future turtle tank dreams, but a good eye opener. I appreciate it.

As for the LED UV bulb, this was my mistake. I use a series of lights to grow plants for my paludarium, and i often forget which lights/bulbs do which. Its good to know ive had the wrong supplemental lights with my basking bulbs.

 

[Markw84]

You are correct. It was my mistake for even saying that. It was used to grow plants for my paludarium.





Very helpful realization there. Pointing out that they've had the chance, but never naturally moved to fresh puts all of this in to better perspective.
Is it possible to give my terrapin baths in brackish, or salt water to help? Or will this need to be a full time switch. This puts a big dampener in my future turtle tank dreams, but a good eye opener. I appreciate it.

As for the LED UV bulb, this was my mistake. I use a series of lights to grow plants for my paludarium, and i often forget which lights/bulbs do which. Its good to know ive had the wrong supplemental lights with my basking bulbs.

Yes, I have seen keepers that give time in a brackish tank, but have them live and feed in fresh water. That can be done. I do not know the details of timing. Perhaps one day a week of several hours in brackish.

 

[turtlesteve]

Persistent shell infections were the trigger that ultimately led me giving up on aquatic turtles years ago. Map turtles (which are related to diamondback terrapins) were my favorite, but also most susceptible to this kind of infection. At the time I tried all manner of anti-fungal treatments but never cured it, I only was able to manage it. I am convinced it is fundamentally a water quality issue and it's almost impossible to get the water "clean enough" in an artificial enclosure, short of changing it continuously. It is effectively managed by basking in sunlight, but in my situation it recurred seasonally when the turtles bask less in winter.

Years later I finally found something that worked - acriflavine, used to treat the entire tank with the turtle included. This is the only thing I have seen completely and permanently cure infection in a map turtle. But, be warned, it stains everything it touches including aquarium silicone, your hands, the turtle, etc.

I would try the brackish water first though, since it's appropriate for diamondbacks anyways.

Note also that the shell can remain discolored even after the infection is cured, but the discoloration will not spread or get any worse. The shell won't look perfect until the turtle grows for a year and sheds.

Steve