JackClark

One's appeared in my house and I'm not sure what to do with it.

Dougster.

Put it in the soup!

RaZe-=Buzz=-

a few turtle heads have appeared in my bathroom before..Ive always flushed them away

Sure its a turtle??

uncle buck

had a terrapin as a child lively little bu@@er it was Till a rock fell on it

Chelsie-Bun

make nice pets, but bite so watch it.

chel xxx

jameswrx

iTrader: (4)

Is that the RS Turtle?

boxst

Hello

They are an extremely good source of salmonelia. If you touch it, make sure you wash your hands thoroughly.

When I was in Hong Kong, I had the pleasure of watching someone "deshell" one in 5 seconds (i.e. before I could turn my head). Urrrgggggghhh...

Steve.

JamieMacdonald

Probably a terrapin, we found one and thought it was a tortoise so put it in a box of straw and tried to feed it carrots!
When it was at death's door we discovered it was actually a terrapin and got it an aquarium and some meal worms to eat (live ).
Terrapins have claws instead of fins like a turtle, and usually red marks weither side of their head. We gave ours away to a sanctuary as it kept biting us!

J

EvilBevel

Jack, I have four of the buggers in my garden.

As been said already, salmonella is a real risk, so clean/wash after handling them.

Only pick them up from behind, not the sides, as their neck is quite long/flexible and they can bite.

If it's still small, expect it to grow very very fast. An aquarium is OK when they are still young, but soon will become way too small. Make sure you have a basking light/dry place as well - they die without sunlight and they rot away if they can't leave the water. They also make a bloody mess (white **** ), so make sure the filter is cleaned often, and weekly water changes are a must as well.

They need special food as well, look for special turtle food.

I have a 4 ft deep pond built especially for them as they need that depth to shelter for the winter. It has a dry part so they can bask in the sun, and pretty high walls as they are excellent climbers. Filters, oxygen stones etc... are all a must really.
Depending on what type it is, they can / can not survive our winters.

They are reptiles, so don't expect hugs & kisses... they may get "used" to you, but they will never be "pets".

So unless you are prepared to go through all that, you'd probably be better off trying to find a good home for it.

And no, I'm not a volunteer

HTH

Edit: forgot to say, perhaps ask around in your neighbourhood if someone lost it ?

[Edited by EvilBevel - 10/22/2002 8:38:35 AM]

ProperCharlie

I had three when I was a kid. Bought them at the size of old 10p peice. 3 years later they were the size of dinner plates. They need a lot of space and are hard to get rid err, I mean find homes for when they are grown up. I had to take mine to an animal sanctuary when I went to university. I kinda liked the noisey b*ggers, but really they are not very suitable pets. Tropical fish much more soothing.

Charlie

Dave T-S

Jack
If it's a snapper, prepare to lose a finger or two

Nasty little ba$tards, probably the best way to deal with it is to hurl it as many gardens as you can across your back fence...that'll sort it

JackClark

It's a yellow belly and I bought it. Appeared in my bedroom is my excuse! He's not eating at the moment and is a bit scared but I've read this is normal for a house move. He has a large tank with a dry area that's heated and filtered. Putting him outside would be great but I'm not sure if he's up for it. Still convincing myself I've done the right thing.

EvilBevel

ROFL ! I was gonna say that's what the previous owner did, but it appears Jack bought it

Best to leave it inside for a year if you already have the aquarium in place.

Then start digging

JackClark

The Turtle Toss is still an option.