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Other Questions
Tortoise, Terrapin & Turtle Questions
The Tortoise Trust and World Chelonia Trust both have excellent FAQs pages.
I want a lizard, what is the best lizard for a beginner?
Bearded Dragons and Leopard Geckos make ideal starter lizards.
Can't I just keep a terrapin in a little tank or bowl?
Despite what you may hear and what plenty of other people do, it is not appropriate for a terrapin to be kept in a little bowl or tank withought lighting or heating. Terrapins grow very big and require specialist lighting and heating arrangements in order to be kept healthy, and it can seem expensive. Many people visit our shop hoping to buy just a terrapin but usually one of two things happen:
1. They are unaware of a terrapin's requirements, and once aware, they buy all the appropriate equipment and have a happy healthy terrapin.
2. They are unaware of a terrapin's requirements and are unwilling to spend the money necessary to keep them correctly, and end up leaving the shop dissapointed and going elsewhere.
You can learn more about what your terrapin needs to thrive, and see what our Complete Terrapin Setup includes.
Don't terrapins stink?
Terrapins, like most other animals, can stink if routine maintenance is not performed or if incorrect equipment is used. Terrapins produce a lot of waste, a lot more than fish, so it is important for larger terrapins to have a filter that is at least the next size up from the one recommended for your tank size but ideally get an external canister filter to keep the water crystal clear. Our Terrapins Complete Setup includes a Fluval 4 Internal Powerfilter, my favourite internal filter on the market. However I would highly recommend purchasing an external cannister filter such as the Fluval FX5 You should clean your filter often and change 25% of the water at least once every 2 weeks and ideally weekly. The larger the volume of water, the easier it is to keep clean. I think this is why lots of people think that terrapins stink - they know someone who has kept them in a small tank that has had indadequate or non-existent filtration so they began to stink.
Can I keep fish with terrapins?
Although we have seen it done by some, we don't advise it as terrapins love to eat fish and will invariably chase a fish around a tank until it gets caught and eaten.
If you have any other questions, you can send an email to info@petzoo.co.uk.
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