Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi anyone got any maps what kind of tank set up are you looking at temp? food? logs? moss?. Any help at all will be appreciated
Andy

They do well when set up the same as sliders. They do tend to be a bit more sensitive so you will need to keep your water clean.
Mine feed well on Krill, scallops, cocktail shrimp, crickets. They take minnows once in a while and will even eat leafy greens (dandelion, escarole, chicory, turnip greens). I find that my males tend to eat the greens more than the females.

Males stay fairly small in all species and Texas map females don't get that large either.

Plan on a 55 gallon tank as the smallest size. Provide good filtration (I use Filstar canister filters. They are reasonably affordable and one of the easier canisters to work with). Also provide a basking ramp, UVB light source and heat source for the basking area (as well as a tank heater).

I use mercury vapor bulbs (Mega- Ray bulbs) in a CERAMIC light fixture for the basking area. This provided UVB and heat all in one bulb rather than messing with two fixture.

Temps are same as sliders (water 72-75) basking (85 to 90 degrees).

Hope this helps.

Steve

Steve,

Do you have an issue with the big females having an overgrowth of the beak and hard pallete? I had a big female Miss. map recently that had to have some work on the inside of her mandible because she wasn't eating enough hard foods in captivity. Seems the females eat a lot of snails and freshwater molusks in the wild, similar to terrapins, and my latest vet, Dr. Boyd, says he sees this problem often in captive terrapins.

Katrina
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1.2 Eastern Muds - Fred, Ethel, Edith
0.1 Iguana - Tiffel
0.1 Bearded Dragon - Foster
Foster turtles: More than I'd like the husband to know about.

Not really Katrina -

I have two female Texas Maps. Their beaks aren't overly grown at all. They do have access to snails in their outside pond during the warmer months perhaps that keeps things in check.

Steve

Steve,

The Miss map I had, had a build up of (calcium, plaque?) just INSIDE of the beak on the mandible, so that it pressed on the roof of the mouth, and she couldn't close her mouth completely. There was a mound on each side of the jaw, just inside the mouth. I look for this now whenever I get in terrapins, to help determine if it was a CB/LTC or recent wild-caught.

Katrina
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1.2 Eastern Muds - Fred, Ethel, Edith
0.1 Iguana - Tiffel
0.1 Bearded Dragon - Foster
Foster turtles: More than I'd like the husband to know about.

I'll have to monitor all the "meat market" terrapins that I have here. One has actually been a LTC (21 years) before I got her. She was kept in a 10 gallon tank in an inch of filthy brown water for all those years. Her shell bares many scares as a testament to to the poor living conditions and she did have to learn how to swim when I got her (have had her for 2 years now). BUT her beak is completely normal. This is very interesting though and I will monitor all of them and see if I find this condition beginning to develop with the terrapins or my 4 maps. Thanks for the info.

Steve

PLEASE note that the overgrowth of the crushing pads inside the mouth of large females is NOT calcium, but is the same keratin that makes up the beak. I took my Texas map in for a "plate reduction", courtesy of my animal-loving dentist, and, although he used a scaling tool, he stated that the stuctures were VERY delicate and easily damaged.

Please note that the overgrowth of the crushing pads in the mouths of females is NOT calcium, but the same keratin that makes up the beak. I took my Texas map in for a "plate reduction " by my animal-loving dentist, and, although he used a scaling tool, he stated that the stuctures were very delicate and easily damaged

Thank you for the proper terminology. I didn't think it was calcium, but I didn't have the proper terms to describe it. I'm lucky to have four or five different herp vets in my area, and I've used four of them regularly, depending on what needs to be done, how urgent it is, what my schedule looks like, and how experienced the vet is. Dr. Boyd in Baltimore has extensive experience, and he's been a vet for a licensed reptiles rehabber over the years, as well as working with the state on wildlife confiscation cases, so I trust him very much. I don't know if I'd trust the procedure with a less experienced vet. Dr. Gold in Abingdon, MD, is another one that I would trust to do the procedure.

Katrina
-----
1.2 Eastern Muds - Fred, Ethel, Edith
0.1 Iguana - Tiffel
0.1 Bearded Dragon - Foster
Foster turtles: More than I'd like the husband to know about.