Couple rescue freshwater terrapin seen swimming in sea

The freshwater terrapin after its rescue Credit: Blue Reef Aquarium

A freshwater terrapin has been rescued by a Portsmouth couple after they spotted it swimming in the Solent.

The pair saw the yellow-bellied terrapin, who has been named ‘Salty’, while out walking their new puppy on Southsea beach near the Royal Marines Museum.

Realising it was in difficulty Mark and Judy Murray, who live in Southsea, managed to wade out and rescue it.

“It was only about two metres off the beach and although it was swimming it did not look at all comfortable,” said Mark.

“I knew it wasn’t a sea turtle and we couldn’t work out why it was in the Solent at all,” he added.

The couple contacted aquarists at the nearby Blue Reef Aquarium who were able to re-home it.

Blue Reef’s Jenna MacFarlane said: “At first we thought it could have been a sea turtle that had stranded but it soon became clear it was actually a freshwater turtle and had almost certainly been dumped in the sea by someone.

“Despite his ordeal he actually appears to be in pretty good condition, although he would certainly had died if the Murrays had not been there to rescue him.

“A combination of the saltwater and the cold would have killed him very quickly.

"Sadly, we get several calls a week from people looking to rehome unwanted exotic pets and we usually have to say ‘no’ as we simply don’t have the space.

“However we felt it was only fair to make an exception in this case and ‘Salty’ is currently being looked after at the aquarium,” she added.

The poor terrapin was in difficulty when it was rescued Credit: Blue Reef Aquarium

Yellow-bellied terrapins get their name from the mostly yellow bottom shell. The species is also known as ‘sliders’ due to their ability to slide off rocks and logs and into the water quickly.

Freshwater turtles and terrapins remain popular pets and often measure only a few centimetres across when they are first purchased. Within a few short years however they can reach 30cms or more and that’s when people start abandoning them.

Many of the country’s lakes have become dumping grounds for exotic reptiles and amphibians and that is posing a potential threat to native species of wildlife which simply can’t cope with sharing their habitat with these aggressive invaders.