Terrapin the size of dinner plate found at water plant

A red-eared terrapin has been rescued after it was found lounging in the sun at a water treatment plant.

The exotic animal was discovered by a Southern Water employee at Testwood Water Supply Works in Totton, Hampshire.

Terrapins are a popular pet in the UK, with many thought to have been bought and then dumped during the 1990s amid the popularity of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon series.

The reptile has since been re-homed at an animal sanctuary.

Senior ecologist Tom Alexander said he spotted the creature, which is native to North America, at one of Southern Water's river extraction sites.

“I saw the terrapin sunning itself at the edge of one of the water points," he said.

"I reached over and picked it up and the terrapin didn’t struggle at all."

Mr Alexander kept the animal, which he described as being about the size of a large dinner plate, in his bath at home.

"My children loved having him at home and named him Terry," he added.

The terrapin was eventually taken in by Raystede Centre for Animal Welfare in Sussex, where it was identified as female and re-named Terri.

It spent some time in an isolation unit where it was closely monitored by the charity's Small Animal Team, before being transferred into a terrapin sanctuary in time for hibernation season.

Terri will spend the rest of her life at Raystede, along with a number of other terrapins.

Amelia Thomas, the sanctuary's rehoming manager, said the animals were often bought as pets as they were small and relatively cheap.

"But there is woefully little information about how to keep them," she said.

"Many owners do not realise that terrapins grow into very large adults."

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