Theo, I suggest you return the little bugger to his own pond and look for
the escape route. I have 3 RES. in a 60 gallon preformed with the water
level down 1.5 - 2 " to prevent escapes from happening. RES. can be
omnivorous, but generally are carnivorous as juveniles and become
herbivorous as they grow older. Ours live by themselves because the female
who was by herself in the big pond created "turtle hell" this spring. She
bit-off all of the water poppy's leaves, dipped potted plants over. And all
the turtle poo she made... (didn't find out just how much till she was
housed by herself.) She moved rocks at the base of the waterfalls digging.
She got out twice. One time she managed to get into the swimming pool (its a
salt pool.) The other time we don't know how long she was out but don't
think it was more than a couple of hours she was found tucked into some
verbena that grows under this tree beside the now two ponds. Luckily for
her the weather was only around 95'F but as we are in Phoenix, Arizona we
put in the other pond for her and then.... I ended up with two male RES.
from the pet store/nursery when I went in to buy more turtle food and see if
he had any water celery (and no he doesn't has never carried it.) I asked
about them casually with no thought of buying any more turtles, but the
owner offered me the one turtle for $10 USD, and I said no...( they wanted
$15 for them on the sign.) He then said that they were going to stop
carrying turtles for the season as they didn't seem to be selling well. We
talked about the incident with the female that I had and he jokingly said
that if I had gone to that much work for one it would be cool with three....
(see where this is going) So I bought the food and some other plants for
the garden and was standing at the checkout. The owner walks up with one of
the turtles in hand... he said " are sure you don't want a new turtle, for
only $10...???" With that he placed the turtle on the counter.... I looked
it over and didn't see any parasites or diseases that were obvious, so I
said "OK" That turtle was taken behind the counter by the owner to go and
placed in a box.... ( I should have gotten suspicious....) I paid for the
food and the "new" turtle and left for home... I stopped at a convenience
store for a soda. As I was sitting at the store taking that first sip of
the soda, I opened the box like a little kid.... There were two turtles in
the box!!! I laughed... taking my new pond pals home to their piece of the
planet. I put the two males in with the female and they now all do their
turtle thing together... (boy they poo a lot... lol lol) But the research
that I did on turtles and their diets is that it might be alright in the
pond.... but more than likely the turtle will be lacking in a good healthy
diet for a captive animal to remain healthy and disease free. Being in the
pond also makes it impossible to inspect them for any parasites and/or
cracks or damage to the shells. With the turtles in their own pond and to
keep your pond free of the possibility of salmonella poisoning.


btw... is that a male RES.?


Regards, Jon Nyhus


"Theo van Daele" wrote in message
...
2 weeks ago I was watching the fish, and suddenly saw a rather funny head
appear at the waterline. You know when the mind goes "wait a minute,
something wrong with this picture" and then slowly you understand what
happened... one of the smaller turtles had managed to escape from the
turtle
pond (don't ask me how !) and wander over to the big pond.

Tried to catch it, but couldn't, and after that I hadn't seen it for a
while


Today I suddenly saw it basking at the edge of the big pond:

http://www.wide-o.net/summerpond2003/escaped_turtle.jpg

My question: should I try to catch him (and ruin his summer) or should I
just leave him alone.

Things that speak for taking him back:

. he has been naughty !
. it's not possible to feed him with turtle food, as the koi would eat it
before it hits the water
. they have been known to take a bite out of a fish
. his friends might miss him ;-)

But :

. the little guy managed to get there all on his own, and that deserves
respect
. I know a few ponds where koi & turtles live happily together
. he might take part in the fry control
. I don't think I can catch him anyway
. he will be scared for months probably when I do manage to catch him
. it's quick enough to stay clear of cats (and me)

Should he stay or should he go ? Your votes please :-)

Theo