I want turtles. I've ALWAYS wanted turtles. I've tried to have turtles,
and no matter HOW turtle-proof I make my pond, they escape. So last
year I dug a small pond just for a turtle. It was not in an ideal place,
but it was better than nothing, and it was working pretty well. Except when
I cleaned it out this spring, there was no turtle! I can only imagine
something came and stole him, because there is NO WAY he could have gotten
out of this one.
So it's spring, my pond is looking good, but I still have no turtle. I
would really like him to be in my main, 4000 gallon pond, but I've given up
on trying that. So I'm thinking, try again to dig him his OWN pond, but
right next to the main pond so you can enjoy them both at the same time.
(hubby's just gonna love me digging up more of the yard! LOL) But I
really don't want to "connect" the two, as this would be a MAJOR
undertaking, AND, he'll find a way to get into the big pond and escape
again. So can I just dig a deep, steep-sided pond, with a nice dirt island
in the middle, with lots of plants, and NOT worry about pumping, filtering,
etc.? Lord knows I have enough of that stuff in the big pond. How dirty
would it get just to have a turtle or two in a designated pond?
Sue (did I mention I'm desperate to own turtles?)

Hi Sue,

I've had turtles in my 3,000 pond with 150 gallon stock tank filter. (Have one
at the moment.)
I also have an 800 gallon fishless bog next to it.
(not connected).
Every once in a while one of the turtles would go explore the bog.
Once I came across one of his leavings (turtle poo).

oh-my-gawd!
The stuff, hmmmm, it is beyond nasty.
And they seem to produce a lot of it... as older turtles tend to eat more
plants (think cow plop)
Now if you dug a BIG pond for them, how much yard do you say you have left?

My turtles would also explore the yard but we have a fence set in concrete and
kept them from going on walk-abouts.


k30a

On Sat, 17 May 2003 21:54:50 GMT, "Sue Alexandre"
wrote:

I want turtles. I've ALWAYS wanted turtles. I've tried to have turtles,
and no matter HOW turtle-proof I make my pond, they escape. So last
year I dug a small pond just for a turtle. It was not in an ideal place,
but it was better than nothing, and it was working pretty well. Except when
I cleaned it out this spring, there was no turtle! I can only imagine
something came and stole him, because there is NO WAY he could have gotten
out of this one.

Sue,
I kept two young red-ear sliders in a 50-gallon pre-formed pond for
over a year and they were fine. The sides were steep enough and I
made sure that the rocks around the edge hung over the side of the
pond a little to prevent escape. To keep them safe, I've heard that
depth is important, at least 2-1/2 feet. Supposedly critters won't
want to swim around in that depth. To be on the safe side, I made a
hiding place at the bottom of the pond consisting of an overturned
clay pot propped up on one side with a rock. I live in a mild winter
area (So. California) and they did hibernate until the water warmed up
a bit. Oh, for their basking area, I again used a huge pot upside
down and put a piece of slate on top and they loved it.

I've since moved to a new house and had to leave the little turtle
pond behind, so now my two guys are in a tank. I'll have to build
another little pond for them as soon as I finish with my first big
pond. I can't keep them in there because the new pond has a beach
area and they will escape for sure! Also, they really eat plants like
crazy.

Laura

Sue,

Two comments:

1) Just steep walls is not enough ... these critters can climb like the
best, even on near vertical surfaces...

I used a wooden frame around my turtle pond:

http://www.wide-o.net/various/turtlepond.jpg

The basking area is wood as well, and there is water underneath. I made a
"basket" in wood, put liner in that, then dirt, and put it on large rocks to
maximize the available water.

2) Sorry to say that not filtering is not an option :-( They poo and they
poo a lot LOL. Your water would have a white covering within days.
Turtles are just as picky about their water conditions as fish (if not more)
so you really need to aerate/filter. You really don't want a salmonella
breading place, so filtering is a must.

3) Make it deep enough in one spot so they can overwinter in the turtle
pond. (about 3 ft)

4) The pond should ideally be in the sunniest place in your garden, they
need the UV and warmth to grow/survive

5) Water plants... um... unless it grows faster than they can eat, don't
bother.

6) These things GROW at an alarming rate :-) so make it big enough

They are wonderful creatures (never knew they could sneeze until a few days
ago !) but they really need a good place to stay.

HTH,

Theo

"Sue Alexandre" schreef in bericht
...
I want turtles. I've ALWAYS wanted turtles. I've tried to have turtles,
and no matter HOW turtle-proof I make my pond, they escape.

a filterless turtle pond is a great way to genrate green water to feed daphnia.
i do it all the time. Try to start out with a baby yellow neck slider. he will
come to think of your pond as home and stay. Adult turtles will try to go back
home or to a larger body of water. Your main pond will do fine but you do know
the turtle might eat your fish or your plants, right?

Moon
remove nospam from e-mail to send to me, I grow trees in aquariums like bonsai.
I breed dwarf crayfish, great for planted community tanks. If you can get me a
shovelnose sturgeon fingerling (Scaphirhynchus platorynchus) no wild caught
please, contact me

real dirty turtles make a mess


http://community.webtv.net/rebeljoe/POND

On Mon, 19 May 2003 11:20:33 -0400 (EDT), (REBEL JOE)
wrote:

http://community.webtv.net/rebeljoe/POND

Joe, be sure and let us know when you start putting
spring pictures up on your website. ~ jan

See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

real dirty turtles make a mess

yeah, that's why i can grow daphnia in their water. a good filter is nesessary
to keep the water even close to clear.

Moon
remove nospam from e-mail to send to me, I grow trees in aquariums like bonsai.
I breed dwarf crayfish, great for planted community tanks. If you can get me a
shovelnose sturgeon fingerling (Scaphirhynchus platorynchus) no wild caught
please, contact me

I will post them after I get my bog and stream in. This wet weather
here has been a real pain. Darn yard won't dry enough for me to dig.
It's making me crazy.


http://community.webtv.net/rebeljoe/POND

Tell me about it, Joe! I took the day off from work again today because
they were predicting only a 30% chance of "showers". Well, it has been
raining, not showering, SINCE 7:30 a.m.!!! Here I sit with a trunk full
of new supplies from Home Depot and the day off from the office, and it
won't let up. I think I'm going to be rebellious and put on rain pants,
rain coat, hood, and go re-do the turtle pond anyway. Now's the time to
get it just the way I want it, NOT after it's been inhabited!
Sue

"REBEL JOE" wrote in message
...
I will post them after I get my bog and stream in. This wet weather
here has been a real pain. Darn yard won't dry enough for me to dig.
It's making me crazy.


http://community.webtv.net/rebeljoe/POND