A moderately large Turtle has entered my pond.

Will it eat my Gold Fish? How can I get rid of it? I tried netting it but
every time I approach the pond it dives for the bottom and I can't see it to
net it.

After I get rid of it how do I keep Turtles out?
--
Bill Mech

You really can't keep turtles out unless you fence your pond securely. They can
get into and out of stuff we don't expect them to.

What you don't want in your pond is a snapping turtle. Snappers have pointed
beaks and longer tails than 'regular' turtles.

Younger turtles will eat fish. Older turtles will eat plants more often. You
can provide a turtle with his own chow in a place where the fish can't reach.

How large is your pond?
The larger the pond the easier it is to support turtles. A small pond will
suffer from the additional waste.
Mine is 3,000 gallons and supported two turtles.

About the easiest, but time consuming, way to remove a turtle us to drain the
pond. You can do cleaning, dividing and other maintenance at the same time.
You can take the turtle to a nearby natural watery habitat.





k30a

P.S. :-)

Found these sites tucked away. Not sure if they are working as my computer does
not want to hook up with the web too easily this morning.
And not sure if they are lethal. Turtles need help surviving so I would advise
trying to capture and release before lethal methods are used.
Hope these links work for you.

commercial turtle trap
http://www.texastastes.com/p239.htm

homemade turtle trap
http://www.chelydra.org/


k30a

Bill wrote:
A moderately large Turtle has entered my pond.

Will it eat my Gold Fish? How can I get rid of it? I tried netting it but
every time I approach the pond it dives for the bottom and I can't see it to
net it.

After I get rid of it how do I keep Turtles out?

Do you know what type of turtle? If it's a snapper
BE CAREFUL! My son and his friend use to catch them
by putting a stick near the mouth. If the stick was
strong enough when the snapper bit the stick they
could then lift it.
Be warned - they can take off fingers and toes! Any
other types, I wouldn't worry about, in fact I'd like
to have one.

--
Bonnie
NJ
http://home.earthlink.net/~maebe43/

Did anyone see on the news last night (forget which network) where a
snapping turtle is on loan to a zoo in Wisconsin (?) for the summer? I think
they said it weighs about 168 lbs. and is estimated to be 200 years old! And
yes, he was still feisty!

Lee

"Bill" wrote in message
news
A moderately large Turtle has entered my pond.

Will it eat my Gold Fish? How can I get rid of it? I tried netting it
but
every time I approach the pond it dives for the bottom and I can't see it
to
net it.

After I get rid of it how do I keep Turtles out?
--
Bill Mech

OK, I just "had" to find it in print somewhere for y'all:

http://tinyurl.com/gcru

His name is - appropriately enough - Crunch.

Lee

"Lee Brouillet" wrote in message
...
Did anyone see on the news last night (forget which network) where a
snapping turtle is on loan to a zoo in Wisconsin (?) for the summer? I
think
they said it weighs about 168 lbs. and is estimated to be 200 years old!
And
yes, he was still feisty!

Lee

"Bill" wrote in message
news
A moderately large Turtle has entered my pond.

Will it eat my Gold Fish? How can I get rid of it? I tried netting it
but
every time I approach the pond it dives for the bottom and I can't see
it
to
net it.

After I get rid of it how do I keep Turtles out?
--
Bill Mech

Lee Brouillet wrote:
Did anyone see on the news last night (forget which network) where a
snapping turtle is on loan to a zoo in Wisconsin (?) for the summer? I think
they said it weighs about 168 lbs. and is estimated to be 200 years old! And
yes, he was still feisty!

Lee


a snappin turtle bigger than I am my god!!!!!!!

John Rutz
Z5 New Mexico

never miss a good oportunity to shut up

see my pond at:

http://www.fuerjefe.com

John Rutz wrote:


Lee Brouillet wrote:

Did anyone see on the news last night (forget which network) where a
snapping turtle is on loan to a zoo in Wisconsin (?) for the summer? I
think
they said it weighs about 168 lbs. and is estimated to be 200 years
old! And
yes, he was still feisty!

Lee


a snappin turtle bigger than I am my god!!!!!!!

John Rutz
Z5 New Mexico

never miss a good oportunity to shut up

see my pond at:

http://www.fuerjefe.com


Older too!

--
Bonnie
NJ
http://home.earthlink.net/~maebe43/

Did anyone see on the news last night (forget which network) where a
snapping turtle is on loan to a zoo in Wisconsin (?) for the summer? I think
they said it weighs about 168 lbs. and is estimated to be 200 years old! And
yes, he was still feisty!

Lee

"Bill" wrote in message
news
A moderately large Turtle has entered my pond.

Will it eat my Gold Fish? How can I get rid of it? I tried netting it
but
every time I approach the pond it dives for the bottom and I can't see it
to
net it.

After I get rid of it how do I keep Turtles out?
--
Bill Mech

OK, I just "had" to find it in print somewhere for y'all:

http://tinyurl.com/gcru

His name is - appropriately enough - Crunch.

Lee

"Lee Brouillet" wrote in message
...
Did anyone see on the news last night (forget which network) where a
snapping turtle is on loan to a zoo in Wisconsin (?) for the summer? I
think
they said it weighs about 168 lbs. and is estimated to be 200 years old!
And
yes, he was still feisty!

Lee

"Bill" wrote in message
news
A moderately large Turtle has entered my pond.

Will it eat my Gold Fish? How can I get rid of it? I tried netting it
but
every time I approach the pond it dives for the bottom and I can't see
it
to
net it.

After I get rid of it how do I keep Turtles out?
--
Bill Mech

Lee Brouillet wrote:
Did anyone see on the news last night (forget which network) where a
snapping turtle is on loan to a zoo in Wisconsin (?) for the summer? I think
they said it weighs about 168 lbs. and is estimated to be 200 years old! And
yes, he was still feisty!

Lee


a snappin turtle bigger than I am my god!!!!!!!

John Rutz
Z5 New Mexico

never miss a good oportunity to shut up

see my pond at:

http://www.fuerjefe.com

John Rutz wrote:


Lee Brouillet wrote:

Did anyone see on the news last night (forget which network) where a
snapping turtle is on loan to a zoo in Wisconsin (?) for the summer? I
think
they said it weighs about 168 lbs. and is estimated to be 200 years
old! And
yes, he was still feisty!

Lee


a snappin turtle bigger than I am my god!!!!!!!

John Rutz
Z5 New Mexico

never miss a good oportunity to shut up

see my pond at:

http://www.fuerjefe.com


Older too!

--
Bonnie
NJ
http://home.earthlink.net/~maebe43/

An alligator snapper perhaps? I have a baby one. They are the largest fresh
water turtle in north america (maybe the world?).



Sam

"Lee Brouillet" wrote in message
...
Did anyone see on the news last night (forget which network) where a
snapping turtle is on loan to a zoo in Wisconsin (?) for the summer? I
think
they said it weighs about 168 lbs. and is estimated to be 200 years old!
And
yes, he was still feisty!

Lee

"Bill" wrote in message
news
A moderately large Turtle has entered my pond.

Will it eat my Gold Fish? How can I get rid of it? I tried netting it
but
every time I approach the pond it dives for the bottom and I can't see
it
to
net it.

After I get rid of it how do I keep Turtles out?
--
Bill Mech

i saw that!
mad
--
) ( ) (
/ \
)\ _---_ /(
/ O O \
_ \ / _
------/_\------(_)------/_\----

From: "Lee Brouillet"
Newsgroups: rec.ponds
Date: 8 Jul 2003 15:11:14 -0500
Subject: Turtle in pond

Did anyone see on the news last night (forget which network) where a
snapping turtle is on loan to a zoo in Wisconsin (?) for the summer? I think
they said it weighs about 168 lbs. and is estimated to be 200 years old! And
yes, he was still feisty!

Lee

"Bill" wrote in message
news
A moderately large Turtle has entered my pond.

Will it eat my Gold Fish? How can I get rid of it? I tried netting it
but
every time I approach the pond it dives for the bottom and I can't see it
to
net it.

After I get rid of it how do I keep Turtles out?
--
Bill Mech








-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
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Once upon a time I put a quarter size snapping turtle in an aquarium,
which had some squiffy little scavenger fish and a pleco... in the
year that it took to outgrow the aquarium becoming about a foot long,
it never bothered a single fish.

I dare say it would have scoffed a dead one floating around, it sure
had an aggressive appetite, it seems active perky fish just dont
interest a turtle, being faster and more maneuverable, in water

Snapping turtles are quite shy critters, moving very slow and careful
a lot of the time, the only damage I'd expect from them is if they
found a tasty crate of water lilies to chobble on

You could try spotting where the turtle is, and getting in the habit
of dropping a tasty morsel in a regular place so it becomes docile to
your visits... as you throw a few chicken tid bits in, see if it pays
any attention to the fish that that come along to snatch a snack...
I'll bet the turtle quite often looks pathetic, as fish dash off with
his morsels...

Table scraps of chicken and beef will go a long way to feeding and
taking the edge off the appetite of a rapidly growing turtle, perhaps
a submerged mesh of chicken wire submerged may deter the little fella
from his favorite fresh salad snacks...

While they are at the tiny stage freshwater turtles are fabulous
residents in all but the smallest pond.

Between the snails, tadpoles, worms, crickets that can crowd a pond
they will 'even out' the excesses that nature provides and do it with
great appeal, a regular tidbit of chicken, beef or worm might even get
them to be quite tame, take care to only put in what the turtle can
finish so no scraps end up going off.

After about the 6" stage, the turtle is getting up to a size which can
ding things a bit much, when your favorite waterlily is starting to
suffer, you may want to think in terms of sending them for a long
holiday on your favorite local lake, assuming its a native species

The stage at which the turtle becomes a problem depends mostly on the
size of your pond and how vulnerable your plants are. If you have
heavily planted ponds twenty foot or so in size you would hardly be
bothered by a one foot long turtle, while a little preformed tub would
soon show signs of plants being pecked at and the water going a bit
'niffy'

While most fish are safe from turtles, there's always the day when
their appetite is perky and they can be tempted to peck a fin I dare
say... If ever you hear of a turtle chomping on a fish, odds on that
fish had died or was crippled anyway....

Most turtles are smart enough to let fish grow bigger and die
naturally, before they take advantage... Aggression in turtles is
usually limited to live stuff that fits in their mouth easy... in most
well stocked ponds there are ample tidbits to keep the less than six
inch turtle well fed.

Right now I have a one foot snapper ambling about, almost impossible
to find most of the time among ponds where unknown numbers of intsy
wintsy little yellow belly hatchlings barely an inch long scuttle...
the only noticeable effect they seem to have is the small frogs are
definitely trigger happy at jumping and once in a while a water lily
crown gets levelled when the mr. snapper decides it's salad for supper
day

I get turtles turning up here, whether I like it or not. I still have
yet to find the snapper that levelled two baskets of water lilies last
year, I saw it once and never again, its head maybe 2" wide. I ended
up making a turtle trap with a one way gate so I can catch th eturtles
easy now and relocate them to quiet state park lakes in good
condition. First time out, it caught a 9" x 6.5" yellow bellied
turtle, next, the snapper, I hope

Little hatchling turtles have been quite a pleasant surprise, they
have turned up on three ponds here, so far... on one pond which has a
couple of small kois in it. They might be very useful at cutting the
snail numbers down so that's definitely a plus, most of the ponds here
have no fish and large snail numbers would damage small crowns of
water lilies for sure

Some turtles I'd go out of my way to introduce, the eastern painted
turtle is a small turtle, that would be very suitable for a pond
larger than 10' or so, the eastern mud turtle is already ambling
around. All rather more interesting than kois and goldfish, for sure
and a lot less bother to maintain...

In my own observations of tossing meaty morsels into a native ponds,
I'd definitely say fish have no fear of turtles and wouldn't hesitate
to steal the turtles snacks... So for sure I have a soft spot for
those dozy critters, until the day they decide to munch heavily on
waterlilies, that is...

Over 100 aquatic plants available!
http://www.members.aol.com/abdavisnc/swglist.html
http://community.webshots.com/user/adavisus
(photo albums of aquatic plants and descriptions)

"Bill" wrote in message ...
A moderately large Turtle has entered my pond.

Will it eat my Gold Fish? How can I get rid of it? I tried netting it but
every time I approach the pond it dives for the bottom and I can't see it to
net it.

After I get rid of it how do I keep Turtles out?