This is what boredom got me

[GBBUDD]

geez @GBBUDD gave me a sad face for saying it is looking good....................

@Jhn love how it has all turned out!

Whoops I did what?

Guess that what I get for trying to type on the phone without my glasses.

Sorry about that.

Hey I hadn't upset anyone lately, guess I was due,

This covid bs is finally coming to terms. Though a coach in NH got fired yesterday for not insisting kids in sports, track in particular wear masks. That singles tennis did not need to either. There's a huge difference between science and paranoia.

 

[addy1]

Whoops I did what?

lol I knew that, there are times I oppppps it also, easy to do

 

[GBBUDD]

@Jhn
Do you have to feed the diamond backs daily ?

 

[Jhn]

@Jhn
Do you have to feed the diamond backs daily ?

Sometimes, most of the time every other day. Usually in order to feed the turtles, I have to feed the fish to distract them, especially the little whale my channel cat has become, it is like having a moving food skimmer in the pond the way it inhales food. During the warmer months when the terrapins natural food is active ie crabs and fish, clams, mussels, I bring them home and freeze them then hand feed the turtles with this a couple times a week.

 

[GBBUDD]

Guess I'll have to wait they are beautiful.

 

[Jhn]

They are some very beautiful turtles..... Update, somehow the bog has a hole in it somewhere, (not sure if it was from me or it had a hole in it I missed from the start) about 10” down from the spillway into the pond. So will need to move a bunch of gravel and trybto find it or just tear out the liner, and put in another one. Fortunately this liner is separate from the main pond liner, so not the end of the world either way. Just more work....

 

[GBBUDD]

That sucks ............. Yea it is possible to get a liner with a pin hole . for the expansion i put on last year i got three liners and two had tears from shipping and the third did have a defect in the rubber, did you use a decent underlayment against the timbers?

 

[Jhn]

This is the bog that I just put in with the new addition, it is just in the dirt. It must have come with a hole I missed, because I used 8oz underlay below and above it so I doubt I caused a tear or hole, never know though. Either way going to have to shovel the gravel back out of it, and see what I can find, it drops

The other one I put in last year is doing fine, no issues with it.

 

[GBBUDD]

Have any luck finding the leak?

 

[Jhn]

Here is a gratuitous terrapin shot for @brokensword



This one is an ornate dbt, so it comes in for the winter as this is a southern climate species. Another week or two it can go back outside with its northern buddies. Saw two of the males the other day in the main pond, but they where gone by the time I came back out with my phone. So figured this can tide you over until they are out and about more.

 

[brokensword]

Here is a gratuitous terrapin shot for @brokensword

View attachment 137979

This one is an ornate dbt, so it comes in for the winter as this is a southern climate species. Another week or two it can go back outside with its northern buddies. Saw two of the males the other day in the main pond, but they where gone by the time I came back out with my phone. So figured this can tide you over until they are out and about more.

thanks jhn, but you underestimate my zeal toward seeing your pics! This is hardly even an appetizer, but I DO appreciate the effort. Would love to see them in your pond(s), interacting naturally and such. ONE day, I WILL get one. That's why I tend to pay attention to your turtle posts, so I can learn what I need to know from someone with experience! They are so very cool. I do worry re feeding them as I don't know if I'll get into buying/finding? the crustaceans they want. Was hoping they'd do well on koi or turtle processed food, but the more I think about it, the more I know I'll do what is necessary if I ever get one.

My painteds are still in their basement pool, waiting to be let loose. We're still in the 50s here, with lows in the 20s coming this week, so I didn't want to rush the process. I'll live vicariously through your pics, don't you worry!

Thanks again for posting!

 

[Jhn]

thanks jhn, but you underestimate my zeal toward seeing your pics! This is hardly even an appetizer, but I DO appreciate the effort. Would love to see them in your pond(s), interacting naturally and such. ONE day, I WILL get one. That's why I tend to pay attention to your turtle posts, so I can learn what I need to know from someone with experience! They are so very cool. I do worry re feeding them as I don't know if I'll get into buying/finding? the crustaceans they want. Was hoping they'd do well on koi or turtle processed food, but the more I think about it, the more I know I'll do what is necessary if I ever get one.

My painteds are still in their basement pool, waiting to be let loose. We're still in the 50s here, with lows in the 20s coming this week, so I didn't want to rush the process. I'll live vicariously through your pics, don't you worry!

Thanks again for posting!

Yes they do well on processed turtle food that is the staple of their diet for me. I buy a variety of brands. The other stuff are mainly treats, they would do fine without it. They will also eat the snails in your pond.

How do your painted turtles do in your pond with your plants? Wouldn’t mind seeing some pics of your turtles once they are let loose in your pond. Your pond greenhouse is a cool idea to keep the pond warmer during the winter and keep predators out. I had painteds years ago but they trashed the plants I had in my first pond.

 

[brokensword]

Yes they do well on processed turtle food that is the staple of their diet for me. I buy a variety of brands. The other stuff are mainly treats, they would do fine without it. They will also eat the snails in your pond.

How do your painted turtles do in your pond with your plants? Wouldn’t mind seeing some pics of your turtles once they are let loose in your pond. Your pond greenhouse is a cool idea to keep the pond warmer during the winter and keep predators out. I had painteds years ago but they trashed the plants I had in my first pond.

that's good to hear re feeding your diamonbacks! Makes the prospect a lot more viable. If you have a gopro type cam with underwater case, it would be interesting to see them under the water. Hint, hint!

I usually take a lot of turtle pics as they're pretty photogenic! I'll put some up probably June, maybe mid-May. Depends on the weather. Made them a new basking log (among the others that stay along the banks) out of cork as the old one finally got too water-logged (pun intended!).

My painteds DID like to eat the parrot's feather and varigated clover (and probably the hyacinth roots, but I can't tell as the underwater cam doesn't show that part of the pond) so I've had to create nets and such to keep that type of plant. Any overgrowth is open for snacking, though. The lilies occasionally get nipped (I think; it might be the koi) but I don't see them actively doing any damage.

Now, I deliberately started with small, 2-3" painteds hoping their size would stop them from doing much damage to either fish or plants. Hoping they'd 'grow up' with the fish and essentially leave them alone. Which so far is working. I put a large, adult male in there one time that I found wandering across the road and noticed nipped tails immediately, so he went to the big pond down the road. Diamondbacks don't get much larger than the painteds, if I remember right. Would you recommend getting more than one, if I end up going that route, or would one be just fine by itself? I tend to like to get pairs, at least, not that I'm really looking for baby turtles (that's for the painteds, in time, hopefully).

Thanks for all the turtle talk, jhn!

 

[Jhn]

that's good to hear re feeding your diamonbacks! Makes the prospect a lot more viable. If you have a gopro type cam with underwater case, it would be interesting to see them under the water. Hint, hint!

I usually take a lot of turtle pics as they're pretty photogenic! I'll put some up probably June, maybe mid-May. Depends on the weather. Made them a new basking log (among the others that stay along the banks) out of cork as the old one finally got too water-logged (pun intended!).

My painteds DID like to eat the parrot's feather and varigated clover (and probably the hyacinth roots, but I can't tell as the underwater cam doesn't show that part of the pond) so I've had to create nets and such to keep that type of plant. Any overgrowth is open for snacking, though. The lilies occasionally get nipped (I think; it might be the koi) but I don't see them actively doing any damage.

Now, I deliberately started with small, 2-3" painteds hoping their size would stop them from doing much damage to either fish or plants. Hoping they'd 'grow up' with the fish and essentially leave them alone. Which so far is working. I put a large, adult male in there one time that I found wandering across the road and noticed nipped tails immediately, so he went to the big pond down the road. Diamondbacks don't get much larger than the painteds, if I remember right. Would you recommend getting more than one, if I end up going that route, or would one be just fine by itself? I tend to like to get pairs, at least, not that I'm really looking for baby turtles (that's for the painteds, in time, hopefully).

Thanks for all the turtle talk, jhn!

That’s cool that they don’t mess with the plants much, I really like painted turtles not the plant munching though, once I moved I gave my painteds away, as I didn’t want to deal with them eating my plant. I can’t have a pond without turtles though, so ended up with the terrapins, which are strictly carnivore.

Yep the male dbt max out at about 5” or so, females can get larger around 9-10”, which still isn’t that big. You can go either way getting a pair or just one, if you get an adult just make sure it is being kept in freshwater, as they can develop skin and shell issues if you try to switch an adult from salt water to fresh. Young ones are fine though. Also, you can only tell males from females as they mature, males have a bigger tail and their cloacal opening is beyond the edge of there shell.

 

[GBBUDD]

I had painteds years ago but they trashed the plants I had in my first pond

i'd welcome turtles but i love my moss more then turtles or ducks as they munched on the moss as well. I found some moss in West Virginia that was growing in full sun but was also thriving in a stream and the culture i brought back is doing better then i ever hoped for.