Turtles

[brandonsdad02]

This will be my first year keeping them outside. Last year we took our turtles to her to winter in. Her pond is all rocked. They just find a nice dark spot to hang out in. I have some of the clay drain tubes in my pond they can climb inside of. There is also some leaves down there they can curl up with. I'm hoping it goes ok.

 

[j.w]

Sounds like they will do fine if hers have been doing it for so long there. Just read on the net that they do like some leaves down there on the bottom to scratch around in. Will be fun for you to see them up in the Spring all ready for that first feeding or do they nibble on your smaller fishies?

 

[mikedd]

I love the close up look of it as could not tell exactly what it looked like before and neat use of a wine barrel and guessing it is fiberglass and not one with a liner in it and what is that in the front and how does the water go down by the sign .I have to say it is very pretty and you used a lot of imagination to do it .Oh wait is that one of the little buckets with the handles siliconed to it .

The whole bucket setup was an old water feature, it used to pump from the large one up to small one then trickle back didnt like to dump it so i adapted it to become the header tank filled it with filter brushes so its now a secondry filter after the bio filter behind the bush which in turn i made from a kitchen waste bin, Thanks for the interest Sissy.

 

[mikedd]

Ok mike I gota ask, did you build that waterfall structure yourself, or was it one of those faux pre-manufactured things? Either way it fits in with the brick in the background nicely.

Hi again Mucky been browsing this site Dogs & Puppies - Cats & Kittens - Pets for Sale at Pets4Homes UK most off them are a minumum of 4 - 5 hours round trip from my place,What would be the maximum turts could be out without gettin into water without harming them?

 

[HARO]

Turtles like to bask in the sun, and will do so for hours on end. This drying out also helps to keep down parasites on the turtles' skin. A half-day out of water will not harm them. The exception would be soft-shelled turtles, but you don't want those anyway!
John

 

[Ruben Miranda]

Hello
I have seen/heard that they can go days with out being in the water as long they are not in direct sun and the weather is semi cool.
When mine are getting sun they are on the rock and in direct sun for hours and not getting wet.
So a 5 hour trip in a cool container should be fine.
Might be a little stress full because they are in a container that they are not used to but they should be just fine out of water for 5 hours.
As long as it is not 100 d in the car or container.

Oh and try not to knock them around much as they shell is softer and there limbs are exposed.
Maybe some paper or something that way they don't slide around.

Ruben

 

[Mucky_Waters]

My last pond was not escape proof and several of my turtles escaped never to be seen again. This is why I've been harping on that point so much. Anyway, one turtle did return after nearly a month out of the pond. There was no other bodies of water around for miles, so I can only assume that he spent the entire time out of the water. After returning from his little "walk about" he was a little dried out and his shell had a few dings and scratches on it, but he seemed healthy and was certainly full of energy. He also seemed happy to be back in the pond and resumed taking food from our hands the very next day.
As Haro and Ruben stated, a few hours out of the water would do absolutely no harm.
But Ruben has a good point about not letting them get knocked around. For instance, you wouldn't want to put them in a large container with just enough water for them to float around in, because as you drive the water would be sloshing around and so would the turtle(s), that would be a stressful trip for them. A dark sealed container with a damp rag on the bottom would be ideal, as it would help stop them from sliding around and keep them calm.
I'm assuming if you get them now you'd be keeping them indoors, and won't be introducing them into your pond till the spring, right?

 

[mikedd]

My last pond was not escape proof and several of my turtles escaped never to be seen again. This is why I've been harping on that point so much. Anyway, one turtle did return after nearly a month out of the pond. There was no other bodies of water around for miles, so I can only assume that he spent the entire time out of the water. After returning from his little "walk about" he was a little dried out and his shell had a few dings and scratches on it, but he seemed healthy and was certainly full of energy. He also seemed happy to be back in the pond and resumed taking food from our hands the very next day.
As Haro and Ruben stated, a few hours out of the water would do absolutely no harm.
But Ruben has a good point about not letting them get knocked around. For instance, you wouldn't want to put them in a large container with just enough water for them to float around in, because as you drive the water would be sloshing around and so would the turtle(s), that would be a stressful trip for them. A dark sealed container with a damp rag on the bottom would be ideal, as it would help stop them from sliding around and keep them calm.
I'm assuming if you get them now you'd be keeping them indoors, and won't be introducing them into your pond till the spring, right?

I will not be thinking about purchasing untill the spring Mucky as i have afew mods to do to the pond,so just getting all your valuable info when i,m ready to go, hopefully by then somebody will be advertising a little closer to me. Regards Mike

 

[mikedd]

My last pond was not escape proof and several of my turtles escaped never to be seen again. This is why I've been harping on that point so much. Anyway, one turtle did return after nearly a month out of the pond. There was no other bodies of water around for miles, so I can only assume that he spent the entire time out of the water. After returning from his little "walk about" he was a little dried out and his shell had a few dings and scratches on it, but he seemed healthy and was certainly full of energy. He also seemed happy to be back in the pond and resumed taking food from our hands the very next day.
As Haro and Ruben stated, a few hours out of the water would do absolutely no harm.
But Ruben has a good point about not letting them get knocked around. For instance, you wouldn't want to put them in a large container with just enough water for them to float around in, because as you drive the water would be sloshing around and so would the turtle(s), that would be a stressful trip for them. A dark sealed container with a damp rag on the bottom would be ideal, as it would help stop them from sliding around and keep them calm.
I'm assuming if you get them now you'd be keeping them indoors, and won't be introducing them into your pond till the spring, right?

Theres a guy about an hour from me with 2 yellow belly sliders he wants to rehome f o c they are 2 yrs old, he also has a glass tank and accessories would this species be ok in my pond come spring? Thanks in advance Mike

 

[Mucky_Waters]

Theres a guy about an hour from me with 2 yellow belly sliders he wants to rehome f o c they are 2 yrs old, he also has a glass tank and accessories would this species be ok in my pond come spring? Thanks in advance Mike

That is something you really have to decide for yourself, I'm certainly no expert on turtle species, in fact I've never even seen a yellow bellied slider before. The key is to provide the kind food and environment that will keep them healthy and happy. As I mentioned, I prefer starting with hatchlings, but that certainly isn't absolutely necessary, and 2 years old is still pretty young for a turtle. Also skimming through some info on yellow bellies they seem to be native to places that have winters that may be a little warmer than yours, so planning on bringing them in for the winter might be the best plan. Again, you'll have to figure it out for yourself by reading about them. Seems to be lots of info on them.
If you do decide to get those ones and decide to keep them indoors for the winter, there is no reason why you couldn't pick them up now and keep them indoors till spring, Just remember when keeping them indoors they need a (new) UVB basking light, and that those UVB lights only have a limited life expectancy where they produce UVB rays. In other words if the guy gives you one with the turtles, and it is 5 years old, it's probably not producing proper UVB rays anymore, and you should probably buy a new bulb, just to be sure.

 

[brandonsdad02]

Just look to see where they are native to. That should tell you if they will be able to survive in your pond.

 

[Mmathis]

As you all know, my turtles are box turtles -- and they already have an elaborate habitat set-up, not to mention a new pond that was built with them in mind

But I have thought about having an aquatic turtle as well. Of course, it would live in the "big" side of the pond and wouldn't have access to the enclosed boxie section. As with the boxies, my main concern would have to be how to contain the area so the aquatic(s) couldn't wander off. How do you guys handle that? Not sure I want to enclose the entire pond in a fence, but think I suggested to someone else once about pounding PVC pipe in the ground around the perimeter to make an above/below ground fence. Sounds like it would be easier than digging down and bricking, plus would give the ground water someplace to go.

On average, just how deep can/will an aquatic dig [ie -- how deep would an escape-proof "fence" need to be?], and is there a danger of climbing with these guys? Box turtles are escape artists: diggers AND climbers!

 

[Ruben Miranda]

Hello
Well Like I have said I have not seen mine dig not hat they don't but have not seen them.
The only time I have read about them digging is out in the wild during the winter when they go dormant they go down to the bottom of the lake and bury
there selves and breath threw there skin for the winter months.
In captivity they do not do this (For what ever reason) but I do give them a place to hide them selves.

But they are very strong and great climbers.

The way I keep them contained in the pond is I built the flat stone up around the edge of the pong about 5 inches and the edge goes out in to the water.
So even if they try to climb up what happens is as they climb up they get upside down and flop back in to the pond.
If you do a fence it really do's not have to be tall just say 10 inches but angle it in that way they can not get there weight and balance and get up and over.

I have there basking rock out in the middle and the plants out away from the ledge, Because they are not dumb.
They will climb up on the plants and bend them over and use them like a bridge to get out. :razz:

Ruben

 

[HARO]

I might add here that basking-type turtles are great at climbing on top of each other, and will use this technique to get over an obstacle, so if you have a number of them you will have to make the fence higher than it would be for a single turtle.
John

 

[Mucky_Waters]

I might add here that basking-type turtles are great at climbing on top of each other, and will use this technique to get over an obstacle, so if you have a number of them you will have to make the fence higher than it would be for a single turtle.
John

My feeling is that once they have attained that level of cooperative ingenuity, then they have probably earned their freedom. :claphands: