WE HAVE A [box turtle] POND!

[Mmathis]

Spent yesterday potting my plants. It felt SOOOO GOOD to get in the water!! I accidently dropped a pot in the deepest [4' deep, but it's an area only about 2' x 2']. It was too deep for me to reach in and retrieve it -- I swear there was a thermocline Was tempted to get my SCUBA mask & snorkel and go for a dive

 

[j.w]

You should'a went for the dive!

 

[addy1]

Great job turtle mom!

 

[Mmathis]

Thanks! The babies are still adapting. So far I'm having to put them in the water -- don't know if they've been getting in on their own or not. I learn a lot by observing their behavior. I have a bunch of water lettuce in the water to give them some cover against "predator-fear." But a couple of them will still freeze and stay stationary for a long time. So I made a point to add lots more plants around the outside perimeter. That gives them some land cover getting to & from the watering hole. Imagine kids playing hide & seek. As safe & pampered as they are, their natural instincts for survival still kick in.

 

[Mmathis]

FOLLOW UP: Not sure, at this point that the turtles are 100% pleased with their new addition. See above post [#19]. Have yet to see anyone in the water on his/her own -- still have to put them in. Again, certain it's the issue of "cover" for them. For the most part they seem fine once in the water -- it's the getting to & from that spooks them. There is roughly 3-4 feet where the liner is covered with either my faux rock ramp or rocks covering the liner. In their eyes, since they're still young & small, that open space makes them vulnerable! I planted along the edge, but those plants just aren't growing fast enough, so got some mandevllia (sp?) vines and a super huge fern (that actually tolerates 4-6 hours of sunlight!) to see if that would help. Have the vines stretched out as close to the water as possible and will make a little over-head trellis for it. Looks promising. There is plenty of water lettuce and parrots feather in the water for cover.

They are fun to watch when they're in the water. I'll start out by placing one on a rock in the shallows. Some will immediately scramble around, and end up in "the deep end," swim around and float, and hide among the water lettuce, then first chance, will get out. One or two will start rooting around, ducking head under water, then maybe swim a little bit. A couple will head for the perimeter areas [they can partially see out] and act like they're looking for an escape route. I bought some "aquatic turtle treats," and will float one next to anyone who is in the water hoping to give them a pleasant experience. If I forget the treat, there are a couple of the turts that will climb out of the water and come over to me and look up at me, "Mommy, you got some food for me?" The ones that are more relaxed seem to enjoy being in the water, but I guess the others are just too scared of getting eaten.

Oh, and I did end up "diving" the other day. LOL! I got son to go outside with me and be my spotter while I donned mask & snorkle. There was 0% vis! I couldn't see a thing until it hit my mask -- had to feel around for the pot I dropped. I was having fun -- makes me long for a SCUBA trip.......sigh!

 

[j.w]

Well guess it will just take them time to get to know their new digs and then when they feel safe and secure it will be fun for them to explore. Glad you got to go for your dive and sorry your dropped your pot.....................did not know you could smoke and dive at the same time.............quite clever

 

[Mmathis]

Well, for one, not sure if it would grow in water. And then if it did, and became invasive, would have the DEA after me!

 

[ididntdoit99]

Couldn't help but think of a Half baked quote, funny movie, "Then get me an avocado, an ice pick and my snorkel"

 

[Mmathis]

This is "Alphie," my bravest and most relaxed boxie [the white paint on her shell is how I can tell them apart -- I have 7]. She's the one who will get in the water and nose around and seems to enjoy it. This morning I found her lurking under the new fern I planted at the edge of the pond. She really looked like she was yearning to venture in, but not sure about leaving the safety of her cover. I fed her some freeze-dried grasshopers, then put her in the water with another grasshopper there for her to find. She ate that, sat a minute or 2, then headed back for her fern. :claphands: Yea! Progress! :claphands: This is the first time I've even seen one of the turts approach their pond on their own!

BTW, I hit HOBBY LOBBY & MICHAEL'S and got some sale fake plants to go along the area where the ramp is. Not perfect, but gives them some cover.

 

[j.w]

Neat Tm they are getting braver!

 

[addy1]

fake plants work! good idea

 

[fishin4cars]

I can't beleive I have missed this thread. GREAT JOB! I think I looked at the thread before you posted pics and hadn't seen the pics. Love the sitting Rock! Alphie looks quite different than the two we have. Ours are more orange and have some white under the throat. She does look like she is posing for the pic. We built a small 5-8 gallon pond and put gravel in the bottom, The boxies seem to be getting in it early in the morning or during the evening. I only see them in it every once in a while but I find eveidence that they have been there. lol The water is only about 2" deep and they lay and bask for a bit then get water and head for the tall grass. Looks really Good TM! Job well done!

 

[Mmathis]

LARKIN -- I'll forgive you Alphie is a female, hence the more subdued coloring. I started out with 6 boys and 2 girls, but when spring came this year, one of the girls was nowhere to be found. My original plan was to have the habitat separated by gender, but ended up with 6 boys and 1 girl - not very evenly distributed, huh? A couple of my boys have quite dramatic facial coloring [profile pic], and looking at them head-on, they look rather intimidating [like DARTH MAUL from STAR WARS]. As for the shell colors, none looks like Mom, who was the olive color typical of 3-toed's. So, while they all have "3 toes" in back, they are actually hyrbrids of the 3-toed and Eastern. And they're still juveniles. I'm hoping that once they get a little older [and bigger] they won't feel quite so vulnerable and will venture outside their comfort zone. Guess I did kinda spring this "pond thing" on them....

Thanks for sharing your turtle pics! Those guys look very happy. Is there a tortoise, too?

 

[fishin4cars]

We had two Tortoises but the leopard died a few weeks back. I did some research and found out they don't do well in high humidity. LOL like we can get away from high humidity down here! The other is a Succalta Tortoise. That's Dozer. He is a little over a year old and Growing fast. he's almost the same size as the adult boxies already.
I'm fairly certain that we have two males. I didn't know that there were three toes down this far. Is that the same as a Western Box?

 

[Mmathis]

LARKIN -- Here is a link that shows the ranges for box turtles. I think the 3-toed is actually a subspecies of the Eastern box turtle. Sorry to hear about your tortoise!

http://www.bio.davidson.edu/people/midorcas/research/Contribute/box turtle/boxinfo.htm