Turtles

[mikedd]

My wife and i would love to have a turtle in the pond along with our 3 goldies4 orfe and 5 koi and 2 shubies but concerned about winter temps, at what temps would we have to bring them in house and to what type of tank,? It can get down to minus 6.Thanks in advance Mike

 

[Mucky_Waters]

How Big is your pond? What type of native turtles do you have around there?
-6 is not that cold, it may be you don't have to bring them in at all.
The biggest problem with keeping turtles in your pond is their tendency to wander away.

By the way, turtles make great pond pets.
Here's mine.

 

[sissy]

nucky looks like the three bears but turtle bears .momma poppa and baby bear turtle

 

[mikedd]

How Big is your pond? What type of native turtles do you have around there?
-6 is not that cold, it may be you don't have to bring them in at all.
The biggest problem with keeping turtles in your pond is their tendency to wander away.

By the way, turtles make great pond pets.
Here's mine.

For some unknowen reason M W icannot view your vid something to do with E M I copyrite in the uk, we dont have any native turtles here, would have to purchase from exotic pets uk, what breed are yours to give me some idea what to purchase? Regards Mike

 

[monkeypie102]

I am planning my pond around a red ear slider they are native to my area, though i bought my girl from a pet shop

 

[Ruben Miranda]

Hello
My Red ears are out all year although we don't get as cold as in your area.
But even in the wild Like in the mountains where it gets freezing cold they Hibernate.
They dig/bury there selves with mud and sleep threw the colder months
They say they breath threw there skin when Hibernating.

What I do for mine is lay clay pots on there sides and the turtles pull mum and leafs in when they are ready to hibernate.
It saves the liner as they do have long claws and could if they wanted to rip a hole.

Although mine have yet to hibernate this year so far.
They are usally a sleep by now but they are still coming up to bask and swimming around they are not eating but still moving around.

But if you do want to bring them in
a kiddy pool with a few inches of water and a rock for them bet up on and a small heat lamp over the rock for them to bask would do just fine.
In the winter they are not as active so they don't need as much room for swimming.

But on all accounts make sure they have a place to get out of the water and dry up otr there bottom shell gets soft and they get sick real easy.

Ruben

 

[Mucky_Waters]

Mike
I have Western Painted turtles, they are native to my area and, obviously adapted to our winter climate. I leave my turtles in the pond all year, even in the winter when they go dormant and sleep it out under the ice.
I had a look at http://www.exotic-pe...es-for-sale.php and I can't say I'm familiar with any of those turtles they have listed for sale there, but I'll tell you what you probably should be looking for in a turtle for your pond.

* Look for a turtle who's native habitat and climate is similar to your pond and climate is like.
* Look for a small breed of turtle, and start out with as young a turtle as you can find. A big turtle in a small pond won't work out very well. You never did say how big your pond is???
* Try and find a turtle that is mostly vegetarian, at least as an adult, unless you don't mind buying more fish every once in a while.
* Find a breed of turtle that likes to bask in the sun. Some turtles spend almost all there time hiding under water,,, you might as well get a clam for a pet.

Monkeypie mentioned red eared sliders, I think they might be meet all the points I have listed.
Again I can't emphasize it enough, that turtles will wander, so you really need some sort of fence or barrier to keep them in and around your pond, especially since no turtle you get will be native to your area.

 

[sissy]

Hey I like video but could have left off music so I could here water better

 

[Ruben Miranda]

Hello
Here are a couple of pics of mine.

They have all been adopted.


A little story Freddy the smallest one in the pic did not know how to swim very well, When he swam he would not move his front feet, he was being help in such a small tank/bowl and the water was only
2 or 3 inches deep that he basicly would just float around and walk with his back feet. But he is doing great now he is about 2" bigger since I got him.



We love are turtles

Ruben

 

[sissy]

traffic jam or pile up

 

[Mucky_Waters]

Handsome group of turtles Ruben. So you acquired them all at different times? How long have you had them?

 

[Ruben Miranda]

Hello

Mulky Wrote:

Handsome group of turtles Ruben. So you acquired them all at different times? How long have you had them?

Thank you
Yes at different times The oldest is 6 years old at least that is how long She has been with us and I think she was about a year old we when got her.
So I would guess she is 7 or so.
The others are 5 years and younger
Freddy is the baby of the 7 we have and he is 2 or so now.

a couple of them have been doing the matting dance so maybe in spring (If they actually matted) will have to deal with eggs.

They get real friendly so you will enjoy them immensely.

Ruben M.

 

[mikedd]

Mike
I have Western Painted turtles, they are native to my area and, obviously adapted to our winter climate. I leave my turtles in the pond all year, even in the winter when they go dormant and sleep it out under the ice.
I had a look at http://www.exotic-pe...es-for-sale.php and I can't say I'm familiar with any of those turtles they have listed for sale there, but I'll tell you what you probably should be looking for in a turtle for your pond.

* Look for a turtle who's native habitat and climate is similar to your pond and climate is like.
* Look for a small breed of turtle, and start out with as young a turtle as you can find. A big turtle in a small pond won't work out very well. You never did say how big your pond is???
* Try and find a turtle that is mostly vegetarian, at least as an adult, unless you don't mind buying more fish every once in a while.
* Find a breed of turtle that likes to bask in the sun. Some turtles spend almost all there time hiding under water,,, you might as well get a clam for a pet.

Monkeypie mentioned red eared sliders, I think they might be meet all the points I have listed.
Again I can't emphasize it enough, that turtles will wander, so you really need some sort of fence or barrier to keep them in and around your pond, especially since no turtle you get will be native to your area.

Hi M W my pond is a approx 13ft long 4ft wide for half the length down to 2ft for the rest, 2.5ft deep for approx 18 inches then 18 inches deep for the rest of length, im thinking perhaps next spring of extending a further 4 ft and having like a rockery from the bottem of the pond to upper lip with a basking stone to top it

 

[mikedd]

Thanks everybody for your input, looks like a little more research required on my part before i commit to purchase, i found this site on line Dogs & Puppies - Cats & Kittens - Pets for Sale at Pets4Homes UK but all the turts on here look to have spent there lives in a tank, think it would be a tremendous shock to there system to put them in my pond after such an upbringing. Your views would be appreiciated? Thanks in advance Mike

 

[fishin4cars]

Mike
I have Western Painted turtles, they are native to my area and, obviously adapted to our winter climate. I leave my turtles in the pond all year, even in the winter when they go dormant and sleep it out under the ice.
I had a look at http://www.exotic-pe...es-for-sale.php and I can't say I'm familiar with any of those turtles they have listed for sale there, but I'll tell you what you probably should be looking for in a turtle for your pond.

* Look for a turtle who's native habitat and climate is similar to your pond and climate is like.
* Look for a small breed of turtle, and start out with as young a turtle as you can find. A big turtle in a small pond won't work out very well. You never did say how big your pond is???
* Try and find a turtle that is mostly vegetarian, at least as an adult, unless you don't mind buying more fish every once in a while.
* Find a breed of turtle that likes to bask in the sun. Some turtles spend almost all there time hiding under water,,, you might as well get a clam for a pet.

Monkeypie mentioned red eared sliders, I think they might be meet all the points I have listed.
Again I can't emphasize it enough, that turtles will wander, so you really need some sort of fence or barrier to keep them in and around your pond, especially since no turtle you get will be native to your area.

Mucky I agree with all the statements above except The part about the turtles that spend all the time under water... you might as well get a clam for a pet. Western Mud turtle or Musk turtles make great pets! Of all the aquatic turtles I've kept this one is one of my favorites, Rarely gets bigger than 8" in diameter, get really friendly and tame, adjust to pond foods very well, not bad about getting out and roaming like many species do, only problem is they are in the snapping turtle family so they will get a small fish from time to time if allowed to go hungry. Painted turtles and Diamond terrapins are my next two favorites. Avoid soft shells, probably one of the least friendliest, sneakiest fish getters with a voracious appetite and very disease prone when young, Oh and this may be the one Your talking about, cause yes, you might as well have a clam for a pet. LOL