Habitat - Outdoor :: Just introduced 2 RES into my Koi Pond - I Have questions

[taralynna]

I have a 3000 gallon koi pond (liner with large rocks lining the inside). I have wanted turtles so my husband surprised me with not 1 but 2. I find that I am unprepared and uneducated.

These are both females and are both about 8". The reptile store said they are hard to place because of their size and were thrilled when they heard about my large pond. I have to admit these guys are very fast and are swimming all around the pond making the koi nervous. Will these eat my koi? My smallest koi is 5" long.

I found an egg on the side of the pond. The store said these are both female - should I be concerned that I have a male and a female?

The two turtles are fighting. The deepest area of the pond is 4' deep with slate over the top of part of it. This is where they both want to be and keep fighting and nipping at eachother. Should I be concerned?

I dont know how to get the RES to eat. One of them did manage to eat some koi pellets after I kept tossing them at him. They wont eat lettuce or other leafy greens. Where do I put the turtle food? On the outside of the pond where they lay in the sun? I'm afraid if they dont get enough food they will eat my fish so this is a big concern.

I also had visions of me having a lovely pet turtle that I could sit with and pet and enjoy. One of these guys is very aggressive and I would not even get close ot it. The other one is very timid. Do RES warm up to humans? Should I just leave them alone or should I try to get them used to me? How hard do they bite?

Thanks !

[wiccabrat]

They will eat your fish and the only way to stop them is to move the turtles or fish.
They don't need a boy to lay an egg (just like a chicken, they're infertile) (however they could have been with boys before so if you don't get the eggs you could have babies) and if they're both 8" long it's a good bet they're both girls.
They have to be in the water to eat and koi pellets aren't what they need.
Turtles are not fluffy pets who like love generally and these are full grown so they already have their minds made up. If you work really hard at gaining their trust they might get better but RES in general are not touchy feely. They bite really hard, like take skin, possibly fracture a finger.
I have to say it sounds like maybe these aren't the right pet for you, you sound more like a tortoise person. My Russians will tolerate alot more affection and two out of three even like being rubbed and they've never tried to bite me. They also don't live in water so no koi issues.
Maybe return the RES and look into a tortoise.

[taralynna]

Thank you for your post.

I dont mind if they arent friendly pets. I spoke to the reptile store that sold them to my husband and I guess they are hard to place because of their size. I really would love to leave them in the pond, they are so happy there. My pond is 23' long and 8' wide with lots of rocks to climb on. The turtles swim all the time and sometimes sit in the shallow part on their hind legs with just their little heads out of the water. They're beautiful and graceful and really seem so content.

One turtle is chasing the koi with its mouth open. The same turtle keeps attacking the other turtle and the fight seems pretty violent and on going. I moved the aggresive turtle (that is eating shrimp and pellets) to the upper hard shell pond which I use as a veggie filter. The pond is about 160 gallons. It has shallow shelves for the turtle to climb on. I am hoping that I can get the more mellow turtle to eat something without the constant attacks from the other one. I may return the aggressive turtle and keep the less aggressive.

My main concern is how to get the less aggressive turtle to eat. It is skiddish and wont eat the shrimp I put next to its head in the water. It wont eat any veggies either. I hope that it will come out of the water in the sun today and eat out of the water. If I dont get this one to eat I may take him back I hate to think she's starving. I am hoping she is eating the plants in the pond.

I appreciate any feedback. I honestly am an animal lover and would love to see at least one of these turtles make a happy home in the pond. I've spoken to other pond owners and several have been sucessful with red eared sliders with their koi. I would hate to doom them both to living in an aquarium if it can be helped.

Any assistance you can give me on how to get the turtle to eat is greatly appreciated.

[taralynna]

I was just reading what to feed RES and see that my pond has all of these plants except hornwort. I also have water snails. Do you think she's okay just eating the pond plants and snails?

WATER PLANTS **rinsed thoroughly**
Anacharis
Water Lily
Duckweed
Water Hyacinth
Hornwort

[wiccabrat]

Oh yeah she's eating your plants and probably polishing off your snails. They can go for long periods without eating to though so she isn't starving, alot of them don't eat for a week or so when moved to a new home. Be prepared for her to kill your plants (she may not) but most people with RES can't keep any plants alive for long. You're pond is pretty big so if it's well planted she may have enough to nibble she won't actually kill anything. Mine all prefer meat so if you have snails and fish in with her she'll eat those first (if she can catch them) and the pond plants are preferred over vegis. If it were me I'd add some smaller fish, like Rosey's just to give her something she can chase and eat. It might keep her off your Koi.

" I hope that it will come out of the water in the sun today and eat out of the water."
They can't eat out of the water, it's not physically possible.

I would definitely say they don't want to live together and the shy one will more than likely get hurt if they do. Plus one RES is going to do less damage to your pond and fish than 2.

[mysterijewel]

Just wondering if anyone might have suggestions for introducing a turtle to a smaller pond and what they would need to live there.
Thanks

[taralynna]

[img]<a%20href="http://s594.photobucket.com/albums/tt27/taralynna1/?action=view&current=turtle2.jpg"%20target="_blank"><img%20src="http://i594.photobucket.com/albums/tt27/taralynna1/turtle2.jpg"%20border="0"%20alt="Basking"></a>[/img]


Attempting to post happy turtle pics[/img]

[taralynna]

Thank you again for your response.

[wiccabrat]

She does look like she has it made. Lucky turtle!!

mysterijewel, how big of a pond? Do you plan to bring the turtle in for winter? (I notice you're in WI so you have the same winters I do).

[taralynna]

I'm in Southern California, no I dont plan to bring her in - do I need to?

[mysterijewel]

hey the pond is about 4 ft by 3 ft and about 3 ft deep. as to the winters we were thinking of either getting some kind of heater or bringing her in depending on how she looks. we would keep feeding her if we kept her out there.

PS your "down south" how can your winters be that bad lol kidding

[wiccabrat]

taralynna, sorry I was asking mysterijewel not you, and no she's fine outside all winter with the pond size and where you live.

mysterijewel, that's about 260 gallons so you have alot of choices for turtles as far as size goes. I don't know that 3' is deep enough without a heater to hibernate anyone, I'm not that sure about hibernating because I've never done it. That said, lots of plants are good, a few basking spots in the pond (drift wood, rocks, ect.) A big filter (I'm switching to these) http://skippysstuff.com/biofiltr.htm . Some shady areas and they like land to move around on if your pond is enclosed, if not you want to make sure they can't get out of the pond.
Do you have a turtle already? If so what is it, maybe I can give you more ideas.

PS I'm only a 1/2 hour from WI so I'm almost "up north". lol

[scottpkura]

RES eat in water, so you can't try to feed them out of it. If you just moved them into your pond it might take a while until they get adjusted to the new environment so they can be really skiddish.

They are opportunistic eaters, so they'll eat even if they're not really hungry. They can also be fairly picky. You should get good reptile food for them. Koi pellets are probably quite fatty. Reptomin or Wardley's retpile sticks are good, and they're fortified with calcium which is a plus if they're not taking to vegetables yet.

If one of your Koi gets lazy or isn't careful they could get a chunk taken out of them. An 8" female can do some damage, or possibly eat one. My 6" female ate a 8" Pleco in my tank just to give you an idea.

If they're being agressive towards each other you will need to seperate them or consider keeping only one. It's difficult, but it's better than having a dismembered turtle - or worse.