Habitat - Outdoor :: Pond is greener on the other side of the stream??

[birdlady]

Ah it comes that time of year again...I released the turtles back into the pond for the summer on Tuesday. I placed Bob and Sheldon on the edge of the 120 gallon pond (safer pond as there were NO plants in it for them to destroy). Well, after 2 hrs, I noticed Sheldon is no longer in the small pond but has slipped thru the stream and into my big pond (1200 gallons). I was not surprised by this. I'd head for the bigger pond myself if I was a turtle. Well Bob was left all alone in the small pond and since she has never been in a pond, this was all new to her and she looked lost. After a little bit of coaking, Sheldon finally managed to get Bob over into the big pond with her. Life was good once again for all turts. lol. They are happy as a bee in the big pond now. They have their log to bask on and all the room to swim and frolick. Heck, they even managed to eat every one of my water lilies and other goodie tasting plants that I might have had growing..hehehe. Oh well, they'll grow back.
Well yesterday, I go out and there is a NEW turtle swimming in the smaller pond. It's a Painted turtle. I have noooooooo clue where this one came from..but from the looks of it, he's a male (i think) and since Bob and Sheldon are females, I wonder if he was drawn to the pond due to that?? Can Painted and RES breed?? The new one is staying in the smaller pond and has yet to attempt moving into the bigger pond (hopefully this won't cause issues).
I have pics of all turts involved and I'll upload them later today.
Holly[/img]

[TNTurtles]

id like to see you pond set up too if you have pics of that, sounds really cool.

[birdlady]

This is the BIG pond last fall. The other 2 ponds are preforms at 120 gallons and 100 gallons. Those 2 serve as nurseries for the baby fish.
The Big pond is 1200 gallons and is home to snails, frogs, tadpoles, clams, and now the turtles. It is about 6 feet round and 6 feet deep in the deepest part. It has shelves that start at 18", next step down is 24" and then drops off to 6 ft. I think it's a pretty nice setup. Sure beats the 150 gallon tank they live in all winter long..do you blame them for not wanting to come out and return indoors?? lol
The stream is manmade as well and is located in the picture behind the Elephant Ear plant on the right side. The stream connects to the 120 gallon preform and the water circulates between the 2 via hose and pumps.

[steve]

Interesting and fun story. I haven't heard of them breeding before but hopefully he won't be as aggressive a male RES.

[marisa]

That looks like a really nice pond. Is it a liner placed into a hole? How deep did you dig it?

[birdlady]

It's a liner pond @1200 gallons. It is about 6 feet round and 6 feet deep in the deepest part. It has shelves that start at 18", next step down is 24" and then drops off to 6 ft.

[marisa]

A belated thanks for the info. Just two more questions---who makes the liner and where did you get it (I don't seem to be able to find them nearly that big).