Habitat - Outdoor :: Yikes! Should I adopt a 3+ yr old RES for my pond or not?

[barb_f]

Sorry for the poor subject line, but I couldn't think of a better way to phrase it with the space limitation.

My friend has 3 RES turtles that she'd love to adopt out. Her kids got them when they were about 1-1/2" across--3+ years ago. They live in an aquarium and have only ever been fed pellet food and veggies. They're now probably 5" across.

I have a good-sized pond; I think it's probably around 1,500 to 1,800 gallons with an average depth of 2.75'. I've also got lots of goldfish and koi. Some of the fish are probably 10" long, including a beautiful butterfly koi whose body is close to 10" long and another 7" to 8" of tail.

I've wanted a RES nearly all my life and this seemed to be the perfect opportunity to provide a better home to a RES and enjoyment for me. My thought was to try one and see how it worked out--presuming that since the turtles have only ever been fed pellet food and veggies, and since they're more than 3 years old, they wouldn't view my fish as food. After reading all the posts, I'm not so sure now; although it seems that most of the posts are talking about younger turtles.

Does anyone have any experience or suggestions with this type of situation? I would really, really hate to go out to visit my pond and find fish parts floating around!

Thanks very much for your input!

Barb

[missibsu]

I don't have any personal experience, but I do know that as turts become older, they tend to eat less meat and more veggies. However, that is not to say that if you put them in your pond that your fish are safe. If you really want the turts, you would be best to build another pond, or provide it an appropriate size indoor set up.

[barb_f]

Thanks for your information!

I read a few more posts and am thinking that maybe the best thing to do is to see if I've got room for a stock tank in my yard and set that up, and put in some of my "extra" gold fish to see if they'll be safe. I've definitely got too many goldfish--the plan has been to contact some local pond builders and see if they'd like to offer some free pond fish to their customers, I just haven't had a chance to do that yet.

I really would like to adopt at least one of them if it's at all affordable (I hadn't planned on needing an entire new setup, even if it will be greatly reduced in size). All 3 of them are probably 5" across and all 3 of them are in a very small tank--probably 12" across x 30" long, and the water depth is about 6".

I got the idea for the stock tank from some of the posts--what great ideas everyone has! And a stock tank will be MUCH cheaper than a preformed pond!

I don't know everyone's name yet, but I loved the information and photos given that showed how to make a small "skippy" (I always thought that was peanut butter! I'll study her information a bit more, check out my yard possibilities, and then see what I can manage.

All I can say is that the folks here are really great!

Oh, I did read about putting netting over a pond to keep creatures out--I did that once and a snake got caught in the mesh. I felt terrible and vowed never to do that again. I got the snake free, but it was so tired! Now I put inexpensive wodden trellises across the pond (above the water) to keep the herons out. So far, I haven't had any other predators (that I know of).

Also, when fall is right around the corner, I lay those long sheer window curtains over the trellises and then thumbtack them into the wood. The curtains let the sunlight and air through, but even the tiny leaves fall onto the curtains and not into the water. I can gently rake them off the curtains. They work the best of anything I've tried! (I used to climb into the pond and hand-gather them off the bottom--brrrrr! My limbs used to get numb in less than 5 minutes!

[missibsu]

Well of couple of things to add to that post...

General measurement for turts in straight shell length from head to tail direction (but not including the head or tail). With that in mind, 10 gallons per inch.

I like the idea of putting the curtains over the trellis, but I would think that it would block out the UVB rays which are beneficial. Also, you mentioned the water being really cold. For captive turts, hibernation isn't recommended and water temp will need to be maintained throughout the winter months. About 72-75F.

[barb_f]

Thanks Missibsu! I was incorrect in my turtle measurement--I was going from side to side. I think they'd be a wee bit longer than 5" then.

I did read the posts about hibernation not being an option, so in addition to figuring out a place in the yard, I'd have to figure out a place inside the house for the winter months. One that would enable me to clean the turtle's habitat easily. If I were the only one living in my house, it wouldn't be as big a problem, but my husband is definitely not a "pet" person. And I work outside of my home approximately 14 hours a day, so it's looking pretty bleak on the adoption.

About the UV--I truly don't know if the curtains block the UV or not. My first thought is that they wouldn't because it does have an open weave--very tiny openings, but they're openings nonetheless. They're just those sheer things that are using put behind nice drapes and curtains. You can see through them somewhat, but it's like looking through fog.

My pond is shaped like an old fashioned keyhole--round at one end (about 5-1/2' across) and then a long "runway" about 10' long and 2' wide. The trees/leaves are up at the round end and about 1/3 of the way down the runway, so a small portion of the pond isn't covered.

I can say that the plants beneath the curtains thrive--even through the winter, so that would seem to indicate that they're getting UV? I've got water lilies, and another floating plant (I don't remember what it's called). During the winter they don't flower and they do drop the majority of their leaves, but what's left is nice and green. I hope that helps. As I said, it really cut down on the time/maintenance during the winter and fall and my fish seem much happier.

[missibsu]

Rule of thumb when covering tanks and still allowing UVB is no smaller than 1/2 inch. Better safe than sorry when it comes to the turts, but that is just my opinion.

I'd love to see pics of your pond! It sounds like a great set up.

I understand about not having the set up inside. I still live my parents and they weren't too thrilled to have a 75 gallon tank in their living room. Dad threatened for awhile to put it in my room, but there just isn't any place to put it, lol. Cheaper than rent though! As it turns out, my parents like to sit and watch them as much as I do. They are really entertaining and have great personalities.