So how many of you keep your semi aquatic turtles outside?
What kind are they?
Show your set up! I need ideas!!
What kind are they?
Show your set up! I need ideas!!
Who keeps their semi aquatic turtles outside?
- Thread starter mshill90
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I know this is a somewhat old thread, but my parents have 2 turtle ponds and a "turtle pen" in their backyard with about 5 adult box turtles and about 4 adult red-eared sliders with several babies/juveniles of each. Most of the turtles were wild caught (found on the side of the road), 2 of the red ear sliders are a good 10"-12" from the front of their shell to the back, fully grown turtles, bigger than almost anything you'd see in aquariums since they haven't been stunted. We've had it set up for over 10 years, with a lot of success. The area is a corner of the yard (against a normal fence), about 15 feet by about 8 feet. Its a fences off area with 2 ponds inside of it, one pond is about 500 gallons with a pond liner (about 6 feet circle and about 2 feet average depth) and the other pond is about 250 gallons (a plastic pre-made pond from home depot). We have had quite a bit of success with plants in the ponds, the turtles kill some of them, some of them they don't, just gotta try different ones. The rest of the "turtle pen" is pretty much just natural plants from texas. We put a house bush in there, and some dirt mounds, but mostly tall grass that we weed wack down to 4"-6" about once a year mid summer.
The place is very low maintenance, and is our main compost/disposal. We occasionally feed the water turtles food pellets, but mostly we just feed them leftover food, things like watermelon rinds, rotten tomatoes, interestingly enough they love bread, even stale bread, lettuce cores, they pick the leftover meat off bones, etc. They are not picky eaters. There are self-sustaining goldfish in the ponds and whatever bugs/critters inhabit the area naturally. The goldfish breed easily without any help and live through the Texas winters (the ponds ALWAYS have 1"+ ice on them for a few weeks out of the year), and the turtles hibernate and have no problems, they're native and common in Texas anyway. I don't know if they live as well naturally in PA. Like I said, both the water turtles and box turtles had babies without us doing anything. They LOVE to burrow in piles of grass clippings or mulched leaves, etc. We always throw in mounds of it after yard work. The water turtles do spend quite a bit of time outside the ponds, and it takes considerable effort (and $$$$ into big filters) to keep sizable ponds clear, and they like to hide. Once they associate you with food, they will usually poke their head above the water, but they always run into the water when they see you.
Our set-up isn't the most eye-catching one out there, but it is low maintenance, natural, and interesting. I don't have any pictures of it on me, but I will try to remember next time I visit them. We have had very good success, only 1 box turtle has died in the past 10+ years, and he obviously caught some sort of disease or fungal infection or something. One of the water turtles got hurt very bad, had about 1" round hole/wound in his shell, but we medicated him and kept him inside for a few weeks and he healed up, back to normal a few months later. I've read that our types of turtles commonly live 40+ years, and I bet a lot of ours are 20-30+ years old.
Hope I provided some useful information. Feel free to post/pm any specific questions.
I almost forgot to include that they are very good at escaping! They have claws and can climb wooden fences! The only way we have successfully kept them inside is lining the inside of the fence with plexiglass, so that they can't get any traction.
We have found that their shells are VERY TOUGH! On one occasion my dad was tilling our garden with a 8 hp gas tiller (with 18" tines) and an escaped turtle was buried in the garden. The tiller shot him up like a big rock and he landed a few feet away! He survived and there is only a small surface scratch on his shell! On another occasion I ran over one with the lawnmower! Same deal, just shot him out and he had a surface scratch. Both turtles are alive and well to this day.
The place is very low maintenance, and is our main compost/disposal. We occasionally feed the water turtles food pellets, but mostly we just feed them leftover food, things like watermelon rinds, rotten tomatoes, interestingly enough they love bread, even stale bread, lettuce cores, they pick the leftover meat off bones, etc. They are not picky eaters. There are self-sustaining goldfish in the ponds and whatever bugs/critters inhabit the area naturally. The goldfish breed easily without any help and live through the Texas winters (the ponds ALWAYS have 1"+ ice on them for a few weeks out of the year), and the turtles hibernate and have no problems, they're native and common in Texas anyway. I don't know if they live as well naturally in PA. Like I said, both the water turtles and box turtles had babies without us doing anything. They LOVE to burrow in piles of grass clippings or mulched leaves, etc. We always throw in mounds of it after yard work. The water turtles do spend quite a bit of time outside the ponds, and it takes considerable effort (and $$$$ into big filters) to keep sizable ponds clear, and they like to hide. Once they associate you with food, they will usually poke their head above the water, but they always run into the water when they see you.
Our set-up isn't the most eye-catching one out there, but it is low maintenance, natural, and interesting. I don't have any pictures of it on me, but I will try to remember next time I visit them. We have had very good success, only 1 box turtle has died in the past 10+ years, and he obviously caught some sort of disease or fungal infection or something. One of the water turtles got hurt very bad, had about 1" round hole/wound in his shell, but we medicated him and kept him inside for a few weeks and he healed up, back to normal a few months later. I've read that our types of turtles commonly live 40+ years, and I bet a lot of ours are 20-30+ years old.
Hope I provided some useful information. Feel free to post/pm any specific questions.
I almost forgot to include that they are very good at escaping! They have claws and can climb wooden fences! The only way we have successfully kept them inside is lining the inside of the fence with plexiglass, so that they can't get any traction.
We have found that their shells are VERY TOUGH! On one occasion my dad was tilling our garden with a 8 hp gas tiller (with 18" tines) and an escaped turtle was buried in the garden. The tiller shot him up like a big rock and he landed a few feet away! He survived and there is only a small surface scratch on his shell! On another occasion I ran over one with the lawnmower! Same deal, just shot him out and he had a surface scratch. Both turtles are alive and well to this day.
Well, I have 3 false map turtles, 4 Diamondback Terrapins, and now a Red Eared Slider.
They can live outside all year long (except the maps) but I don't have the right set up for them, and the terrapins are just too expensive for me to even want to keep them out all year long. I'm talking $100+ pc.
Right now we have them in a 300 gallon stock tank with a sand gravel filter.. this will be coming inside for the winter as well.
For next summer we will be building them their summer home, that will be 8'x10'x 30" deep. So about 1500 gallons.. It will have an 8'x2' basking area with a place for the females to lay eggs also.
They can live outside all year long (except the maps) but I don't have the right set up for them, and the terrapins are just too expensive for me to even want to keep them out all year long. I'm talking $100+ pc.
Right now we have them in a 300 gallon stock tank with a sand gravel filter.. this will be coming inside for the winter as well.
For next summer we will be building them their summer home, that will be 8'x10'x 30" deep. So about 1500 gallons.. It will have an 8'x2' basking area with a place for the females to lay eggs also.
Who told you that your maps can't live outside all year? The several feet of snow and bitter temperatures haven't deterred them one bit here in Illinois. They'll brumate just fine in PA, as long as you have a habitat suitable for it.
Josh H
Josh H
Maps aren't native to PA, and I don't want to take the chance with them.. they all come inside over winter. they aren't in a pond that's dug down.. their pond will freeze solid in winter.
I live in the NW and for years we had a paint turtle that lived out side in our yard..a huge part of our yard was fenced off for her , a 6 foot wide kiddie pool was sunk in to the ground, her enclosure was about 20 feet long and about 5 feet wide, she had it to her self. we planted veggies in with her to munch on and she hung out under a large rhubarb plant with slate and logs she liked to sunbathe on...logs were sticking out of the water for her to climb out..water change every few weeks.
In the winter she was moved in to the house in a 6 foot wide 2 foot deep kiddie pool under on the back porch with blocks for her to get up out of the water on.
spoiled rotten turtle....someone got in to the gate and stole her after we had for for like 10 years
we got her as an adult..over 7 inches across about 9 (guessing) inches long.
In the winter she was moved in to the house in a 6 foot wide 2 foot deep kiddie pool under on the back porch with blocks for her to get up out of the water on.
spoiled rotten turtle....someone got in to the gate and stole her after we had for for like 10 years
we got her as an adult..over 7 inches across about 9 (guessing) inches long.
My point is that all of your turtles are more than capable of brumating just fine in PA, whether they're native to that particular state or not. In fact, unless you're absolutely sure your DBTs are northerns, the reality is your false maps may be MORE suited to over-winter in PA. The real issue is not the winter, but that you don't have a habitat suitable to over-winter any turtle. Your statement "except the maps" concerning over-wintering was misleading, that's all.
I have 3 northerns and a mississippi DBT. All capable of being outside during winter.
I am not new to turtles. However, even with the winters we have been having lately, I would never want to leave them outside. We have been getting about 4 ft of snow on average a year, and sometimes it's all at once.
I DO NOT want to burmate them because I know that they are safer inside in the winter. I've spent a large amount of money on my turtles, and I wouldn't want to risk their lives on them being outside in winter.
Their new habitat would be suitable for winter, but they will STILL be coming inside. So, no, my ISSUE is WINTER.
Don't get your panties all up in a bunch.
My point was just that your maps can brumate, whereas you indicated they could not. Your statement didn't seem to indicate whether you were or weren't going to, just the ability of the animals to do so. It's okay to be wrong once in awhile, kid. It'll be okay. Just take a deep breath and count to ten.
Josh H
Josh H
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