turtle enclosure questions

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bfhslilred93

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 18, 2008
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new england
ok so as many of you may know but may not remember i have 2 female res that i got for free of craigslist. they are both 6in and were in a 29gal:WHOA:. the people that had them thought they would only get as big as their tank (not stupid, just uneducated). right now i have then in a 40 breeder which still isnt big enough and its taking up space in my kitchen and theyre kinda smelly. i live in southern mass and was wondering if i could keep them outside year round. also could i keep them with other turtle species and is there a danger of them getting eaten by wild critters or our neighborhood cats? thanks
 
nothing? come on someone? anyone?
 
bfhslilred93;3156112; said:
ok so as many of you may know but may not remember i have 2 female res that i got for free of craigslist. they are both 6in and were in a 29gal:WHOA:. the people that had them thought they would only get as big as their tank (not stupid, just uneducated). right now i have then in a 40 breeder which still isnt big enough and its taking up space in my kitchen and theyre kinda smelly. i live in southern mass and was wondering if i could keep them outside year round. also could i keep them with other turtle species and is there a danger of them getting eaten by wild critters or our neighborhood cats? thanks
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If I were you and wanted to keep my indoors turtles outside, I wouldn't place them outside until late spring/early summer. Plus you would have to make sure that you could provide them a place to hybernate during the winter months, this isn't going to be easy. It will probably be the hardest thing to provide.

Yes you can keep them with many other turtle species, you just have to do alittle research on which types. So you don't try to house say mata mata's outside, unless you live in southern Florida.

Yes cats and other neighborhood critters such as raccoons could be a danger to them, so it maybe best to enclose the area.
:popcorn:
 
ok well i have this little wood playhouse my dad built for me when i was little it has a floor so the turts wouldnt tough the ground. if i run a heat lamp in there would i be able to hkeep them in there during the winter? its big enough for them and a couple of soon to be determined friends
 
To keep them outside in the winter it would need to be insulated and have a good amount of heat. I would keep them outside may-through early september. Its realtively easy to set up a temp setup indoors, no tank needed. Plastic bins are inexpensive!
 
Ok, first of NO HEAT in the outside to keep your sliders outdoors year round. To do that you will need to build a garden pond with a fence, at least in the 200 gallon range with a depth of at least 60cm (better 1m). Your turtles if healty and with a good weigth will hibernate submerged in the muk of the deepest parts of pond, no prob at all about that. You shouldnt provide heat of any kind, because that will keep your turtles awake all winter and cause very dangerous temperature diferences that could kill your turts. Imagen they are basking in a heat lamp and then submerge into ice cold water. In the better cenario you endup with a turt with a severe respiratory infection, in the worse she dies allmost instantly. Of corse you would need to monitor their progress and make shure they are nice and fat by september, other wise they must be overwintered at normal temps and home. As for more turts be aware that you cant keep your african sideneck outside except perhaps really hot summer days. Painteds and norther red bellied cooters Pseudemys rubriventris of the same size of your sliders are good bets. Dont use species of the south like most cooters and maps.
 
coura;3157482; said:
Ok, first of NO HEAT in the outside to keep your sliders outdoors year round. To do that you will need to build a garden pond with a fence, at least in the 200 gallon range with a depth of at least 60cm (better 1m). Your turtles if healty and with a good weigth will hibernate submerged in the muk of the deepest parts of pond, no prob at all about that. You shouldnt provide heat of any kind, because that will keep your turtles awake all winter and cause very dangerous temperature diferences that could kill your turts. Imagen they are basking in a heat lamp and then submerge into ice cold water. In the better cenario you endup with a turt with a severe respiratory infection, in the worse she dies allmost instantly. Of corse you would need to monitor their progress and make shure they are nice and fat by september, other wise they must be overwintered at normal temps and home. As for more turts be aware that you cant keep your african sideneck outside except perhaps really hot summer days. Painteds and norther red bellied cooters Pseudemys rubriventris of the same size of your sliders are good bets. Dont use species of the south like most cooters and maps.
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I would check into the average frozen depth of your local lakes in the area. A meter sounds good until you come to find that a yard is the average frozen depth for your area lakes in winter. :irked:
:popcorn:
 
Tequila;3157706; said:
I would check into the average frozen depth of your local lakes in the area. A meter sounds good until you come to find that a yard is the average frozen depth for your area lakes in winter. :irked:
:popcorn:
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:grinyes: Agree
 
ok im gonna start in 17 days (school gets out the 19th) and ill probably start another thread for the progress but thanks guys
 
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