Ideas for turtle set up outside

[Marcuslcarson]

Anybody with pictures of their outdoor turtle set up?

 

[Rue]

This is great for ideas:


http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/ideas-for-outdoor-enclosures.65797/

 

[mike taylor]

This is a horse trough buried in the ground.

 

[Yvonne G]

My pond is just a big hole in the ground dug by a backhoe, no liner. I did have to dig it out a couple years ago because the turtles had started eroding the banks and I needed to reinforce them. But it's still just a big mud hole:

 

[mike taylor]

Home Depot pond kit .

 

[Levi the Leopard]

My pond is just a big hole in the ground dug by a backhoe, no liner. I did have to dig it out a couple years ago because the turtles had started eroding the banks and I needed to reinforce them. But it's still just a big mud hole:

Wow yvonne, I had no idea!

I'd love to know more...

Does it hold water well enough as is or do you have a hose running? How often do you have to top it off?
Did you fill each cinder block center?
What kind of maintenance does this type of pond require?
Does it just sit or do you have any filtration/aeration/movement?

This has my wheels turning....

 

[Yvonne G]

Wow yvonne, I had no idea!

I'd love to know more...

Does it hold water well enough as is or do you have a hose running? How often do you have to top it off?
Did you fill each cinder block center?
What kind of maintenance does this type of pond require?
Does it just sit or do you have any filtration/aeration/movement?

This has my wheels turning....

The cinderblocks have a section of black PVC pounded down into the ground inside the holes of the blocks, then it was all filled with sand. I have a pipe from a faucet that is always on a bit more than a drip. No maintenance, however, about once every 6 or 8 years I have to dig it out because it starts to get shallow due to all the activity, poop and rotting vegetation. I may not have to dig it out again with the cinderblock sides, though. The turtles can't degrade the banks anymore thanks to the cinderblocks.

I used to have a skippy filter, and it did a good job of moving the water and providing aeration, but not keeping it clear because it's just a mud hole. However, we had the bright idea of reversing the water flow into the filter from flowing up from the bottom, which left the sediment at the bottom of the container to be drained off occasionally through a spigot in the bottom of the container, to down from the top. This deposited too much sediment on the filter pads, so that I had to clean the pads daily...too much work for me to have to take care of, so I've just unplugged it and now there is no aeration except for what little drips in from the pipe. I would love to reverse it again and have the water come in from the bottom, but that's too much work for me too. I have a gizmo on the end of the pipe that is smaller than the pipe, so what water comes out is forced out and squirts air into the water.

 

[kameya]

You can find some of my outdoor turtle ponds threads here...

Big habitat...
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/2013-new-kameya-pond-a-major-and-serious-upgrade.67198/

Medium habitat...
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/kameya-pool.26645/

Small habitat...
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/small-outdoor-water-turtles-habitat.107447/

 

[terryo]

Here's a little 100 gal pond for one Eastern painted turtle. Preformed, with slate overlapping the edges, and some water plants. The second picture is the same pond but the plants have grown and spread a lot.

 

[Markw84]

Anybody with pictures of their outdoor turtle set up?

You do need to keep in mind the type of turtle you are planning on keeping to get the right pond design. As water temps drop some turtles can drown if not given plenty of ways to climb or walk to the surface. Some like open swimming space wile others need plenty of hiding and cryptic basking locations to thrive

What type turtles are we talking about?

 

[terryo]

This is true. I used to take my Eastern Painted in for the Winter, but as she got older I left her out to hibernate and made a land portion with a bunch of leaves for her to dig into. Sometimes during the Winter I would see her at the bottom of the pond and not in the leaves.