John Owen IV
New Member
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2017
- Messages
- 1
I rescued a Red Eared Slider and a Yellow Bellied Slider that had been abandoned in an above ground plastic pond. The pond was thick with algae, and was in a completely shaded yard. I was told by neighbors the turtles had survived there several years, winters included, prior to the folks losing their home to foreclosure. I currently have the turtles in my basement in a large pond to get through the winter. They appear to be a male Red Eared and a female Yellow Bellied, eggs have appeared in the pond twice. The Red Eared is bigger by an inch or two, though they are both large turtles approximately 8-10 inches in length. They were covered in algae when I got them, but their shells have since cleared up nicely with basking. Though the turtles have been together for years, they recently began fighting, the smaller Yellow Bellied bullying the bigger Red Eared, biting very aggressively. I immediately separated them, but am wanting to build a permanent outdoor enclosure. I have a spring fed creek on my five acres, but it is primarily shaded, and not sure if they would survive, and they are used to being fed. I intended to build a large pond(15' x 20' x 4' Deep), but am concerned about the fighting, and their ability to survive the winter, even though they apparently did fine with the winters in a small above ground pond. Any suggestions? I'm a little north of Atlanta in Georgia, so relatively mild winters, with only 2 or 3 weeks of intermittent below freezing weather. Any advice is welcome, want to do what is best for turtles.