some turtles that live here

mark1

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maybe some would like to see some of my turtles .

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Yvonne G

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Very nice, Mark. The wood turtles look so much like the Actinemys marmorata. All your turtles are beautiful. Are your ponds in the ground or containers?
 

mark1

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thank you all for the kind words . Yvonne the ponds are all in the ground , it's where they hibernate . NA Woods are from what i understand from folks who have both are very similiar to the western pond turtles . they are probably my favorite turtle ......... wellington i'll get some pics of the ponds .....
 

mark1

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the wood turtles prefer moving, well oxygenated, non-freezing water to hibernate , there are 3 holes in this pond and 4 wood turtles hibernate in here without any issues . 2 seem to do ok in the top or bottom hole
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i added another spot to hibernate , it was for an antisocial male , and the new pond should allow me to put a female with him ..... it's got better sloping sides so the male doesn't drown anybody

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and the blandings prefer backwater to hibernate

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bouaboua

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What a beautiful enclosure and lovely looking Turtles. Thank you very much for sharing with us. I enjoyed very much.
 

mark1

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Nothing like happy wood turtles. They are surely one of North America's most unique chelonians.
We assume that your group reproduces?
they are very happy, and probably my favorite ever ...... they do not reproduce , the 4 in the pic are all girls , three of which i raised, they have just past 6.5" over the last two summers , the bigger of the 3 is near 7" right now , the 4th female i bought as an adult from florida , she did lay 4 eggs when i first got her . i do have an adult male , he's kept separately , he's to big and to aggressive to put with the girls ...... breeding them at this point is not something i'm looking to do , maybe down the road if i see a purpose , until then i just enjoy watching them .....
 

cdmay

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they are very happy, and probably my favorite ever ...... they do not reproduce , the 4 in the pic are all girls , three of which i raised, they have just past 6.5" over the last two summers , the bigger of the 3 is near 7" right now , the 4th female i bought as an adult from florida , she did lay 4 eggs when i first got her . i do have an adult male , he's kept separately , he's to big and to aggressive to put with the girls ...... breeding them at this point is not something i'm looking to do , maybe down the road if i see a purpose , until then i just enjoy watching them .....

Totally understand.
 

Pearly

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Not that I can contribute to this thread, I know nothing about turtles, but did want to comment on how much I enjoyed your pictures of those beautiful animals and your ponds!!! How I wish I could have some water features like that in my backyard to go to... Ahhh!!!
Love all of yours!
 

edwardbo

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Stunning, mark what do you mean by " holes" to hibernate ? ...love to see torts kept as they should be.
 

mark1

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rivers are comprised of riffles , holes , and runs . riffles are shallow rocky spots where the water flows pretty quickly . runs are long stretches between riffles and holes , they're of consistent depth with a fairly substantial consistent current . holes are the deep spots dug out by the current where the water flow is the least , obstructions and debris accumulate in these spots . it's where turtles live in a river and where they hibernate ..... they hibernate in and around obstructions and debris that's accumulated in and around the holes ... in my small pond all i have is what amounts to 3 riffles and 3 holes , the holes have plenty of rock and wood overhangs , in the fall i leave a lot of the leaves that fall in the pond to accumulate on the bottom and they hibernate in the leaves under an overhang .
 

edwardbo

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Never heard those river terms ,maybe regional legacy..living near the ocean we have Jettys,tides,swells ,white caps,under currants,choppy,rip tides.........respectfully,I thought holes might be crevices among the rock piles...soon we will have an in depth discussion on brumation ,there are some points,that I can't seem to make the pieces fit...thank you very much mark 1
 

mark1

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Never heard those river terms ,maybe regional legacy..living near the ocean we have Jettys,tides,swells ,white caps,under currants,choppy,rip tides.........respectfully,I thought holes might be crevices among the rock piles...soon we will have an in depth discussion on brumation ,there are some points,that I can't seem to make the pieces fit...thank you very much mark 1
i've always been a river fisherman , this is a short walk from my house .....the tributaries to these great lakes provide some of the best fishing and scenery in the united states ........ and it's why i have turtles today .........

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Marinated mamma

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i've always been a river fisherman , this is a short walk from my house .....the tributaries to these great lakes provide some of the best fishing and scenery in the united states ........ and it's why i have turtles today .........

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How lucky you are to live somewhere so amazing and beautiful and you have some beautiful turtles
 
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