redearslider.com

Hi everyone,

I am writing from Houston Texas and here is my turtle story. Back in June of last year we built a new art studio and office in our yard and during the construction Tilly showed up. I figure she is about 10 years old. How she got into a fenced yard is beyond me. I do have suspicions that she could be a turtle that my daughter received years ago as a child. It was placed in our pond. The liner tore and when I pulled it up I half expected to find a turtle carcass. There was nothing. Now all of these years later Tilly arrives. ( my daughter is in college and will be married soon)

So I have grown fond of the old turtle. Her residency is large. She has an upper pond about 4 feet across and 3 feet deep, a 14 foot stream and a lower pond about 8 feet across and 5 feet deep.

She has been sleeping for most of the winter during our cold months here in Houston, but is active again. She remembers me and my grapes and veggies. It did not take me long to get her to take food from me, but she does very well fending for herself.

Tilly arrived last June and this past week I saw two baby turtles in the pond. Don’t know how that works with gestation but it seems that these are hers. Today was the first day in months that she actually took the trip upstream again. It was good to see her move about.

I love my turtle, Tilly, her babies tutor and little guy. I don’t know if there are more. I guess time will tell.

I am new to all of this turtle stuff, but I figure if tilly made it this long. My pond is pretty natural with the only filtration being a gravel stream. All three pond bottoms seem to be quite muddy. I am tempted to clean this out, but I don’t want to disturb the dragon fly nymphs. Some do take years to come to the stage of dragon fly’s.

Well it is good to be here. If I can I’ll post some picture.
Here is a link to how I put my pond together. http://www.creativesculpture.com/mypondb.html

Looking forward to sharing the turtle baby adventure.

First picture is of Tilly, you can tell by my keys how big she is.
The next picture is of the first little guy
The following picture is of Tillys domain. I feed her on the beach to the left , near the bridge. I hope to add some sculpted rocks on the lower pond with ramps for the turtles and bathing spots.

Welcome to the forum. That's an amazing story. Thanks for sharing the pics with us.

If they are Tilly's hatchlings, then she had to travel to find a mate or one traveled to her. Interesting either way. I'm not sure how others feel, but it is generally not advised to keep younger (smaller) turtles with larger ones. They have been known to hurt the younger turtles severely. And since there are no familial bonds with turtles it wouldn't matter if they were Tilly's hatchlings. With the ponds being large they may do well together, but I'd keep an eye on them to be sure the young ones stay safe. Also very small hatchlings will be potential prey from predators if left outside (unless the ponds are predator proof, including from above).

RES hibernate in the muddy bottoms of ponds and lakes. I'm assuming this is how Tilly has survived, that she had the right conditions to hibernate in. If you clean it out, then she may not be able to hibernate if left outside during winter, and this could kill her. RES need the right conditions to hibernate. And many owners do not even attempt this because it is very risky, instead they bring their RES in over the winter months.

Keep up the good work.

Wouldn't it be interesting if Tilly was the turtle recieved as a child?

Either way, it's an awesome story and Tilly and the hatchings have a great home.

I'm with buffyfan... it's an awesome story.. Gorgeous pond also.

I'm wondering with that much space if the size difference would really be an issue. Guess we'll have to wait until someone with more experience in outdoor habitats can put in their 2 cents

cam722 wrote:...I'm wondering with that much space if the size difference would really be an issue. Guess we'll have to wait until someone with more experience in outdoor habitats can put in their 2 cents

Carol, that's why I kind of second guessed myself after I thought about it. With that much space, they may get along just fine. It's such a nice pond and plenty of room that there might not be any problems.

Icreate, keep us informed at how they are doing. It's such a lovely pond/habitat that you have there for them.

Thanks for all of your comments. I am lucky to have tilly and the babes. I hope they all do well. I am also lucky to work just 40' from my home and be able to walk by this pond, stream and critters many times a day. Matter of fact I think I'll take a book downstairs and sit by the pond. That allways makes Tilly stretch her neck as far as she can to see me. I wonder if the little guys will get to know me?

When the hatchlings see you're a food source they'll get to know you real well and probably never leave you alone.

They're easy little things. Show them food and they'll be your best friend.

Welcome. Wonderful pond you have there. And Tilly is a beauty. I have a RES named Tilly as well (aka Tilford--he's a guy)--a real charmer.

I have not seen the little guys all day, but then I have been very busy and not paying much attention. They are also quite skittish. I did take a piece of driftwood of off the beach and floated it in the area that they like to hang out at. Maybe they can share it, riding around the pond and floating. I gave Tilly some carrots yesterday but she snubbed her nose at them. I guess she just wants grapes. I refuse to keep giving her the same food over and over again. She does not seem to be lacking anything. I think her diet is primarily vegetation though I have seen her reach up and snap a snail right off of a blade of grass. Usually she eats whatever is in or around the pond. She devoured the water lettuce last year. I would see her reach up and eat the centers our of each one, like this is some sort of delicacy. She pretty much irradiated them from the pond. I do need to get some more turtle food, maybe even some floating fish food, though my fish seem to prefer the flakes, and tilly has been known to swallow a few of those from time to time.

I have not seen any new fish babies, and I suppose that they will have a difficult time with the little guys being around. It could be early for babies yet. We have not bought any fish for either pond in a few years. ( I don't like bringing outside things into the pond, you never know what they might carry) Some of these fish are 3rd generation. I guess that must mean that the pond is balanced and everyone is happy. It is too early for the dragon fly nymphs to come out. I just love the dragonfly's!

Marisa,
Tilly is short for Teckla - this was my grandmothers name.

You have a beautiful pond! And leave the bottom alone..we have to remember these turtles do come from a river that can be muddy. Very cute story:)

Beautiful pond!

icreate, my Tilly is actually short for Tilford. When I got him as a hatchling, I kept calling him Silly because of how he behaved. And, because I had the feeling he was a she, the name became Silly Tilly. Well, Tilly sprouted nails and grew a big fat tail. Hence, the name Tilford, with Tilly as the nickname (Tilly, for some reason, fits him.)