Habitat - Indoor :: Problem

[TexasJagsFan]

My dad works for the railroad and while he was at a powerplant today he found a 5" RES and he brought it home with him. I think I'm going to keep him(huge claws and tail) because we only have one pond around here and there is a lot of traffic at it and where my dad got him at is like 150 miles away so I can just drive back and put him there.

I have a 55 gallon aquarium with a 3" RES(Yrtle). I guess what I'm going have to do is for the time being until I can garuntee that the turtle doesn't have a disease is put Yrtle in my 10 gallon tank, and put the large one in the 55. How long do you have to wait to check on diseases, about a month or so?

I was planning on buying a pond this summer and putting it in my backyard. Now the urgency light of this is flashing bright red. I'm limited to $200 dollars or so, and I've already looked at Pets Mart at filters, and I know that eats about $100. I know various people that live around and they have ponds. The ponds that they have are like 2 feet deep and probably hold 100-200 gallons. They are black and made out of what looks like hard plastic. Where would I be able to find something like this? I've been looking on the internet today, but I haven't found anything yet. Then of course I'll have to buy some chicken wire to make a fence around the enclosure.

Thanks for the help in advance.

[jenaero]

Putting a wild turtle of that size in a 55gal is bordering on cruel (in my opinion). Personally, I'd ask around and see if one of the people who has a pond lost a res. Failing that, I'd take it to the nearest suitable body of water and release it.

If you must keep it, a pond would be the only fair solution to him. I've seen the pre-formed ponds sold at large chain pet stores (superpet, petsmart) and at walmart.

good luck with whatever you decide.

[TexasJagsFan]

Well my dad found it in Muskogee, OK at the OGE Electrical Plant. We live like 2 1/2 hours from there. I'm guessing the turtle may have lived in a pond there. The only viable solution I see here is the Arkansas River, but I wouldn't put my enemy in that river because it has so much crap in it.

If I decided to keep him, the 55 gallon aquarium will have to do for a couple weeks. I'm on my way to Lowes now to look at ponds.

[jenaero]

If it were only for a couple of weeks, it's not that bad. I'd suggest 100+ gallons

[TexasJagsFan]

I found a kit at Lowes for a 90 gallon pond. It comes with a 350gph filter, even though the link I'm about to provide you says 200gph. It seems like a good kit for the right price.

I decided I would keep Yrtle in her tank, and just put the new one out in the pond. I hope you don't look down upon me because if I knew my dad was going to do this, I would said no way.

Here is the link
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=p ... lpage=none

[scripta_elegans]

Does the turtle seem used to people?

[steve]

What about a stock tank for a temporary enclosure?

[TexasJagsFan]

I may have to, but now that I'm out of school, hopefully I can get a pond and get in installed by the weekend.

[steve]

The thing with ponds is that creating a screen and protective barrier might be a bit harder than with a stock tank. Plus, they need to be in ground, or have some sort of support for their uneven bottom.

[marisa]

Definitely consider a stock tank. The larger sizes are deeper than most ponds I've seen.

[TexasJagsFan]

Hmm I just realized this should be in the outdoor section. Opps.

I decided to go with the pond, due to it already containing a filter. At this time, it was the best option.

I got up early this morning and started digging, I hit so many tree roots, it wasn't funny. Then I started hitting shale because we live on a mountain. I took a picture with my cellphone, and all the rock you see around the pond is what I dug out of the hole. I finally stopped for the day around 8. I moved the fence posts out a little and sodded in the back, front and on one of the sides. I started to put up chicken wire but I need to go back and buy more posts to reinforce it, along with something to keep the turtle from crawling underneath the wire.

But at it's deepest point, the pond is 18 inces. The turtle is active in the aquarium and doesn't seem to be bothered by humans, but I've have problems getting him to eat. The last couple days I've tried romaine lettuce, carrots, pellets and that's it so far. We haven't really eaten anything yet. We are an adult male, and I tried feeding him some of what I feed my other RES but we don't seem to bite. Is there a trick to this, or?

Also, I've got a syphon that's a attached to a hose that allows me to drain and fill aquariums fast, along with cleaning them. But I can't get the syphon going for the pond, I guess it's at ground level. I've had some dirt collect on the sides of the bottom, and I can't figure out to clean the dirt, all I can thing of is a shop vac, but our's is program. Does anyone know what can I use to clean the bottom of the pond? The surface also seems to collect spiders and other bugs, do I just need to skim the water constantly?

Thanks

[RunninWideOpen]

Sounds like you're doin great for the new guy. Were there natural habitats around the electrical plant that he was found at?? I'm glad you didn't release him in your area....there doesn't sound to be a suitable place.

Does anyone know if RES even have natural habitats in Arizona?


Your pond looks great! I can't believe you dug all those rocks out.....what hard work! Is he going to be able to get in and out of the pond whenever he wants? It looks like he might be able to get out towards the right side of the picture.

[scripta_elegans]

Arizona is not in their native range, but Oklahoma is. I would guess though, that if the turtle doesn't seem to mind people, that he was a pet loosed into the wild. The wild turtles I've seen have all been pretty skittish of humans. Wild or captive, he should love that pond! It looks lovely. I wish I were a turtle sometimes.

[megcornell]

He probably isn't eating just because he's had a stressful couple of days transitioning first to people and now to a new home. It may take him a few more before he starts to eat. You can always entice him a little with some brine or shrimp treats, just make sure he doesn't get hooked because it's hard to convince turtles to eat pellets once they've had shrimp
The pond looks great! Do you have a basking area for him in there yet? That would be my only concern... he's got a great home so far though

[RunninWideOpen]

That's kinda what I was thinking too scripta.....but Oklahoma's a LONG way from Arizona, so I'm thinking he was a pet as well.