All of my ponds have been preformed ponds of 250+ gallons and around each pond setup I included at least a 2 foot walk around area so the turts didn't have to spend their entire time in the water. I bought 1/2 inch galvanized mesh screening in 4 foot wide by however long I needed divided in half. The reason being that I cut the width in half and then had two pieces that would go around the pond, each 2 feet wide. I dug a 4 inch wide by 4 inch deep trench where I wanted it outside the pond, layed the mesh flat and made a 4 inch bend the entire length on the mesh. I then, with my snips, cut the bends at about 1 foot apart so that when I stood the mesh up , it would make a nice circle without kinking. I then placed the mesh in the trench with the bent edge facing the pond and covered it to the ground level. There is absolutely no need to bury your fence a foot or more deep. If your turtle digs at all, it's going to do it close to the fence and will hit the bend right away. No turt is smart enough to back off and dig under the bend. Now that the fence is in, you want to keep your turt from climbing out. With your snips, go along the top of the fence and about every foot or so, make a 3 inch cut straight down. Now bend the top over at the cuts facing the pond. This way you'll still keep a nice circle and if you've left little wire tips , you can bend them in together and make a nice, sturdy 14 inch escape-proof enclosure.
As for predators---my turts were visited by feral cats, racoons, and coyotes and it seemed that all these animals wanted was a drink. The racoons did a little fishing and dabbling and the feral cats watched the pond fish but the turts were not seen and therefore left alone. A neighbors dog went in the pond to cool off once but that's about it. Of cource, all my turts at the time, were very near full grown so I have no idea how small ones would have faired---very likely , not so well. I did have baby RESs in a 4 foot kiddie pool but then I was concerned about the temp drooping at night, more so than about a predator problem. I've since learned that babies are not harmed by temp drops at night.
Oh, yeah. One more thing. If you're like me, you want to keep your turts from trying to go through the fence. Best way is to buy some 4 inch garden edging and put it around the outside of the fence or you can buy some of that garden cloth and drape it around the fence and with fish line, sew it at top all around the fence. That works really well until the Red Squirrels decide they want it for nesting material. George
Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2005 2:14 pm Pond Constrainment
Don't think it needs to be 3 feet down, though.