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I need some advice for an outdoor summer "vacation" home for Toby. I'm looking for something inexpensive and that I would not leave him in overnight. I would just take him out there during the day on the weekends when I am home and the weather is nice. It has to be something that I can fit on my patio. I was thinking either a kiddie pool or a Rubbermaid 55 gallon storage container... any other ideas or thoughts on which would be better? I have an extra turtle dock that I can suction to the side of the Rubbermaid container, I'm not sure what I would use for basking in the kiddie pool? A floating log maybe?

Any thoughts/ideas are appreciated!

The catch with outdoor setups is that you MUST provide a place where the water can cool off so the turtle doesn't boil. I'm not sure which would be best, a deep rubbermaid container or a shallow kiddie pool ...

I would think the shallower container would heat up more quickly....how dark the color of the container may also effect how quickly the water heats up.

The first couple of years we had Spot we'd let him spend time outside in a kiddie pool. We got the deepest one we could find - I think the water was 8" or 10" inches deep. We provided a platform in the middle where he could get up and bask. Part of the area with the pool was shaded. Spot seemed to really like it.

You have to be careful with a kiddie pool that it doesn't lose air because if the walls get soft your turtle can escape. Watch him like a hawk too because he'll be vulnerable to preditors in a setup like that.

I like the idea of a kiddie pool more, it seems more fun Don't worry, I plan on having shade cover at least part of it and I will stay outside with him to watch him. I'm too paranoid to leave him alone outside. I'll keep a digital thermometer in the water to make sure it doesn't get too hot. I just want him to be able to get some real sunlight when it's nice outside.

SpotsMama wrote:You have to be careful with a kiddie pool that it doesn't lose air because if the walls get soft your turtle can escape. Watch him like a hawk too because he'll be vulnerable to preditors in a setup like that.

I didn't think about an inflatable kiddie pool, I was going to try to find something plastic. Would an inflatable pool work? Or would he likely puncture it with his claws or beak? Sorry, I'm new at this...

If you get a preformed one, you wouldn't have any problems with it deflating. They're fairly maleable, though, so make sure it's on level ground or the weight of the water will pull it out of shape. Get the deepest one you can---the water does heat up quickly in shallower ones.

A simple kiddie pool works for me. It is in the sun in the morning till about 3 oclock. I bring them in at night because it is still too cold. Heres a link to a picture of it, hope it works. i have since added gravel. -edit--pond stones
http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a366/ ... lepool.jpg