Habitat - Outdoor :: New Pond, Happy Turtle

[Smoofish268]

This is my lovely girl, Rigby, an 8 year old RES, enjoying her freedom outside, and the start of our landscaping project.
After nearly seven years of staring at patchy grass struggling to live in the not-so-lovely Virginia red clay our house was built in, my parents and I settled on a plan to landscape it. This is Phase 1, the water garden my mom has been wanting and got for Mother's Day -- and the turtle pond I've been wanting.
We'd had some algae issues with the pond, but thanks to help I got from the friendly people on this website, it's all cleared up! I promised to post pictures once we got everything cleared up, so here they are!

[steve]

Looks great! What did you make the pond out of and are you sure she can't climb out of there?

[Smoofish268]

The pond is a 160 gallon, pre-formed shell we bought at a pet warehouse that specializes in aquatics, along with all of the filtration systems, plants, and fish. It's very durable and the tiers are a nice feature for plants and basking areas.

And oh yes - it is very turtle proof. I spent a long time positioning the basking rocks, and while mom was laying the rocks around the edge I was measuring and watching Rigby swim up to them and inspect. I was worried about her basking area is at first, but it's too far of a stretch for her, and she can't climb out from the water level anywhere.

[GunnerMan]

Very nice, looks very happy. I wish my turtles would become a bit more friendly!

[scripta_elegans]

Aww! She is adorable! Does she live indoors in the winter? Is she way happier out in the pond?

[DavidY]

Wow that looks great! Nice job! Do you think you need to shade part of the pond from the sun in case it gets too hot?

[Smoofish268]

She is definitely much happier out in the pond, yes. But that's also because she has outgrown her indoor aquarium, and I can't quite afford to buy a new one right now (but I'm getting more hours at work so that could change soon ), so outside she has all of the room she needs. This fall I will have her new aquarium, so she'll be in for the winter.

And yeah -- she normally has more shade than in those pictures, but we had to move the umbrella while getting the dirt and rocks put down. The plants on the end opposite her basking area privide a good amount of shade in the interim, though.

[DavidY]

She looks very happy on her basking rock!

[Smoofish268]

Heh, yeah, I thought so too. I went outside to check on her and saw her like she is in the picture, and let out a big "Awwww!" My family was like, "What do you see?"
I said, "My turtle! She's smiling at me! It's adorable! Come look!" And they all just rolled their eyes. They don't quite understand my obsession with turtles. I probably snapped over 40 pictures in two days of her and her in the pond this past weekend
I'm getting ready to put up some more pictures in the Photo Gallery of her and some wild Box turtles we have around here. I got to see one lay her eggs in our front yard the other night, and actually got some pictures.

[steve]

And I suppose something can come through the woods (lots of turtle paranoia here)!

[DavidY]

He he, that's funny! We turtle lovers are a very unique (and special) group. Box turtles! Ya I'd love to see those pictures. That's awesome that you actually saw one laying eggs. They're pretty much extinct up here in New Hampshire.

[Smoofish268]

Absolutely right, steve, about predators coming up. I bring Rigby in at night too because I'm so paranoid about her getting snatched away by something. We live in a very rural area, so its nothing to see deer, raccoons, skunks, possums, bear, bobcats -- whatever, just to walk through our backyard. Paranoia is a good thing with them around.

I'll have the Box turtle pictures posted in the next 10 minutes or so. I have to resize them real quick. That's a real shame you don't have many in New Hampshire. Here in Virginia it's rare not to see one even if you're only out for a 5 minute drive, and all of the ponds we fish at have wild painted and snapping turtles. Quite nice, really, to be surrounded by turtles.

[DavidY]

Fortunately we still have lot's of painted and snappers around here, but for some reason the boxies were overcollected by people and weren't able to recover. It's probably because they are easier to catch than the aquatic turtles are. Yea, it's a real shame how badly people can mess up the environment.

[scripta_elegans]

We have ornate boxies here too. We also have RES, painteds, snappers, maps, wood turtles, spiny soft shell turtles, smooth soft shell turtles, yellow mud turtles, and blandings turtles. I have seen only painteds and maps myself, bu I am told the others are out there.

[Smoofish268]

Well it took much longer thn I anticipated (internet cut out on me), but the pictures are up in the gallery.

It is a shame how people can be so harsh on the natural environment and its critters. Whether on purpose or not -- I've seen too many turtles hit by cars than I care to, and it's neither party's fault. It just goes to show how some things aren't meant to blend.

On the other hand, even natural creatures sometimes don't get along. Two or three years ago we found my grandmother's dog gnawing on a poor box turtle. The dog had chewed all of the way around the perimiter of the turtle's shell before we found him. We brought him back to our house and gave him a quiet spot to begin recovering before releasing him again (and away from tmy grandmother's dog). He healed beautifully in the short time we had him, and I like to think that last year I saw him in the woods, a little scarred but no worse for wear.