Photo Gallery :: Turtlette!

[sillyleisl]

This is my sweet girl, Turtlette and her home.

[Tenodera]

Wow...she's a big beauty.

[sillyleisl]

Thanks! She's 7" of sweetness and personality

[SpotsMama]

How lovely! Tell us about your pond. How deep is it? Is it above ground or below ground level? I can't quite tell from the angle. How many gallons does it hold? Is there a pump? I suppose Sweet Girl can lay eggs in the mulch - has she ever done so? Has she ever gotten out of the enclosure?

I love that she has a choice of being on land or in the water!

[eugenetimpog]

beautiful!

[industrial_girl_2000]

Wow, only 7 inches? She looks bigger in the picture! What a beautiful girl!!!

[steve]

That looks very nice! I would would be careful about using a wood substrate around the pond.

[marisa]

Nice-looking turtle, nice-looking pond.

[rachel16]

That looks very nice! I would would be careful about using a wood substrate around the pond.

wats wrong with wood?

[steve]

Certain types of wood (particularly the oil in them) can irritate the skin and sensitive membranes. There's also concern about the source of the wood and whether or not it has been chemically treated (pesticides, coloring agents, scents, etc) or contaminated. Lastly,I wouldn't want wood chips in the water since they might be eaten or clog the filter.

[turboturtle8]

Beautiful turtle!!Nice pond too!!
How long have you had her?

[sillyleisl]

Thanks for the heads up on mulch. I never thought of those things, but she rarely roams around it. She likes staying in the water or basking in the rocks bordering her pond. I suppose I could change it though. Any suggestions?

I've had her for a year. The previous owner of this house left her to me when he sold it. The pond is about 4-5 feet long and maybe 3 or more feet wide. Maybe I'll measure it tomorrow. It's a least a couple of feet deep, but the bottom is not all the same depth. There's a pump and filter. When I get some money I'm going to buy a bigger pump and maybe a waterfall. I estimate the pond to be about 50 gallons, but I could be way off because I'm just estimating from other preformed ponds I've seen around.

She has gotten out once. That was recently and completely my fault. I almost had a heart attack when I saw she was gone. I had some plants that I was going to put around her pond, but I just placed them in the enclosure temporarily and didn't think about it. Well, she came out to inspect them while I went about my business. When I come back, I notice she's GONE! AND the landscapers were across the street ready to mow the grass. I looked around frantically and saw that she was stuck underneath the chain link fence that borders part of my yard to an apartment complex...I was so relieved to see her and she was just staring back at me like "Are you gonna come get me or what?" I realized that the potted plants were near the the border of her enclosure and it gave her a leg up to get over it. It's odd because other than that, she never even tries to escape unless I kick her out of the pond to do some cleaning. Then she tries to climb over but never makes it.

[steve]

Grass is always good and perhaps part of area packed with dirt. You have a female, and they can lay eggs even without a male present.

If you think she's doing fine on the mulch, then I suppose any changes would be optional.

[sillyleisl]

hm, maybe one day down the line it would be cute to put grass in with a sand pit to look like a golfing green. I don't play golf, but I live in FL where there's a thousand golf courses and everyone else plays golf. It would be cute. Then she can use the sand for her eggs. Sand gets hot though...hmmmm. But if I plant some plants around it to shade it a bit and give her privacy that might help.