General Care Discussion :: who has a baby pool for their turtle?

[RunninWideOpen]

great minds think alike, eh greek?

[greek]

great minds think alike, eh greek?

yeap

[steve]

I would be more comfortable if there was something providing a barrier along the bars. Ply wood, acrylic or more drawing boards.. that kind a stuff. And as mentioned, predators can be very determined.

[marisa]

It's really good that they're going outside, but that Tupperware looks so shallow. Have you considered a Rubbermaid storage container? They'd be in something with even more swimming space, would have more of a barrier around the sides, and you could dump the water easily enough when you wanted to change the water. You could fashion a top using hardware cloth (found at gardening stores as well as hardware stores) for added protection.

[RunninWideOpen]

Well, I wanted to make something that they could get in and out of easily to cool off and rehydrate. It is only about 6" deep. Mainly, I wanted them to go outside to get some natural sunlight. The nice thing about my back patio is that I almost always has both direct sunlight and shaded area.

[marisa]

So they're supposed to be able to get out of the container and crawl around outside of it? Maybe it's me, but I'd be uncomfortable letting them do that unless I was actually sitting outside with them. (I don't remember if you said you planned to do this previously.)

[DavidY]

His patio looks well fenced in with a solid fence so it looks predator safe. Although racoons are good climbers...it would be good to keep an eye on them while they're out there.

[RunninWideOpen]

ya, they get in and out of the container all the time and walk around our little patio / backyard. Crush likes to Bask on top of the bricks and Squirt basks right on the concrete usually.

yes, my patio is completely fenced in. There's no way for them to get out. Sometimes I'll actually leave the backdoor open to and set up a barrier in the house so they can go in and out of the house as they please too.

Our apartment is in a well developed area, I've never seen any raccoons that far into town, and I have only seen them in the rural parts of town at night. However, I still only let them out while I'm home and I check on them quite often.

Thanks for the concern. To me this seems just as safe, if not safer, than people who have their turtles in outdoor ponds. I try to take every precaution I can, but I want to make sure I offer my turts some quality outdoor time as well.

[DavidY]

Wow, sounds like they've go lots of freedom to roam in and out. That's a nice setup. Yea, your setup sounds safer than if it were in the yard exposed to other animals or escape. And as long as it's while you're home and during the daytime, I would think they'd be ok.

[scripta_elegans]

i just set up a 70 gallon stock tank outside for the kids to get real sunlight during the day. I went out this AM, on my way to work, and found Anacharis from the pond all over the ground, and the thermometer broken on the patio! I would never leave them out there overnight because I am too paranoid, but I was still rather shocked that the racoons were digging for them anyway!

[octpusgirl8]

wow, scary

[alexis_906]

Thank goodness I don't have racoons here, how scarey indeed!

[scripta_elegans]

They are very cute little buggers, so I would hate to have to avenge my turtles if they ate them. I love to see them occasionally at night as they prowl around. They are very smart and nimble, and even inquisitive to a self preserving point.

[SpotsMama]

My goodness! Those racoons are amazing in a terrifying way!

[DavidY]

watch out for rabies