General Care Discussion :: curious - basking outside

[Honu23]

The articles on this site mention letting turtles bask in the sunshine to bask in the summertime.

I don't have to worry about it now, but am curious: how do you keep the turtle from escaping?

[marisa]

You have to have some sort of enclosure for them, be it a kiddie pool, stock tank, pond, etc. No glass tanks---the glass heats the water too much and a turtle could literally be cooked. Whatever you use, there should be a shaded area that the turtle can go to. The smaller the container, the faster the water will heat up, so a larger one that's escape and predator proof is really what you want, especially if you're going to leave the turtle alone for any length of time.

Some people bring their turtles out for relatively short periods of time, either to walk around a bit or swim and bask in a container smaller than mentioned above. If this is done, however, the person should stay with the turtle (they can disappear very quickly if allowed to walk, and as said before, small containers heat up quickly so monitoring the temp is a wise thing to do).

Taking a turtle out on a regular basis several times a week to get natural sunlight for 45 minutes to an hour will go a long way in meeting his UVB needs.

[trudykurz]

I have a very large, collapsible kiddie pool that I have set up on my deck for my turt. It's about 2 feet deep and 8 feet across. I used some leftover pieces of pond liner to wrap around some bricks to give my turt a basking spot in the middle of the pool. I do have dogs, so I got a round kennel cage from a friend that encloses the pool nicely. I was not worried about Barnie being able to escape, I was more worried about the dogs jumping in to get to her! The kennel cage itself is about 3 feet high and it was bought at Petco for around $150. If you don't have a bunch of dogs like me you could probably use something like chicken wire, check your local home improvement store, they have all types of wire that you can get by the foot or by the roll.

[meltedspork]

Sometimes I just let my turtle roam around the yard, but I stay with him at all times. Other times, I set up a kiddie pool for him. I usually sit outside and read while he stays in the pool. I don't think he can escape from the pool, but I wouldn't put it past him.

[trudykurz]

That is so cool it looks almost like mine!

[Honu23]

Thanks all! One more related question - getting the turtle out of a larger aquarium.

When I buy a 50-gallon aquarium, I won't be tall enough to reach my turtle if he swims away. In that case, is it possible & safe to catch the turtle in a net? Or is there another way I'm not envisioning? (Don't have the big tank yet.) This would be if I want to take him outside for sun, or to feed him in a separate container.

[papoopeepoo]

Could you possibly stand on a stool or chair to bring you up so your arm can get deeper into the water? Depending on your turtle's size, an aquarium net may not be big enough, and it could stress him out more than just your hand.