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I'm thinking about feeding Mello in a seperate container now, to keep the main tank cleaner for longer. How long would it take for her to poop after eating?

Also, I was hoping to bring her outside for a couple hours or so a day to let her bask now, instead of a bulb. I used a pretty large container with a dry side and a side with water. Unfortunately, when I brought her out yesterday, she just hid very timidly in the water for half an hour and didn't show any interest in exploring/basking. Any tips?

And finally... if at all possible, I'm thinking of relocating Mello into my existing outdoor pond with a few koi and water lilies. Would a turtle try to eat or kill the lilies? Anyone with experience with turtles living with lilies?

I'm worried about predators too. We have a heron that lands next to our pond recently, trying to eat the koi. The koi are fast enough and timid enough to escape, but will a turtle? How do you outdoor turtle keepers deal with predators?

How often do you have to clean the tank? There's nothing wrong what you're thinking of doing but it could be very time consuming. Extra handling could also be a little stressful for Mello. How long it takes to poop depends on the turtle... some are more predictable than others.

Any outdoor enclosure will need protection. You will likely have to modify what you have to make it more suitable for her. I'm not sure about the lilies, I guess it depends on what else is there and what she has to eat.

I clean the tank about once a month during the school year. Probably not ideal, but I don't come home very often. And now I'm about to leave for another state for 3 months soon, so my parents will be taking care of Mello.

I was mainly hoping for something less time consuming than water changes, with the feeding in a separate tank thing OR living in our outdoor pond entirely, because my parents aren't as interested in the turtle as I am. Hmm... maybe feeding in a separate container is the best I can do for now?

And thanks for the reply!

Would that mean your parents would have to feed Mello in a separate container?

Yep. Hopefully they don't mind that.