I've got one turtle, Spot. He's a 3 1/2" male, about 6 1/2" long. He's a lot of fun. He's wintering indoors in a tank right now. I'm hoping to have water quality issues resolved by this spring so he can spend the summer outdoors in the pond.
Someone else on here has a true indoor pond. It's huge. Last he reported it was almost done. He's going to post photos when the turtles move in. Here's the link:
http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewt ... c&start=75
Our outdoor pond was built by a guy that builds koi ponds. We think it's pretty. It's different from most ponds. We had been talking about putting in an outdoor water feature for years before Spot came along, then when we realized that he'd really benefit from a pond we went ahead and did it. Spot spent most of last summer outside in a large kiddie wading pool. His shell benefited tremendously from the sunshine and I think he was very happy being outside.
Some minnows have been living in the pond since fall. However, we're not sure that it's safe for Spot yet because there's some exposed stone and concrete in the water. We're going to have the water tested for toxins and if it's not ok we're going to have to make repairs before Spot moves in.
Spot just showed up in our back yard one year just before Thanksgiving. He was under some leaves in the back yard and I guess that was the best he could find for a hibernation place. It wasn't adequate though. He'd never have survived the winter. He was very small and in very bad shape but through some miracle survived. We loved him from the minute we saw him, which was a real surprise to us because we'd always though of ourselves as fur and feather types, not scales! We've had a lot of fun learning how to take care of him and fixing up his habitat.
I hope we have him for the rest of our lives and that someday someone else will get to enjoy him when we are no longer able. We've communicated with a turtle and tortoise rescue group in Houston and they've agreed to take him and make sure he always has a good home if our relatives aren't able to take care of him when the time comes. My husband and I are youngish retirees but if we can keep Spot healthy he realistically could outlive us both.
