Turtle in a pond question

I have a small 400 gallon pond, and saw a red eared slider (I think) -
just a standard water turtle - and was wondering how it would fair in my
pond. They had theres with a floating log that it could get up on.

How would this do with my koi and larger goldfish?

Oh, pond photos

www.cobaltbluefilms.com/koi.html


Thanks in advance

Carl

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There's three things that turtles do that make them iffy pond pets.
~Their waste is considerable, out of proportion compared to the turtle it came
from so an efficent filter system is needed.
~ They eat their fair share of plants.
~ They have no pet loyalty, they go off on walkabout and end up on the
neighbor's porch.

That all said I was able to keep two at a time in a 3,000 pond with no
problems.

I have a small 400 gallon pond, and saw a red eared slider (I think) -
just a standard water turtle - and was wondering how it would fair in my
pond. They had theres with a floating log that it could get up on.


k30a

In , on 08/01/03
at 10:26 PM, ESPMER (K30a) said:

There's three things that turtles do that make them iffy pond pets.
~Their waste is considerable, out of proportion compared to the turtle it
came from so an efficent filter system is needed.

Using bacteria like BZT seems to handle that here.

~ They eat their fair share of plants.

Hasn't been a problem. I wish it would eat some anacharis.



Alan

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I took a turtle (unknown type) from my swimming pool and place he/she in the
pond. I do not know the pros or cons concerning the plants or fish yet, but
this I can say: I am thrilled to see a life form thriving in my created
environment.

Carl Beyer wrote:

I have a small 400 gallon pond, and saw a red eared slider (I think) -
just a standard water turtle - and was wondering how it would fair in my
pond. They had theres with a floating log that it could get up on.

How would this do with my koi and larger goldfish?

We have a RES that we rescued from someone's swimming pool. Our pond is in
the 4-5k gallons range. He won't bug the fish. I've read they are
carnivorous when young and eat more greens as they age, so perhaps mine is
just old, but I've watched a lot and he a) doesn't seem interested and b) is
way too slow.

They need some way to get out of the water and sun themselves. I have no
fence around my pond and am hoping he doesn't wonder off. My yard is fenced,
but we live on a canyon so we do have critters that might consider him a
meal if he was out.

They do generate a disproportionate amount of crap - I count mine as 10 4"
goldfish.

I feed him turtle food which he seems to like, and occasionally give him
some raw shrimp, chick or steak.

They are very interesting to watch, once they get used to you, in fact I'm
trying to teach mine to allow me to feed him from my hand. I already have
him swimming up to me at dinner time!

Check out these guys:

http://www.turtlehomes.org/usa/pondindex.shtml


Joe
San Diego



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In , on 08/01/03
at 03:58 PM, joe said:

They need some way to get out of the water and sun themselves. I have no
fence around my pond and am hoping he doesn't wonder off. My yard is
fenced, but we live on a canyon so we do have critters that might
consider him a meal if he was out.

I got my painted turtle from a local turtle rescue group two years ago.
My pond is not fenced, nor is my yard. However, unlike previous turtles,
she's decided she likes it here.

I feed him turtle food which he seems to like, and occasionally give him
some raw shrimp, chick or steak.

Mine loves Repto-Min, and refuses to touch the fish food. Turns her nose
up at it. The fish love her food, though. She also gets chicken or
turkey occasionally.

They are very interesting to watch, once they get used to you, in fact
I'm trying to teach mine to allow me to feed him from my hand. I already
have him swimming up to me at dinner time!

Mine has gotten accustomed to us approaching the pond, and sitting by it.
In fact, at feeding time we often have to push it off its basking rock so
it gets the food before the fish, who are fed at the same time, finish
their food and start eating the turtle food (they also eat the turkey and
chicken. I think they may actually be sharks. grin)


Alan
Pikesville, MD

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In , on 08/01/03
at 03:13 PM, Carl Beyer said:

I have a small 400 gallon pond, and saw a red eared slider (I think) -
just a standard water turtle - and was wondering how it would fair in my
pond. They had theres with a floating log that it could get up on.

Is it native to your area? If not, call a local turtle rescue group and
ask them if they can give you a native turtle when they get one that needs
a home. A turtle will need something to bask on, if it can't climb out of
the pond onto the bank to do so.

How would this do with my koi and larger goldfish?

It may chase them, but it won't be able to catch healthy fish (my painted
turtle tries occasionally to catch my goldfish, but they swim circles
around her. It's amusing to watch.)


Alan

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On Fri, 01 Aug 2003 15:13:11 -0700, Carl Beyer
wrote:

How would this do with my koi and larger goldfish?

My dentist has turtles and claims they ignore the fish most of the
time, but he removed a growth from one of his oldest fish one day and
when he released it back into the pond one of his turtles immediately
ate it.

Regards,

Hal