Outdoors Res???

[peterm15]

i know theres a few that keep RES outdoors in the summer.. well i have a little pond and bring my guy out for some exorcise once in a while.. but i was wondering... can i keep him out side all summer and if so how do i go about making the pond escape proof and preditor proof.. thanks very much..

heres a pic of my pond.. plain but good enough i think..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v604/peterm15/Picture001.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v604/peterm15/pond2.jpg

the sides are like 80 degrees slope but there rubber.. im more worried about racoons than anything..

[ATBlover]

i think they would be fine out there all summer but about the predator proof fence?..im not sure...but maybe some hiding places would be a good start...

[Wu-Gwei]

How big is it? If it is under 3", I would worry it can get snatched up by a bird.


Cheers,
JJ ;)

[peterm15]

the shell is probably about the 6" wide.. hes a small adult male

[peterm15]

the shell is probably about the 6" wide.. hes a small adult male.. if you look really closely in the first pic on top of the underwater white rock you can see him

[peterm15]

does anyone else have any advice

[K1LOS]

Well, this won't help you much but might for others considering the same thing.

If you want a pond for this purpose make it have at least a few spots as deep as possible and provide lots of hiding spots. That will give your little friend a much better chance.

Now in your case, That pond doesn't look too deep, but give him some hiding spots and escape routes down there. Put some side-ways teracota pots and such. Realistically though, the only way to be truly safe would mean making changes that wouldn't be pleasing to the eye. A cage around the whole thing for example.

Good luck

Geoff

[peterm15]

well it is about 2.5-3 foot deep, for me its just as easy to take him out at night.... thank you. im gonna add a few hides for him...

[Rikki]

Very nice setup, though as said; a predator safe fence would be suggested. I keep my RES outside during the summer and they love it, they have became much more active. Im sure yours will enjoy their out door home as well. best of luck :)

[peterm15]

hey rikki.. thanks for the reply.... can i see a pic of your outdoor setup??

[Rikki]

I will get one soon though at the time I am having to use a web cam for most of my pics. I have them in a 75g setup, with large pond pump, I also have a small fence around the pond for safety from my cats and dogs.

[The Gawd]

nice start, heres what i would do, put a fence (chicken wire) all the way around the entire pond and go into the ground hmm say a foot or two, above the ground about 3 feet, and make a lid that lifts off entirely, but locks down, id even put a paddle lock on it, i have lost a few turtles in out door ponds, and my uncle lost 2 6inchers last year, this is what i have done and what i told him to do, racoons are smart very smart, and very curious, i have raised 3 and released them, i have seen how they act and react, and all the crazy things they do, one other thing is a racoon does not produce saliva, thats why they always wash their food, and are always around water, where turtles are, this setup dosent look that bad if you take your time and do a good job, one other thing that made it look a little bit better was painting the wire black...... oh yeah fill the pond right up!!!!
c-ya

[peterm15]

well the unfortunate part is my mother left my turtle outside one night before i was able to take all the percautions needed.. i always took him in before like 7.. well he got out... im just hoping he comes back... i doubt it though,...

[The Gawd]

Oh no way, check every where, any water source, pools, ditches, drains, dark cool spots, under porches, ect...... oh man i hate hearing this, because 1 of 2 things happened... it escaped and is now posing a threat to the environment, or it was captured prally by a bird of prey (since you lost him in the day)..... i hope you find him LOOK EVERYWHERE!!!!!

[peterm15]

he was lost at night.. and i checked everywhere.. lifted everu bucket... checked lawns withen 3 yards on either side... i spent 3 days looking.. i had him for about 15 years.. it really upset me.. he wouldnt leave during the day.. we had him out there for weeks,.... only during thw day... without any problems.. then the one night my mom fell asleep and didnt bring him in..... he ran off

[Cloudkicker]

Oh man, I'm sorry to hear about your loss. Hopefully you find him. As the gawd said search everywhere even places where you'd least expect him to hide. Good luck.
-Andrew-

[peterm15]

oh trust me i did,... everywhere.. my whole family searched every nook and cranny for 3 days and are still looking a few weeks later

[The Gawd]

thats horroble a few weeks eh.... shes gone..... always keep your eye open tho, 5 years ago i lost a banana phase cal king.... i was so mad.... yet i found it like 8 months later and she was 2x the size...... I found her the day i was moving outta my appartment outside on the ground it was so weird, like she was like dont leave me here!!!! hahaha so funny and i was so happy