Need ideas for box turtle pond

Barber25

Member
Tortoise Club
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Mar 27, 2020
Messages
92
Location (City and/or State)
Freeland Michigan
I have an outdoor enclosure (it was a garden) that has been converted to a Box Turtle year round home. (in central Michigan) It is about 20' by 20' and it has turned into a jungle of 4 ft. tall weeds. I would like to put in a pond..Im thinking about 3 ft by 8 ft, and about 2 or 3 ft deep at deepest point. I was planning on some type of liner along the bottom. can the pond by relied on as the drinking source for the turtle(s) or would it need some type of filtering /cleaning system ? There's probably more to this whole process than I thought, so just trying to learn from all the experiences of others. I just have seen how dirty the plastic saucer I'm currently using for dipping and drinking gets.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,390
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
I have an outdoor enclosure (it was a garden) that has been converted to a Box Turtle year round home. (in central Michigan) It is about 20' by 20' and it has turned into a jungle of 4 ft. tall weeds. I would like to put in a pond..Im thinking about 3 ft by 8 ft, and about 2 or 3 ft deep at deepest point. I was planning on some type of liner along the bottom. can the pond by relied on as the drinking source for the turtle(s) or would it need some type of filtering /cleaning system ? There's probably more to this whole process than I thought, so just trying to learn from all the experiences of others. I just have seen how dirty the plastic saucer I'm currently using for dipping and drinking gets.
I just sweep mine out with the broom every morning.
 

jeff kushner

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2020
Messages
2,688
Location (City and/or State)
North of Annapolis
Wow, your halfway to UP! I grew up in Ann Arbor and I still had to look at a map...lol

A bit chilly up there BUT, a pond is relatively easy considering you have such a nice large space. I say relatively because IMHO it's easier to find a "balance" in cooler temps than warmer. The trick is primarily make it so everyone can get out safely, from nearly anywhere on the perimeter, that will "keep you honest".

Since you have space, don't get carried away trying to make the pond too large or you will increase evaporation substantially. You also have to find the "mean water level" vs. SF of surface area you need where nature will refill it before it gets lower than your solar fountain can pump. Yes, I'm going to try one in Matilda's (yearling boxer) new outdoor enclosure. I don't know others experience with them but I'll try a small one just to see. Seems like a good solution, if it works worth a darn.

The other part of the equation for you as a pond builder is the plants that will work to keep it clean and live in the Artic up there- lol. Snails are fantastic cleaners and can provide a snack for your guys on occasion, when they catch them. I may tease about the climate but I used to swim in Lake Superior...completely swim! Now I'm a putz, cold water......yuck.

FWIW my outside pond here in MD was hourglass 5.5ft x 2.5ft x 2ft descending to about 2.5ft at one end. We posted 1" squares steel mesh to the dug out shape to form it , then used concrete to make it. It never ran out of water. I'd suggest you look at some of the ones posted in the Sticky's......there are a lot of folks who have built some fantastic ponds!

good luck
 

m irwin

Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2021
Messages
48
Location (City and/or State)
Dallas
here's my two cents on this. My first try for a pond was using a pond liner bought at Lowe's, but I wouldn't really recommend it. The liner you have to fold and configure to your pond shape and the folds don't look too good. Plus, stuff gets caught under them (like turtle poop, leaves, etc....) and makes it harder to clean out. Primarily though the pond liner drawback is it's slippery and the turtles can't get in and out of the water if there is any slope to it. I had to add in a bunch of rocks and such to make sure they could get out and all those rocks and such made clean out hard. I ended up having to drain the thing down once a week and blasting a hose all around the rocks and folds in the liner to get all the debris and poop out, and refill. It was a lot of work. So this season, I went another route. I took out the liner, and instead laid down a thin concrete bowl using the "maximizer" concrete product from Lowe's. easy to smooth out into any shape pond you have. the hardest part was mixing the concrete with the water - the stuff comes in an 80 pound bag and is heavy. once it dried, i coated over it with "flexseal" clear and it appears to be watertight. I don't need it totally water tight as a quick squirt of the hose fills it back up, but you get the idea. The good thing about the concrete is it's super "grippy" so the turtles can get in and out on their own and I don't have to worry about drowning. Also, no folds or other problems with the liner. Also, no worries about liner punctures from roots, etc... Concrete solves all that. And if I want to change it around, make pond bigger, smaller, whatever, easy to dig up since only a half inch thick and start over. Hopefully this will work long term as the pond liner deal was a lot of work to keep clean. the turtles loved it, but it was too much work for me! hope that helps.
 

Barber25

Member
Tortoise Club
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Mar 27, 2020
Messages
92
Location (City and/or State)
Freeland Michigan
sounds like advice that will save me alot of grief....looking for simplicity
 

MEEJogja

Active Member
Tortoise Club
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 18, 2021
Messages
160
Location (City and/or State)
Indonesia
There are pros and cons of both, a problem with a concrete pond is sealing it is tricky. You must seal it with something to prevent the cement reacting with the water and changing the pH. The sealers I have come across sit in a rubbery layer on the surface and do not stand up to much damage.
You also need to let concrete/cement cure for WEEKS which is very frustrating.
Liners certainly have their place and are easier in many ways.
I would always install a pump and filter with a pond of that size, even if it is just a cheap $20 pump, sponge filter combo.
 

mark1

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2015
Messages
1,932
Location (City and/or State)
ohio
i've used a 20 gallon home depot cement tub , with an undergravel filter and an external diy filter for 7 young box turtles for the last 3-4yrs , seems to work just fine ..... i try to clean it once a year , the gravel and the external filter at a different time so as not to disturb the biological filtration too much ...... i overflow it once in awhile with a 5 gallon bucket of fresh water , and rain also overflows it .......i left it run all winter and actually haven't cleaned it this year .....

DSCF7431.jpg


DSCF7421.jpg


DSCF7420.jpg


big box turtles got a 20 gallon cement tub with a drain ..... been like this for probably at least 10yrs , takes a couple minutes to change 20gallons .......when the tub starts leaking i'll go the pond ,undergravel and external filter route .....

DSCF7422.jpg

DSCF7423.jpg

DSCF7424.jpg

DSCF7426.jpg

DSCF7429.jpg

DSCF7430.jpg
 

jeff kushner

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2020
Messages
2,688
Location (City and/or State)
North of Annapolis
Beautifully simple setup Mark!

but
"..when the tub starts leaking"

Won't that be time for Flex Seal? Hell, if they can build a boat from it......LOL
 

mark1

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2015
Messages
1,932
Location (City and/or State)
ohio
Beautifully simple setup Mark!

but
"..when the tub starts leaking"

Won't that be time for Flex Seal? Hell, if they can build a boat from it......LOL
i'm a fan of simple ........i will not forget that suggestion , i'm amazed it hasn't cracked yet , it has to be brittle by now ..... depending on what's going on when it finally does give out , that would be a handy solution ...... i do want to put a pond in the adult box turtle pen at some point ....... i have access to large sections of stainless mesh and expanded metal , i've made some pretty large undergravel filters ....... they sure seems to me to be unbeatable , my ponds are low low low maintenance .... i've never had less than crystal clear water in any pond i've had no matter how many turtles , with minimal cleaning ...... i've not cleaned 2 of my ponds in 2yrs , i've not cleaned any of the 5 external filters since 2019 , couple got trees growing in them .......i'll probably get them all this summer ........
 

m irwin

Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2021
Messages
48
Location (City and/or State)
Dallas
i'm a fan of simple ........i will not forget that suggestion , i'm amazed it hasn't cracked yet , it has to be brittle by now ..... depending on what's going on when it finally does give out , that would be a handy solution ...... i do want to put a pond in the adult box turtle pen at some point ....... i have access to large sections of stainless mesh and expanded metal , i've made some pretty large undergravel filters ....... they sure seems to me to be unbeatable , my ponds are low low low maintenance .... i've never had less than crystal clear water in any pond i've had no matter how many turtles , with minimal cleaning ...... i've not cleaned 2 of my ponds in 2yrs , i've not cleaned any of the 5 external filters since 2019 , couple got trees growing in them .......i'll probably get them all this summer ........
Mark, great pics but not sure I really understand how that thing works... It looks like you have a shut off vavle a few feet away from the pond. What does it do? How does it interact with the "pond"?
 

mark1

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2015
Messages
1,932
Location (City and/or State)
ohio
under the rocks in the cement tub is a drain , it runs into the buried garbage can , the valve , the can is full of holes ...... the tub is 20 gallons , the garbage can is 55 gallons , the drain is 3" pvc ,it drains 20 gallons in less than a minute ,there is room in the 55gallon can so i can also rinse out the tub ....... i've had buried tubs i needed to dump ,they never go back in the hole they came out of the same as they were , 20 gallons is pretty heavy ,your not getting it out a hole without spilling it , which washes dirt back in the hole ...... a pond is def a better idea , but this was easy and quick and has worked well for longer than i ever expected ........
 

Barber25

Member
Tortoise Club
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Mar 27, 2020
Messages
92
Location (City and/or State)
Freeland Michigan
just found my turtle in its enclosure...seems alert and fine..but what is this strange growth on its head?
16301819754417155249068033022235.jpg16301819754417155249068033022235.jpg
 

ZenHerper

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2020
Messages
2,078
Location (City and/or State)
New Jersey
That's an abscess. You'll want a qualified veterinary surgeon to open it up and remove the lump of (hard) pus.

Looks good otherwise!
 

mark1

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2015
Messages
1,932
Location (City and/or State)
ohio
the bacteria has access to the ear through the mouth , bacteria is not always the cause , often secondary .......... feed him/her some foods high in vitamin A before she hibernates , get it taken care of soon if you plan on letting her hibernate this year .......... some anti-bacterial in the ear will help ensure it doesn't come back .......jmo
 

Maggie3fan

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2018
Messages
8,046
Location (City and/or State)
PacificNorthWest
OK now...mark1 says he's a fan of simple...however neither you nor I understood his "simple" pond...(tease)...BUT I personally am the Queen of simple...I bribed the guy up the street with a pan of lasagna, to bring his shovel and come help me...So he and I hand dug a hole that is about 5 feet across and knee deep to me...for a big Sulcata...he loved the deep water...he would walk in and lay on the bottom for a looong time. But in the summer the water drained out faster...and Bob enjoyed it so much that after the water was out...I mixed up a wheel barrow of cement...poured it in and sorta smoothed it around. So after a couple of days I filled it up and gave Bob access...only he was happily running into 'his' pond and when his feet hit the cement he came to a screeching halt and backed out. So I left it up to him...and after a week I got my big sledge hammer and broke up the cement...
it is now a box turtle pond. The water stays in a couple of days now, and I don't clean it or worry about cleaning it. It's full of slugs for the turtles to hunt and eat.
100_0116.JPG
they love swimming
100_0112.JPG
and Mary Knobbins snuck in one day...
100_5048.JPG
 

Barber25

Member
Tortoise Club
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Mar 27, 2020
Messages
92
Location (City and/or State)
Freeland Michigan
Ear abscess
Kiwi had her surgery to remove the abscess yeaterday. The vet said it was the largest he had seen. in addition to the ear abscess on the left side, there apparently was also one on the right, which had allowed must of the mass to come out, leaving a hardened plug. These abscesses had formed quickly, over a period of a few months. the vet said they were not caused by bacteria, but more from a lack of vitamin A? Ive ordered some drops and will use those from now on. I've brought her back into her indoor box, and the vet says no substrate for the 2 week healing time. so Im using paper towels...ahe seems more active than ever, and ia apending almost all of the time (even at 3 am!) sitting in the water basin. when I give her food, she sits on it immediately...but havent seen her eat. Like I said, seems more active and less skittish toward me than ever...but her skin seems papery and yellowish (not head and legs, but the connective parts...but perhaps its the indoor lighting? Waiting patiently for a bowel movement to bring in for a parasite check. Im hoping the vitamin A prevents this ordeal in the future
 
Top