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Teresa will probably be the only turtle in the pond. She might share her space with goldfish. The pond won't have a pump. The only filters will be water plants (water hyacinths, water lettuce, water lilies, water ferns, frogbit, duckweed, and bunched hornwort). Sure, more water changes might...

Hello, folks! As I've been discussing on this forum for a long time, our red-eared slider, Teresa, has grown out of her indoor tank, and I'm looking into setting up an outdoor pond for her to at least spend the summer (probably overwintering her indoors when the temps start to drop). While I...

What's the deal with frogs in outdoor turtle ponds, anyway? While I'm aware that turtles eat small frogs and tadpoles from time to time, do they actually deter them from showing up? I've heard of one person who's pond was taken over by frogs before they put the turtles outside for the spring...

Looking back, I feel like this post was a waste of potential. Bullfrogs have a habit of showing up at ponds themselves when they are welcomed or even uninvited, whether they are added to the pond as tadpoles or are native and migrating overland. I should have simply asked how to help them...

Pothos plants can be poisonous for dogs and cats to eat. Turtles are aggressive omnivores that obsess over plants. I can't imagine how you got that to work.

No replies? That's strange. The only plants I've tried are duckweeds. Our turtle eats them, but seems to prefer other foods. I've heard that water hyacinths and water lettuce are two of the best pond plants for aquatic turtles. One person said the turtles that he/she had started getting sick of...

I wouldn't consider myself to be a "turtle hobbyist" in the sense that most people on this forum probably would say they are, but Teresa's been living indoors with us for over 15 years. When we first got her, she spent a lot of her time living in a small plastic pool, but we quickly moved her...

I would love for Teresa to live in an outdoor pond in Florida. It's certainly more favorable than this "eastern Alaska" region of northern New England where we live. But I'm afraid red-eared sliders are banned in Florida, and most states where they can actually live outside. Otherwise, I would...

This isn't the same subject at all. In 2023, I asked about keeping red-eared sliders and bullfrogs in the same outdoor enclosures as pets (both animals being confined). But this discussion relates to whether wild frogs, which are inevitable, pose a threat to turtles, or whether turtles are a...

Anecdotal evidence suggests that red-eared sliders have individual personalities observed by their owners. Some are more predatory than others, for example.

(SIMPLE SUMMARY FOR THOSE WITH NO TIME TO WASTE READING THIS WHOLE THING.) Is it dangerous to allow turtles to coexist with wild frogs? Will turtles catch diseases from the frogs? Will turtles spread diseases to the frogs? Will turtles eat all the frogs? Will toxic frogs and tadpoles kill the...

Hello, folks! As I've mentioned on other posts, we have a female red-eared slider (or "pond" slider) named Teresa. We've had her for over a decade. As is often the case with red-eared sliders, she has grown too big and too challenging to keep inside in an average-sized aquarium tank. I've been...

That is certainly a unique and uncommon idea. I don't believe anyone else in our small town has a backyard pond. We would probably be the first people here to build a backyard pond, if we eventually decide to house her outdoors. We are unlikely to have enough space to give her a pond in any...

Temperature fluctuations exist throughout the year in northern New Hampshire. With the exception of mid summer, the temperature can fluctuate from 70 degrees Fahrenheit during the day down to 50 degrees at night, at almost any time of the year. After spending 15 years indoors, can she be...

"That red-eared slider is so cute! Let's get her! She can't be all that hard to care for. Everyone has one!" We were among those suckers, and most people who possess them are, too. We got her in Connecticut, not northern New Hampshire. We've had her for 15 years.

In northern New Hampshire, providing a red-eared slider with proper heat and proper housing is a challenge that's difficult to overcome. While moving her outdoors would undoubtedly satisfy her housing requirements, her heating requirements would very likely be less fulfilled. In comparison to...

You must not have been following my posts for a long time. Almost every prior post on Teresa has been discussing the proper husbandry of red-eared sliders in outdoor ponds. Suddenly changing her surroundings so drastically could have disastrous results if done carelessly, so despite my...

I posted the pictures again in case they didn't show up.

Hello folks! I've already mentioned our red-eared slider, Teresa, on many of my older posts before. Most of these posts were regarding the husbandry of the species in general. However, this time, I'm interested in posting a thread on the subject of Teresa herself. I've noticed that many...

It really is a shame that dogs don't live as long as tortoises. But if they did, it would be be even harder to say goodbye. Dogs are happier than humans, so even though their lives are short, they are fulfilled.