RES outdoor enclosures

[MuseCrazy]

I'm thinking about putting my RES into a pond I have in my back yard. What kind of fish should I get? Should I get snails too? Do I need an out door filter or can I just pump new water in every other day? Will I need a heater at night? Any advice from experienced RES owners, and pics of your set up would be greatly appreciated!

 

[MuseCrazy]

This is what the pond looks like right now
Obviously it's been neglected for a while and needs some work

 

[terryo]

I had a 1,000 gal pond on the side of my house that had some Koi and a few RES and Eastern painted's in it. I had a very strong bio. filter. I couldn't tell you anything about the filter as my son took care of all that. Turtles are really dirty. I had plenty of plants but they ate most of them. If you put snails in there they will eat them too. I had a lot of frogs and when they laid eggs the turtles had a feast. Eventually they ate all the frogs and snails and anything else they saw in there. The floating island is where they basked in the sun. Eventually they ate all the plants on the floating Island too.

Then I used this spot for my box turtle garden and put a smaller pond in the back with two painted turtles, and a smaller filter and pump.




Then I made that spot into a tortoise garden for my Cherry Heads, but now I'm thinking a putting another turtle pond in the yard someplace again. I just found it was a lot of work cleaning the filter and all the plants being eaten when the pond was so big and there were too many turtles. If I do it again, I'll only have one turtle.

 

[Len B]

The first thing you will need to do is make the pond area escape proof. As for filtering, you can, or you can do water changes instead, I used to filter my pond but switched to water changes a few years ago. The fish I keep in the pond that do the best for me are what are sold as rosy feeders or something like that. they do fine over winter too. I was near you today in Upper Marlboro. Welcome to TFO

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

I got my pond surrounded with a small Pickett fence it has chicken wire on the back of the fence so the turtles cannt get out of their area . I made my oun filter with hair curlers I got from goodwill I have to change the filter and pond water about once a month in the summer .

---

 

[MuseCrazy]

Thanks so much for the help guys! Is bamboo safe? That's what all the tall dead grass in my picture is.

 

[Yellow Turtle]

I had a 1,000 gal pond on the side of my house that had some Koi and a few RES and Eastern painted's in it. I had a very strong bio. filter. I couldn't tell you anything about the filter as my son took care of all that. Turtles are really dirty. I had plenty of plants but they ate most of them. If you put snails in there they will eat them too. I had a lot of frogs and when they laid eggs the turtles had a feast. Eventually they ate all the frogs and snails and anything else they saw in there. The floating island is where they basked in the sun. Eventually they ate all the plants on the floating Island too.

Sorry Muse to hijack your thread. Terryo, I like your koi pond a lot and I LOL reading how your turtles will eat all of the plant and snails and frogs. They are such eating machines

I have a question for you. Since you mix your koi with sliders. Is it safe in your pond? I have koi pond, and would really love to mix my future sliders there, but I'm afraid my sliders would harass and eventually bite my koi.

Thank you.

 

[MuseCrazy]

Lol feel free, I have the same questions!

 

[terryo]

All around the top of the sides I had slate over laping so no one could climb out. I got the Koi first as babies because they were so expensive and when they got pretty big I put in the turtles. I spoke to my son last night and he said we had one RES that someone gave us and a Yellow Belly that was his and the Painted I had in the house in a tank that I put in there. They were all med size and the Koi were pretty big. We never had a problem with they going for the Koi, but they ate most of the Koi eggs and sometimes we would see a baby Koi that made it and the turtles would chase them around. To be honest with you when my son who took care of the pond died I couldn't look at it any more and I just gave everything away. I'm living here 40 years and during that time we had so many ponds and turtle gardens that we changed around, so I can't remember half the things we had, and that's why I keep asking my other son. LOL
This is a little 60 gal. pond with one YB turtle that my son has on the side of his house.


These are the Koi that were with the turtles. Pretty big.


Eastern Painted Turtle in the pond

 

[TortsNTurtles]

Terryo I just love your turtle gardens & ponds.

 

[bouaboua]

All around the top of the sides I had slate over laping so no one could climb out. I got the Koi first as babies because they were so expensive and when they got pretty big I put in the turtles. I spoke to my son last night and he said we had one RES that someone gave us and a Yellow Belly that was his and the Painted I had in the house in a tank that I put in there. They were all med size and the Koi were pretty big. We never had a problem with they going for the Koi, but they ate most of the Koi eggs and sometimes we would see a baby Koi that made it and the turtles would chase them around. To be honest with you when my son who took care of the pond died I couldn't look at it any more and I just gave everything away. I'm living here 40 years and during that time we had so many ponds and turtle gardens that we changed around, so I can't remember half the things we had, and that's why I keep asking my other son. LOL
This is a little 60 gal. pond with one YB turtle that my son has on the side of his house.


These are the Koi that were with the turtles. Pretty big.


Eastern Painted Turtle in the pond

WOW! ! ! ! !

This one is unbelievable nice ! ! ! !

 

[Yellow Turtle]

Terryo, your koi and garden are both really beautiful, and I'm really sorry to read about your son.