I need ideas for an outside turtle habitat. i have about $100 budget. this is for summer only?

Question

i have found at walmart a 5" diameter 1" deep kiddie pool. i plan on burying it and making a 12X12 'sand box' type set up with 12ft long 1'x12' . i also found a good 400gph pump and filter. the top of the box will have a lid made of boards and 1/2 inch wire fence to keep the turtles in and raccons out. i also plan on setting the wals on bricksto discourage digging. as well as the 1/2 wire fence to be attached to the walls and go underground 8-12inches and inside towards the center about a foot so they can't dig under the bricks either. this will house a 5in res and a 4 inch eastern painted. i will also plant so lettuces and water plants and stock the kiddie pool with feeder rosies. and the bottom will have river gravel. they will only be outside june-late aug/early sept. oh and there is a shade spot both in and out of water and a hiding place made from a log. and there will be large stones to bask on.

is there a problem? or anything that i'm not seeing? ideas on how to improve it?

they can dig. the wire is so they don't dig under and get away. some turtles can dig upto 2 ft deep.

yes as akkaidne mentioned somethign like this http://www.amphibiancare.com/frogs/caresheets/images/yurtle01.jpg

but with a pond and much bigger.

Answer 1

something like this but bigger? and with a pond?

http://www.amphibiancare.com/frogs/caresheets/images/yurtle01.jpg

if you can find a bigger and deeper kiddie pool it would be better. i believe that ones with slides are larger and deeper so try one of those. they're not too much more. plus the aslide can double as a ramp for the turtles to get out so you won't need as much rock in the pool to take up room. other than that it sounds good. just make sure that there is a large ortion or pool in shade to help moderate the temp since it's so shallow.

hope that pic is a good reference!

Answer 2

Neither Red-ears nor Painted do a lot of digging other than nesting, so don't worry too much about buried wire- but you DO want to be sure there are NO gaps under the sides. 3-6" is plenty deep enough! Besides, if the pool is nice enough, they won't leave it too often!

The pool depth is my main concern. Most kiddie pools are pretty shallow, which means the water can get really warm with no cooler places to hide out in. It also means easy food for predators, etc.

Make sure some of the pool is shaded to help minimize the heating issues.

Just be careful to not put too much in the pool that will take away from swimming space- too much bottom gravel, too many rocks or planters, etc. and prety soon you have no place left for turtles!

Answer 3

I wouldn't discourage digging. I can see where you'd want to but it's part of their insticts, per say. They like to dig. You might put boards about 2 feet under ground and put the sand on top of it so that you don't have to worry about them digging out. But, they will need a deeper kiddie pool to be able to swim. That one sounds really shallow. Maybe you mean feet (') and not inches (") because if you mean feet then it should be ok. You might want to be careful with the wire that you use because trutles are curious and they might go over to the wire and get stuck. I might suggest building something else, lie use bricks, etc instead of wire.

Answer 4

ok enable's wish i did no longer repeat because of the fact i did no longer study all fifty 4!! 55. Shove somebody right into a pool, outfits and all fifty six. suitable your spittake fifty seven. Make a self portrait fifty 8. Throw a extensive masquerade ball fifty 9. study Miley Cyrus' autobiography 60. Make up a interest and play it sixty one. gown like a psycho and run in the path of the mall all day

Answer 5

Looks damn good to me! Can I come over for the pool parties?? No seriously, it sounds like you got them covered, just make sure your water stays clean and the dry areas don't get boggy.

Answer 6

Thank you so much for providing an outdoor habitat for the turtles! It is so important for turtles to get natural sunlight to prevent shell problems. It looks like you have done your homework.