Posted by:
StephF
at Tue Jun 24 17:40:56 2003 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by StephF ]
I can tell you a little about my setup's pond arrangement: I dug for a pond that has a surface area of roughly 3x4 ft. In cross section it has a "deep end" about 18-24 in. deep, tapering to a shallow end of 2". I bought a 250 gph pump (much more than I really need) which is submerged on the deep area. I have a tube coming up to an ornamental spout for circulation/oxygenation. The whole pond is nearly filled with lavarock (lowes garden dept.), which is a very porous, lightweight rock, which is acting as a huge filtration system. The pond empty of rock would probably hold alot more water, but this way its only about 4 in. deep, stays crystal clear, sounds great and is easy for turtles to to get in and out of. I paid special attention to this last aspect because two of mine are amputees. Pumps are getting better and better: mine uses no oil, so there is no risk of a spill.
As for finding the eggs... I have a female digging as I write this, and another layed last week: my advice would be to watch her carefully and make a note of where she's digging, because unless you see them digging it can be darn near impossible to find evidence of a nest after the fact. I kid you not: I've stumbled across wild females in the final stages of covering up, and they do an excellent job of making it look as though nothing had ever taken place.
Good luck!
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RE: help please...laying and enclosure questions - StephF, Tue Jun 24 17:40:56 2003