Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i know lots of people have make big outdoor summer dens and they just simply dig holes in the ground and fill with water . shallow muddy ones for teh box turtles and deeps ones for the aquatics. the onyl bad thing i can think of is the smell, algae and mosquitos. besides them whut else is there to worry about ?
i was thinkin of digging a 2 ft deep 3ft by 4 ft around hole and just filling it about a foot deep with rocks and sand , for a strong base and so its not as muddy .
i assume ide have to clean it and repair it from time to time but im ok with that.
any other drawlbacks?

Unless you live in an area with extremely dense clay or a very high water table, the water in a hole like this will only last for a few minutes. To hold water, you'd have to use some kind of liner. PVC liner is sold by the square foot in the larger home improvement stores. Tarps can work for a temporary pool, but they don't hold up all that well over time.

yeah i was gonna lay some sort of liner under the rocks and sand

I've had a lot of experience with outdoor ponds, and there's one piece of advice that I can give you. Either do it "all the way" or don't do it at all. Meaning, either build a fully functioning pond with a decent filter, live plants, and the whole nine OR just maintain a small setup that allows you to change the water easily and frequently. This will save you a lot of grief in the long run, trust me.

Your biggest risk is the fact that water quality directly affects the health of your turtles.

There are usually a lot of "water gardening" books available at the library where you can read about tons of different outdoor pond setups. You may find something that works for you. Just remember, many of them are only for looks and don't take into account the high amount of waste produced by a turtle.

I would think it would get really dirty.

Turtles like to use the bathroom in the water.

HOw would you change the water in a hole like that? I assume it would be a lot of work.