Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone,
I have a male res that is almost 2 inches in plastron lenght who lives in a tank with two plecostomus. I live in central KY, so it stays in the 80's or 90's during the day and rarely goes below 60 at night. I was thinking of buying a plastic baby pool, making a cover for it, and keeping him out in it all summer. What do you all think? Will his plecostomus live in it all right, or should I move them into another tank until winter (I have a betta). I did have a pond which I dug myself, but it got so overrun by algae and I had so much trouble keeping fish in it that I filled it back in.

Thanks in advance,
Taylor W.

I would be very careful putting your baby outside all day
in one of those baby plastic pools. You first MUST make
sure it is completely predator and human proof. You also
must take into consideration that in very warm temps the
water may heat to dangerous levels. You must provide shade
and place it were it does not get full sun all day. Morning
sun and late afternoon sun is what I have found to work the
best but I always provide a lot of shade. Do a trial run and
monitor temperatures. I use a 60 gallon cattle trough
with a large rock for basking but I have it enclosed with
a 6x6x6 foot freestanding dog run complete with top. This
enclosure supports 2 troughs and I have 2 turts in each.
Also, you need drain off for heavy rains. I have a hole
drilled in the side at a certain level. That way if it
rains it does not fill completely. I would also bring the
little guy in at night if it drops below 70 degrees. In
the summer months, I leave my turtles out night and day
and I do not worry about any theft or predators. Oh yeah,
the gate to the dog run has a padlock.

Hope this helps

>>... I would also bring the
>>little guy in at night if it drops below 70 degrees. ...

This isn't necessary. My RES is about 16 or 17 yrs old. Her summer home is fenced area surrounding a birch tree. She comes indoors approximately every second night to be fed and for bathroom, otherwise she's out day and night until first frost.
My turtle's web-page (outdated by abt 3 yrs)

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tricia

I agree if they are adults. This one is only 2 inches so
I do not think I would take the chance at his age.

Just my opinion