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pond ?'s

WildBill Aug 13, 2003 08:28 AM

I have three turtles, a RES, a western painted, and a map turtle. All three are pretty much the same size (few inches). I want to build a raised pond in my basement, out of landscaping timbers and a pond liner. I was thinking about 4' x 6' and maybe 1.5 to 2' deep. I was wondering if it would be okay to keep these turtles together, and if that size of pond would be big enough. Any ideas, advice, or suggestions would be great. Thanks.

Replies (3)

MiGuel35 Aug 13, 2003 01:04 PM

you have similar turtles to me, i have an RES and a false map turtle, and they have been housed together for about half a year, with no problems. i am looking into getting a painted pretty soon. i guess that answers your question of compatability everyone tells me they will be ok together as long as there is no aggressive behavior. you should watch them for a while before leaving them on their own.
my 2 turtles are larger and im in the process of constructing a 6ft x4ft pond(125 gallons) out of a preformed liner which is less gallons than yours, so i guess that pond will be suitable for them. i dont know how many gallons yours is but i think its fine since they still are small. depending on what sex your turtles are and how many gallons your pond is will determine if the pond is suitable
hope this helps

iturnrocks Aug 13, 2003 07:00 PM

if these are interior dimensions, and it was a cubical pond, it would be 359 gallons for a 4x6x2 foot, and 269 gallons for 4x6x1.5 foot pond.

As far as keeping it in a basement, unless it is a finished basement and thermostat controlled, you would lose a lot of heat from the pond unless you build an insulated cover around it.
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WildBill Aug 14, 2003 05:02 PM

The basement is heated and air-conditioned with the rest of the house. I have a 12 ft. python and a 3 ft. iguana down there already, so it stays pretty warm. I hadn't thought about that though. The floor is concrete, which stays cool, so maybe I should insulate the bottom at least. Thanks.
Thanks for the figuring the gallons for me too. I appriciate it.

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