Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I decided to take advantage of the nice weather today and spruce up the box turtle enclosure. So I took everything out of both sides, raked all the leaves to one corner, pruned and trimmed back the perennials, laid down a layer of compost AND added a small pond/wading pool to each side. About a month ago, I found these waterfall pools for ponds on clearance at Lowe's for 99 cents each, so I got three. I'm really excited about giving the boxies a larger place to wade, and hopefully swim around in. No filtration, but it will be better than the little saucers I had last year.

I can't wait until spring. With my new job at an organic nursery, the BTE will be overflowing with lush plants! I'm thinking some small sedges around each pond and some more hostas.

Very nice. I am so jealous. Here in NY, my enclosure is still covered with snow. I can't wait to finish it.

Looks good. Plants will definitely be appreciated! The enclosure here is looking pretty scruffy right now, but we like it that way.

Hey, Steph. Is Japanese Holly Fern safe? I couldn't find it on either the toxic or safe list. I picked up a couple four-inchers from work today for cheap. I'm also thinking Autumn fern, Ajuga and Aubrun Carrex in addition to the hostas ans coral bells I have planted in there. Thoughts?

Curtis,
The pen looks great, mine are still under a foot of snow,lol! I saw those waterfall ponds at Menards and Lowes too and thought they would be good in pens, but they are a bit pricey, but how can you pass up the clearance deal that you got, nice score, I should go check my local Menards and Lowes.
Just a suggestion you might make sure they can get traction to climb out of those waterfall ponds even though it slopes on the one end, it may get slimey and slippery with algae, maybe adding gravel or flat piece of wood, don't want any drowned boxies. Of course it will be easier to thoroughly clean periodically without the gravel. Looks like you have a nice variety of habitats and different substrates, I need to add more variety to mine.
-----
Jeff Benfer
1.0 cinnamon pastel Python regius
1.1 pastel Python regius
1.1 mojave Python regius
0.3 normal Python regius
1.3 Terrapene carolina thriunguis
2.3 Terrapene carolina carolina
4.1 Kinosternon baurii
1.1 Malaclemys terrapin terrapin
2.2 double het albino and anerythristicThamnophis sirtalis parietalis
1.0 anerythristic Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis
2.3 Iowa snow Thamnophis radix
0.2 het Christmas albino Thamnophis radix
1.1 double het cherry erythristic, albino Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
1.1 melanistic Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
2.0 66% het snow Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
1.1 triple heterozygous for amelanistic,carmel, and stripe Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 anerythristic motley Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 butter p.h. stripe Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 carmel stripe p.h. amel Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 amelanistic p.h. carmel,stripe Pantherophis guttatus

Thanks, Jeff. You are probably right about the traction issue. I've been wrestiling back and forth and may put a couple pieces of flagstone in there for that reason. I'm so excited this year about making revisions and additions to the pen. I'm even thinking about running a drip irrigation system over each section and hooking it up to a resevoir on a timer. I saw a similar system on Gardening by the Yard a couple weeks ago and thought it could work just as well to mist the boxies this summer!

The drip system would be a great idea especially if water is scarce where you live (aren't you in Texas?) and water conservation is important, I love that show Gardening By The Yard with Paul James, my wife refers to me as the gardening guys sometimes, that show is one of the things that motivated me to become a Master Gardener. Here in Iowa during the middle of summer when it's hot and dry I usually just spray the pens in the morning with the garden hose, sometimes in August I will even spray them again when I get home from work, but in the spring and early summer we get lots of rain. Today we had temps in the 40s, a real heat wave compared to a couple weeks ago when we had -29F, (that's 61 degrees below freezing), so today the snow is really melting, but far from gone and more coming next week unfortunately. Hope you are enjoying your spring though,lol.
-----
Jeff Benfer
1.0 cinnamon pastel Python regius
1.1 pastel Python regius
1.1 mojave Python regius
0.3 normal Python regius
1.3 Terrapene carolina thriunguis
2.3 Terrapene carolina carolina
4.1 Kinosternon baurii
1.1 Malaclemys terrapin terrapin
2.2 double het albino and anerythristicThamnophis sirtalis parietalis
1.0 anerythristic Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis
2.3 Iowa snow Thamnophis radix
0.2 het Christmas albino Thamnophis radix
1.1 double het cherry erythristic, albino Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
1.1 melanistic Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
2.0 66% het snow Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
1.1 triple heterozygous for amelanistic,carmel, and stripe Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 anerythristic motley Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 butter p.h. stripe Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 carmel stripe p.h. amel Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 amelanistic p.h. carmel,stripe Pantherophis guttatus

Yep, in Dallas. Yeah, just as important as water conservation is the fact that even if I mist in the morning, by the time the heat of the day is on at 11, it can just dry things up to a crisp quick, so that's why I'm thinking the drip irrigation multiple times throughout the day would be optimal.

I didn't know you had your Master Garderner's cert. That's cool. I've actually been thinking about going after it too. I love GBTY. It's so hilarious and informative. Hey, you planning to get to work on the pond soon, Jeff? Forty degrees sounds like pond-workin' weather to me Our spring is crazy. A few days around 65, 70, nights in the 30s and then a week of freezing rain. The perennials aren't happy.

Oh crap!!! theres still 3 inches of ice and snow over my pond, lol. Although today I did see one of my goldfish that was born last spring in my pond, it was swimming around up by the floating heater, I could just make out an small orange fish slowly swimming around thru the thinner ice by the heater, so at least one of them survived this brutal winter. I do plan to make a really big pond this year, but when I start depends on the rain this spring.
-----
Jeff Benfer
1.0 cinnamon pastel Python regius
1.1 pastel Python regius
1.1 mojave Python regius
0.3 normal Python regius
1.3 Terrapene carolina thriunguis
2.3 Terrapene carolina carolina
4.1 Kinosternon baurii
1.1 Malaclemys terrapin terrapin
2.2 double het albino and anerythristicThamnophis sirtalis parietalis
1.0 anerythristic Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis
2.3 Iowa snow Thamnophis radix
0.2 het Christmas albino Thamnophis radix
1.1 double het cherry erythristic, albino Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
1.1 melanistic Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
2.0 66% het snow Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
1.1 triple heterozygous for amelanistic,carmel, and stripe Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 anerythristic motley Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 butter p.h. stripe Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 carmel stripe p.h. amel Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 amelanistic p.h. carmel,stripe Pantherophis guttatus

I have used a drip irrigation w/mister system for about the past 5 years and it is great! Except that when I went out to check out the habitat for spring a few weeks ago, discovered that squirrells have gnawed at ALL of my mister heads!

This system is especially good when I'm away on vacation: I know my babies will always have fresh water even if my turtle-sitter misses a few days.

NW Louisiana