Reptile & Amphibian Forums

oh, boy...should i be worried here?

i got a RES a few days ago and set it up in my outdoor pond (about six feet long, four feet wide, perhaps two feet deep). turtle's shell is perhaps four or so inches long.

after the first day of coming up and taking food from me (and being bullied by the fish), it got a little skittish--ducking away when i walked up suddenly or, if i was already there, moved toward it. i thought the rocks were angled properly to discourage any escapes (no fence). and i wasn't seeing much of turtle at all.

yesterday AM i put out some dandelion greens, which had been worked on by the time i got home early afternoon (the fish don't like them). after reading here and on other sites about RES' proclivity for bolting, i made adjustments to the rock-arrangement (i.e., flat rocks perpendicular to the water/flat rocks at water's edge and stacking odd-shaped rocks so they'd be hard to climb). where the rocks are lower, i also stacked & rearranged, and put a row of snap-together plastic fencing (about 12 inches high) behind that.

i figured all that activity alone would keep turtle from appearing. even after it had been quiet a while, though, no turtle. i DID see the occasional bubble that, as far as i could tell, wasn't fish-generated. interestingly, the toad that occupies my pond during summer didn't bat an eye during all
this--just hung out by the waterfall.

so...now i'm worried. just as it started getting dark, i waded into the pond (ugh), moving rocks slowly as i moved. about halfway, i felt something bolt past me--not a fish, either. i hope it was turtle. i stayed up until nearly 1:00 AM patrolling the yard (pretty large). no turtle; just that silly toad. i was up before day-light to look again. toad; no turtle. i watched the pond and, again, saw the occasional lone bubble (always from the same area).

i skimmed the pond and put out one big dandelion green to see if it would be munched, double-checked the fencing and rocks, and decided to just wait. i did remove one segment of fence so if turtle DID get out, it will have a way back in.

should i try some tuna or something? put up wanted posters in the P.O? i haven't even named it yet..!

tonight i prowled the lot and the neighbor's, too (thinking all the while the cops would be along shortly to check out this gal with a huge lamp wandering someone's property). no turtle.

i scanned up and down the road, and all the lots there. no turtle.

i also re-examined the pond. no turtle. toad was there, of course. the water is murky from (a) algae and (b) all my doings yesterday. so...

i was consoled by another poster's reply to betty's "mom" who said RESs are drawn to water...and further saw this (note the bit about RES' being loyal to their territory):

http://bss.sfsu.edu/holzman/courses/Fall01 projects/reslider.htm

guess i've done all i can do. the dandelion looked as if it MAY have been nibbled at; i stuffed it between two flat rocks (still in water) just to be sure.

if there's anyone with more ideas, i'd sure appreciate it.

Well If you have woods near your house and a pond in those woods then it would most likely go there. I would drain the pond as much as you could, to see if it was the turtle. If there is no turtle and there are no woods then yes, put up some wanted signs. Go to the nearest pet shelter every day or so and tell them about the incedint. Bye.

If you are going to have a pond and keep turtles in it you must have some kind of fence or wall around the pond to keep them there. They will always wander off if you dont. Most likely your turtle has wandered off. If you cant find it in the pond and its been several days, your most likely not going to find it.
Chris
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0.1 Red Eared Slider, 1.0 Common Snapper, 1.0 Bearded Dragon and a 55gal Native Fish Tank with a 6in LM Bass, 3 Crawdads and a Pleco.
I use to have a collection of Leopard Geckos that I bred, but have sold them.

nope--no woods to speak of, and no other ponds around (hence the toad & other nifty critters out there). thanks.