Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello! I currently live in WA. I have a family member who has two huge acre ponds outside and would love to have some turtles in them. I have a friend who breeds red eared sliders, so I have the opportunity to get babies. I was wondering if you suggest putting baby red eared sliders into a pond in WA state, only because it does get cold here. It has been pretty nice outside lately, but I'm not sure how long it will last. Would they be find being put into a pond or would I need to buy older turtles, or a different kind, or what would you suggest? Please give me any suggestions that you might have! Thank you in advance!!

Hello, I've lived in WA(Seattle,) and have seen sliders in Lake Washington before. They were let go, as far as I know. But this I have to say.

Sliders aren't native to that area, sun is rather scarce, and putting any slider in a pond may be detrimental to its health. The water there is cold, the bottoms of lakes and steams are usually rocky, and your turtles may become ferral which in turn may cause environmental disruptions.

Nonetheless, in summer you could put some sliders in the ponds, but how would you keep track of them? What's the purpose? How would you feed them and make sure they're all right in a pond that big?

I'd say a smaller pond, like a garden one, would be fine, even beneficial for turtles in the summer. But what you're doing is simply introducing a new species and one that probably won't fare too well there.

I'd think it'd be great, but the climate up there just isn't suitable for sliders. The cold won't hurt them too much, but thing is, they need to hibernate, because if temps don't get below freezing yet they're still up and about, they starve.

Check with others though.

I would be concerned for another reason. Sliders are very hardy. Even though the conditions would be harsh, it's totally conceivable that they would live just fine. Sliders are notorious for surviving so well that they push out native species and dominate the ecosystem in the area they were introduced. They have really caused problems in a lot of areas where they should not be native.

I would strongly caution you again introducing non-native turtles into the area.
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O.1 Cat "Bella"
1.0 Ball Python "Spanky"
3.0 Red Earred Sliders "Yertle" and "The Twins"
1.0 Husband "John"
297.331 Elementary School Students

I have been doing more research (which I was doing before I would EVER suggest or do anything to an area. I am wondering if there are native species in the area that I could introduce. Any suggestions to what I could put in there or anything else I could do?

Thanks

There's a turtle they call the wood turtle up there that's endangered due to it's penchant to travel and the introduction of bass and American bullfrogs. Maybe look into that.

Other than this, I really didn't see too many aquatic turtle species up there and don't have any clue. If you use some kindof enclosure you could put whatever you want in there, which could probably be softshells, sliders, snappers and more.