My daughter has 2 red ear sliders almost a year old. They are getting harder and harder for her to take care of. My question is......When the weather warms up, can we release them in my backyard pond? If so, will my goldfish be safe? I appreciate all advice!

The turtles may be fine. ive been doing some reaserch on them becuase i want to do a similar thing with my pond. how big is the pond? how big are the fish? how big are the turtles?

it depnds on the goldfish and the turtles as to how safe the goldfish will be, it could go either way. you would need a fence around the pond or else the RES will get out and that isnt good for them or the local wildlife.

Tommy, the turtles are about 3 inches across. The fish are different sizes, some not real big. The pond is about 1800 gallons. I have been reading on it too, but nothing about putting them from inside to a pond. What are your ideas?

I would put something around the pond so they could not escape. How would I do that and the pond still look good? I read not to turn them loose in the wild. What is the reason for that, Reptile Guy? I wouldn't do that anyway, but am curious.

i had some indoors for long term and then gave them to my sister who has a pond and they seemd to be hibernating earlier in the winter, wont know how well they do until the spring. they should still have the ability to hibernate as needed. release into the wild is very complicated and a lot of things can go wrong for the animal or the wild. fo one the turtle may die. either from a disease or parasite from the wild that other turtles are immune to but he has never been exposed to so he has no immunity to it. he could also starve. being used to having pellets tossed in at him he may not be able to hunt the animals or recognize the plants that he is supposed to eat. he may also have bad affects on the native ecology. either exposing them to disease or parasites, or outcompeting them for food and other resources.

if i got some i would bring them in for the winter and put them in a large tub. My yard is fenced in, does the pond have to be to have the turtles?

That's an idea....we could bring them in during the winter.

oh, and about the fence...there are a number of ways to do it. some are dictated by budget, others on taste. the fence i put in around my sisters pond is just metal hardware cloth (rabbit wire) and is only about knee high. there are others that are more aesthetically pleasing. the one i installed goes into the ground a few inches since they can dig if they wanted, they cant though because the ground is covered with small cobble too big to dig through, its in the ground to keep them from simply pushing their way under it which they could do if it werent dug in. i wouldnt bring them in for the winter, i think it could be too stressful on them, having a big enough enclosure indoors to house them properly. and there is the question of exactly when to, possibly being too late and really causing problems. they are also supposed to live longer when they hibernate.

but i live in NY and i dont think res are native hear.

thats fine. they are naturalized in many places they arent native to. it would probably just require you to keep the surface from freezing over, and an air pump bubbling at the bottom. they do best with something to dig into (mud or a something similar) but i have read that it isnt a necessity. if the water stays liquid it is at 33F, no matter what the air temp drops to.

I live north of Memphis, TN. We do get cold snaps, but generally it is in the 40s and 50s. So the pond won't freeze all the way over. I appreciate everybody's advice!! Thanks!

My page on turtle ponds is at http://www.fishpondinfo.com/turpond.htm and may answer a lot of your questions.

At 3 inches, RES aren't much of a threat to most fish but might get some baby goldfish.

To keep turtles from running away, it can be made so they can't get out of the pond by having cliffs, the area around the pond can be fenced, or the entire yard can be fenced assuming the fencing is such that it can retain them even if they climb a little or dig a little.

RES can overwinter in the bottom of ponds in most of New York, assuming the pond is deep enough and has a hole in the ice with enough oxygen (naturally and/or via an aerator or waterfall).

i have an airetor now and i turned off the water fall. how many res should i add? assuming i have all my fish alive over the winter plus some new ones. I have big colorado river stones all around my pond so is that good? my yard is completely fenced in and there are fences on 2 sides of my pond. my pond is 3 feet deep and i have caves, and big sand pots in the pond.

It depends on a number of factors. Here are a few: how many fish you have, how willing you are to have some be eaten (little ones) or nipped, how expensive the turtles are (and what you can spend), if there are predators around such as raccoons that may eat the turtles, how big the turtles are, how much basking space there is for the turtles, how much bottom hibernation space there is, and so on. To start, you probably just want to get say two for company and see how they do and if problems arise.

i could get 2. there are predators. i found a orfe and a goldfish in the leafs while racking. no racoons though. its probably birds.

Herons will also eat small turtles (maybe under 4 or 5 inches). Predators always make things risky.

i have never seen a heron where i live, never. they wont be a problem. that narrows it down to cats and crows...

Cat and crows could get turtles under about 2" but not much larger. As it's illegal to get turtles under 4" anyway, if you start with larger ones, they'll be more likely to survive. As long as they can't escape, they should be around for a long time.

at my lfs they are around 5+ but mostly around 6-7 inches.

definitely bigger is better for getting pond turtles. i wouldnt trust babies or juveniles to do too well, sub-adults and adults are what you need and what you have available anyways. i would put up a fence right around the pond, not just the whole yard. the more area they have access to the more area they could get lost away from the pond (and the longer for you to find them). and more area means more fence which means more possibility to have a hole in the fence or something like that.

my pond is in the corner of my yard so its fenced in on two sides already. the pond is surrounded by large colorado river rocks. i could do a fence around the pond.

2 sides dont keep anything in. thats like me saying i live in a house even though its only got two walls. a complete fence is needed and i think one right around the pond is much better than one around the whole yard.

but do i really need a fence? i like the pond the way it is.

i would definitely do one right around the pond, they like to explore if they can and will possibly end up across the yard everyday, maybe different spots everytime to make it even harder to find them and put them back in the pond. some climbing plants to hide the fence will allow it to be hidden and still keep them in, keeping it tasteful looking.

i gues i could do that. i just put alot of ever greens around the pond over the summer so that should help cover it up.

you can look at some pics of my turtle ponds... they look better in the pics than they do now, this winter is being weird, hot then cold then hot then cool then hot, etc so the water is green now. i probably live in one of the only areas that the turtles are still basking during the day because its warm outside.


http://www.angelfire.com/tx6/rossispace/turtle_gallery1.htm