So I got two sexed western painted turtles about two weeks ago. They are about six or seven inches long. I placed them in my 700 gallon pond which I keep very dark blue with pond dye. For the first couple of days they were constantly holding onto the edges with their heads out but never got out on the basking areas I set up. After a few days I saw less and less of them. Maybe a glimpse every once in a while at night in a shallow area. Now I haven't seen them at all in about a week. I had to go out today and dredge the bottom to retrieve my missing aerator stone and found no dead turtles on the bottom. My yard is pretty dry with a seamless fence. Any ideas on where they went?.....back to the mother ship perhaps?

Is there anyway they could have gone through, over, or under the fence? If so, they may have done just that. Could they have dug a hole/pit somewhere and be in there? You totally emptied/searched the pond? I hope a predator didn't get them. I would expect you'd find evidence if that were the case. Or, maybe Spock just beamed them out.

It's looking like divine intervention. No holes or anything and I have never had any problem except for the neighbors prissy cat knocking over my can of flake food. I just got done draining to a foot deep and nothing. I miss those guys.......even though they were antisocial. Even my tiny fish tank turtle learned to eat from my hand after a week. Heck, I have a bullfrog who praises me as he who brings legless grasshoppers and crickets. :(

So, the pond wasn't fully drained? Could they be in that last foot of water?

Well, I could see in that area. Now I am kicking myself in the backside for not grabbing the orange koi I don't want at that time. I am just really perplexed. I will update if the mother ship drops them back off.

Update: I trimmed all my hedges as I am preparing to sell my home soon and nothing. I could find no openings in the fence nor turtles in the leaves...... They are definitely in a better place now, with Kirk, Uhura, and Spock. On the upside my tiny turtle and I are good buddies now and he actually eats out of my hand. A big change from when he would see me in the room and run away to hide!

Hi Cheesycook,

I am sorry about your turtles. I have two painted turtles (one with yellow, and another with red ears). They always amaze me, how tricky they are. They can climb up to almost upright places. I keep them in big aquariums, but if they can reach the top with their claws, they can pull themselves up, and get out.

So if they had reached the top of the fence standing on two feet (or climb on anything high enough near the fence), then they could have been able to climb out.

And they might have gone where no turtle has gone before...

keszi
from Hungary