:rolleyes: Hello, I 'm new at this, so bare with me as I learn how to actually get my messages posted in a fashion that I recieve responses.....
I have recently aquired a young ( approx 1 1/2-2" ) eastern painted turtle. I have a good sized pond with good filtration system. If I decide to overwinter the turtle outside, the pond will be fenced in; as a previous one already walked away ( I think). My concern is that I have a couple of good size frogs (possibly bull.), a goldfish (abt 6") and a koi (abt 12"). Being that the turtle is the smallest inhabitant, will it be bothered by the others? I did witness a frog jump at the 1st one, and the koi checking out the limbs. That turtle was same size. Any response will be appreciated. I am experienced with ponds,plants and fish-but not turtles, and......they really are CUTE and make me smile!

I've never had a turtle (except an adult female painted I put in my pond after 2 weeks of rehab that ran away in 2 days and a baby snapper I overwintered 7 months and released). I've always wished I had hatchling painted turtles for my pond (a rehabber said my pond was "turtle heaven.") Hatchlings are very vulnerable to predators. I don't know that the bullfrog or koi would get him but I'd be worried about herons, raccoons, and other larger predators. Hatchlings are safer in fully enclosed ponds or indoor setups. At the same time, babies are more apt to stick around ponds if they're there from a young age. Since your pond is fenced, that's not a concern. I guess if I were in your situation (with a fenced pond), I would raise the baby up to about 3-4" before putting it in the pond. You can either keep it warm all winter and feed it (which will put on size faster) or keep it in a cool area of the house so that it can semi-hibernate indoors. Going au naturel is always an option and just put the baby in the pond and cross your fingers. Good luck!

:D Hi Robyn
I was so excited to find my message had gotten thru, and that I was able to respond back....so I responded back to your message, hit a wrong button and it was gone...left the computer frustrated and went to bed! (I'm only used to the old fashioned e-mail system). But I'll get it yet! So....I had pretty much decided I would keep the little turtle in for winter, and you just confirmed that for me. Would keeping him warm (how warm?) and fed vs. semi-hibernation be better? You have lots of good info., so I am going to check out about setting up a tank.
I would guess this turtle hatched this year, unless you tell me they can be a yr or more at that size. Is it too young to determine sex? I have read some of the signs to look for, but hard for me to tell at this point. It is such a cute little turtle! By the way, my husband found it in the middle of the road, on the yellow line, with traffic going both ways!! I don't know who's the luckier one, it or I. I'm sure I'll have more questions, but for now, thank you. Do you not have little painted turtles in your area, or just haven't come across a young one?

At 1.5", the EPT was born this year. It's a hatchling. My page at http://www.fishpondinfo.com/hatchling.htm gives lots of info on care. It's the same for the EPT as it was for the snapper hatchling I had. Hatchlings cannot be sexed externally. It will be years before you will know if the turtle is female or male. Personally, I would probably keep the turtle around 70-75 degrees F throughout the winter and feed him/her. While you can lower the temperature and stop feeding, there is more risk with that. If it's too warm, they starve. If it's too cold (near freezing), they freeze. I think a lot of turtle experts keep their hatchlings active the first winter. In later winters, those that keep temperate turtles indoors often hibernate them in special refrigerators in plastic shoe boxes (with lots of holes in the lid and an inch of water). That's what I've read anyway.

I have NEVER seen any aquatic turtles within miles of where I live except a few larger snappers crossing the road 1/2 mile away. Snappy (who was given to me) was the only hatchling I've ever seen in person. I have never seen a painted turtle in the wild (just the store). I have seen adult sliders at some park ponds far from home. We do have a few resident box turtles though that we know well. One female we had to treat for a few weeks last year. This spring, she kept plopping into my big pond and digging holes in the mulch (but no eggs that we saw).