Author Topic: Mixed emotions regarding new arrival (Read 2735 times)

SueAndHerZoo · « **on:** June 11, 2008, 09:02:13 AM »

I had tried having turtles in my large pond for years but was never successful in getting them to stay. I finally gave up and decided to build a designated turtle pond (any excuse to build another pond, right?) So for the past few years I've been happily keeping turtles in one pond and koi and plants in the other and it's worked out beautifully. A few days ago, however, I was shocked to see a large RES swimming around in my koi pond! I have no idea if he's an escapee from my turtle pond, an escapee from someone else's pond, or whether he's been living in the woods behind my house for a few years (possibly one of the escapees from years ago when I was buying and losing red-eared sliders). I was THRILLED to see it and it's so nice to see a turtle swimming and frolicking in the big pond, HOWEVER, he has been busy. All of my plants have been decapitated. Lilies, sensitive plant, floating hearts, arrowhead, anacharis, creeping jenny, penny wort, poppy, etc. have all been chewed up. It looks as if someone went in my pond with a chain saw! I've still got mixed emotions.... I actually love seeing a turtle in the big pond swimming with the fishes but I don't know if I love it enough to sacrifice having nice plants in there. I'm thinking maybe if I can get enough plants maybe at least half of them will survive? Anyway, my biggest concern and dilemma right now are the lotus plants. I had just purchased some gorgeous lotus plants (from our forum here) and they were barely starting to take root and shoot up leaves before they got butchered by the Texas Chain Saw Massacre turtle. My question is, are those plants now goners or is there something I can do to save them? If I can manage to remove the huge pots from the pond, can I place them elsewhere or is it too late once they've been chewed? Thanks for your thoughts.

Sue

Mikey · « **Reply #1 on:** June 11, 2008, 09:23:09 AM »

I feel your pain because I recently added two mature RESs to our pond. I wish they would eat the darn water hyacinths because I have a ton of those. In fact I was removing a bunch yesterday, due to overcrowding, to put into the compost heap and noticed no Arrowhead shoots at all in the nearby pot

I'm hoping they missed some culms buried in the pot somewhere.... Only time will tell if the severe pruning hurt the plats but it would seem you will have to put some sort of barrier between the plants and the turtles but a barrier may not be attractive. Wish I had some clear advice but I'm new to this problem as well....

SueAndHerZoo · « **Reply #2 on:** June 11, 2008, 10:06:10 AM »

Hi Mikey.
Thanks for the sympathy.... I'm guessing you and I are doomed with these plant hackers. I can't imagine a way that I could barrier the plants from the turtle, at least not in a way that would be attractive enough to bother with. Besides, after years of trying to keep turtles in the pond and never succeeding, I'm sure they would outsmart any attempt I'd make to keep them from the plants. I will be the first to admit - I am powerless over the turtles - they win every time. I'm thinking he probably has to go but now I'm wondering if I'd even be able to catch him. The pond is about 20 feet by 20 feet and regardless of their reputation of being slow, they are darned quick when they are in the water being evasive! I stand in my window looking at the pond shaking my head at the loss of plants yet then I see the fool's head pop up and watch him swim around and I can't help but smile. I'm my own worst enemy.

Sue

Julles · « **Reply #3 on:** June 11, 2008, 04:54:55 PM »

I have a turtle pond in a fenced area seperate from my koi pond. One of my RES got so big, she learned to climb the barricade, and I found her in my koi pond. Don't know if she got any fish, but I got HER, and out she went, directly to the bayou a half mile away. I'm not taking any chances. She was easy to catch, because they are so tame and used to being hand-fed.

PondmaninAL · « **Reply #4 on:** June 11, 2008, 05:31:47 PM »

Okay, time for Turtles 101!

RES's will eat plants and fish when they are young. They eat only plants when they are adults. If you had plants in a koi pond, they were doomed from the get-go. It is best to remove your lotus's from the pond and put them somewhere safe. They may survive.

Happy ponding,
Scott

Julles · « **Reply #5 on:** June 11, 2008, 05:44:59 PM »

Hmmm. ALL my water turtles (and land box turtles, too) eat fish once a week, when I give them feeder fish from PetSmart, or some sort of fresh bone-in fish from the grocery store.

Now, if all that fish weren't coming to them nice and chopped up and ready to eat, perhaps they wouldn't bother live fish. In fact, I have a goldfish who has been living in my turtle pond for about 4 years. Had a lot of others, too, until the coon-or-cat got to 'em.

Jerry · « **Reply #6 on:** June 11, 2008, 06:32:26 PM »

My turtles must be mature they do a little damage to water lillies, I have many and a little damage is ok. They don't touch the lotus, at least not yet.
Sue a seperate pond sounds good. if you feed then by hand regulary they will come close and you can catch them.

Julles · « **Reply #7 on:** June 11, 2008, 07:45:03 PM »

One key factor is feeding them a lot. If they have plenty of food from YOU, why bother to chase fish or muck up foliage?

karen J · « **Reply #8 on:** June 11, 2008, 08:33:00 PM »

Jerry, what a pretty pic!

My lot here seems to be moving turtles off the highway. Stop the car, move them on....
No turtles in my pond. :'(

Mikey · « **Reply #9 on:** June 11, 2008, 08:34:25 PM »

Someone suggested I slice up cucumbers and toss them into the pond for the turtles to eat. So I bought three cucumbers and cut one up into circular slices. I had little circles floating all over the pond

The next day I still had little circles all over the pond with no bites in them and the slices were starting to get water logged. The following day they all sank.... and I continued to notices severed lily pads floating around..... Apparently these turtles really like the stems of fresh lilly pads.....

One of the turtles goes for a morning stroll nearly every day and a few days ago I noticed both of them were out for a stroll. I guess they figure the pond is as good as it is going to get because they keep returning to it....

Cedric · « **Reply #10 on:** June 11, 2008, 11:31:04 PM »

Im so tempted by turtles, they sell these cute tiny little ones at the fish market. All different interesting species, some look like they should be in the sea, others ook like a little dried leaf. Every once and awhile a large big-headed turtle arrives out of the jungle and claims a spot in a pond, it reminds me how big they grow and I am not tempted anymore. This post certainly puts me off as well. Wish there were minis that exclusively ate tadpoles.

miguynmkoi · « **Reply #11 on:** June 12, 2008, 08:27:05 AM »

Sue I've seen some people's ponds here with wire cages around pond plants plants to save them from vege eaters, like turtles. Hopefully your lotus survive the grooming.

tracey_shafer · « **Reply #12 on:** June 12, 2008, 08:40:24 AM »

Quote from: Mikey on June 11, 2008, 08:34:25 PM

Someone suggested I slice up cucumbers and toss them into the pond for the turtles to eat. So I bought three cucumbers and cut one up into circular slices. I had little circles floating all over the pond The next day I still had little circles all over the pond with no bites in them and the slices were starting to get water logged. The following day they all sank.... and I continued to notices severed lily pads floating around..... Apparently these turtles really like the stems of fresh lilly pads.....

One of the turtles goes for a morning stroll nearly every day and a few days ago I noticed both of them were out for a stroll. I guess they figure the pond is as good as it is going to get because they keep returning to it....

Try other fruits Mikey, I give mine canalope, red bell peppers, ect. find thing that he likes better that your lilys.

cc · « **Reply #13 on:** June 12, 2008, 02:31:12 PM »

All these talk about turtle makes me want one. I used to have one long time ago and the only time he came out of hiding is when I brought apple home.

SueAndHerZoo · « **Reply #14 on:** June 13, 2008, 09:21:36 AM »

Thanks for all the replies and sorry I didn't respond sooner - been crazy here at the office and this job really interferes with my personal life sometimes!

I am going to try all kinds of fruits and vegetables this weekend and hopefully find something that really interests this turtle OTHER than my plants. perhaps if I hand-deliver pre-sliced delicacies to him daily he'll forget about chopping down my plants if and when they ever re-grow. I know the rational answer is to catch him and put him in the turtle pond but I just so love seeing him out there . . . it just really seems to "complete" the big pond and give it a new sense of life and character. I guess I'm holding out hope that his plant massacre was just a "housewarming" upon his arrival and he'll tire and bore of them soon. (I believe in Santa Claus, too)

Sue

Teresa · « **Reply #15 on:** June 13, 2008, 04:51:11 PM »

It’s absolutely not true that turtles don’t eat fish (or meat) as adults – most, if not all will eat fish or any other meat (bugs, carrion, detritus) they can get. It’s also not true that if you feed them enough they will leave your plants or fish alone. Their brains are simply not that big – they are programmed to eat food when it presents itself, regardless of whether they are hungry and need to eat or not. I’ve watched my turtles kill and eat large, adult fish and I’ve seen turtles (RES) kill medium size koi and eat them.

And Mikey – they are particularly fond of arrowhead and will continue to eat all new shoots until the plant eventually dies.

If your turtles are doing little damage then you are lucky – there are either enough plants so that you don’t notice the damage or their appetites are small or they are finding other sources of food. Mine used to love to sit above the underwater lights and catch the bugs that flew into the water. But when they get the urge to nip the waterlily buds or leaves, they will do it, no matter how much you feed them or what you feed them (mine always hated cucumbers but some of them liked grapes and all of them liked shrimp.)

Karen, I’m sure you already know to move those turtles in the direction they are heading when you find them. Otherwise, they’ll turn themselves around and cross the street again as soon as you put them down.

I did manage to keep some plants in my pond by surrounding them with black mesh netting. It had to be several inches above the surface of the water, and had to go under the plants. The turtles did occasionally get thru the barrier and devour the plants, but usually didn’t do enough damage to kill the plants completely before I found them.

And I never had an undamaged water lily bloom in all the years that I had turtles in the pond.

MikeW · « **Reply #16 on:** June 13, 2008, 05:01:09 PM »

I did not read this whole thread - but HELLO TERESA - missed you! (and your little schnookums)

Welcome home.

Cheers,

Mike

kamala · « **Reply #17 on:** June 13, 2008, 05:37:07 PM »

I think turtles are like humans. Some appreciate where they live and some just don't care. I have four turtles in my ponds and they don't bother the plants. One used to try to get to the lily bulb, but gave up and now they just nibble on the pads from time to time. They beg for food, and will climb out and come after me if they think I have meal worms. It only took my newly adopted map turtle a week to decide that I meant food and not predator. If you want to hand feed a turtle, invest in extra large meal worms. I haven't met a water turtle that will turn them down.

Cedric · « **Reply #18 on:** June 13, 2008, 05:57:43 PM »

Are some turtles strictly vegan and others opportunists or some mainly meat eating? i must look into this. i avoided them because they are so messy, but we have so many species for sale, i just wonder if they all have the same dietary habits. I am particularily fond of the little soft or leathery shell ones with the cute head and long long necks. They're only big as a dime.

Turtles are very good luck here in HK, except the one that fell out an apartment and gave a pedestrian concussion last week. One thing is for certain I wont be keeping them with my plants after all these tips here. They sound like the dreaded crab, lovely to look at but with a diabolical attitude towards life, your pond, fish and plants. A short sighted Edward Scissors-Hands come to mind

Please if ever someone offers you an exotic pretty little Shanghai river Softshell, or "Rafetus swinhoei" hatchling, tell them you're mildly allergic and make a hasty and immediate retreat, it's mother might be in the backroom.

At the vet. though it looks a bit stuffed if you ask me.

Mikey · « **Reply #19 on:** June 13, 2008, 10:35:15 PM »

That's a very strange looking turtle there Cedric. Has the face only a mother could love....

Hey Teresa. Good to see you are still watching out for us. We need the help.....especially me....

One of my turtles is very shy and the other not so shy. If both turtles are sunning themselves on the island and I walk out, Veryshy will immediately dive into the water and Notsoshy is often spooked by her quick retreat and she also and will slide into the pond. However once they climb back onto the island, even if Veryshy dives back in when she sees me, Notsoshy will remain on the island. Often when I'm feeding the fish the Notsoshy will poke her head up in the general area. While the fish are distracted with their food I will toss Notsoshy some food as well and she will eat. I never thought of meal worms. Do meal worms float? I don't think Notsoshy will come to me for food yet. And Veryshy never goes after the floating food and is spooked when I toss it to her.

SueAndHerZoo · « **Reply #20 on:** June 16, 2008, 08:36:56 AM »

Still torn - love having the turtle in the big pond but HATE that I can't seem to keep a single plant in it. Even though the turtle adds character, a pond with no plants is so baron-looking. This weekend I managed to lift the big tubs of dirt and chewed up lotus plants out of the pond and will try to get them to grow out of the pond. I put some chicken wire around a few of the lilies hoping that a few of the shoots can get a head start on the turtle and maybe he'll learn to lose interest in them. (yeah, right). But THEN I noticed..... the little sh*t had even made his way into my upper pond! (it's actually the first basin the waterfall flows into, then there are three more steps of the waterfall after that before it enters the actual pond) Obviously there is no way he could climb UP the waterfall - it's fairly forceful, so apparently he gets energetic enough to climb out of the pond, wander around to the side, climb up the hill to the upper pond, and have a buffet feast! I had such gorgeous parrot feather in there (since they love moving water) and they have all been decapitated! And as annoyed and frustrated as I am I can't help but wonder.... did he then walk all the way back to the big pond or did he turtle surf down the falls? Hating him and loving him at the same time, darn it all.

Sue

miguynmkoi · « **Reply #21 on:** June 16, 2008, 08:47:13 AM »

Welcome back Teresa! Sue you have brought back the turtle specialist! You'll do well to follow her advice.

kamala · « **Reply #22 on:** June 16, 2008, 01:00:43 PM »

Mikey,

Unfortunately meal worms don't float. It took me an entire summer to convince ms. turtle that I was friendly. She started out ducking under and hiding when she heard the sliding screen door. Over time I was able to sit five feet away and toss food to her. She often ducked under when my arm moved. It just took time. My DH finally challenged me to get her eat the food sticks out of my hand. I just kept moving closer and closer. The first time by hand was agonizing. Trying to hold still and not move at all, and hope she grabbed the food stick and not my fingers.

The meal worms seem to favorites. If turtles could do back flips, mine would for a meal worm. They actually scramble out of the pond and come at me. Its kind of scary. If I drop one in the pond, they hunt it down and will even try to steal them from each other. After a feeding of meal worms, they scour the bottom for hours looking for more. My turtles are now so bold, they even let my lab approach and sniff them.

kamala

Mikey · « **Reply #23 on:** June 16, 2008, 04:42:50 PM »

Quote

If turtles could do back flips, mine would for a meal worm.

Well at least I have you beat there. Just yesterday I saw my turtle Notsoshy do a reverse 3 1/2 somersault from the pike position entering the water with not so much as a ripple.....

kamala · « **Reply #24 on:** June 16, 2008, 06:07:33 PM »

Now if you could just catch that on film...

You could put dogs and cats everywhere to shame.