Outdoor turtle pond. Best turtle?

Hi, I am thinking about getting a turtle pond. I am deciding between two different areas depending on the sunniest.

I have read that red eared sliders are the best for outdoor turtle ponds. The pond we are looking at is fairly shallow about 30 cm at it's deepest. The pond holds roughly 200 gallons. Could I fit 2-4 turtles in there? Is the red eared slider the best turtle for an outdoor pond? I'm looking for a hardy and adaptable turtle. Small is preferable.

 

Hi, I have no idea what the rules are in Sydney Australia but if you get the slider, make sure they will not be able to escape and be sure and give them a sunning area. They are cool and will be around for a very long time. I believe 4 would be fine-just make sure there are three female and only one male to keep down the aggression. Either that or all of them females! Males tend to fight more, etc. I would love to see pictures once you finish!

 

Ok cool, we won't begin until winter, could I add some mosquito fish? They would breed rapidly and make a good snack for the sliders.

We wouldn't add the turtles until it warmed up again. It can get pretty cold here in winter so should we keep them inside during winter?

Thanks!

 

Any of the sliders are large turles, like males getting to about 14".
I think that you might do better with a painted turtle, of which there are 4 types, I think, but max out at about 6-7 inches, and are very attractive.
If you really want sliders, you will also want a pool of about 12 feet diameter to house them properly, and just one male (they have far longer nails on their front feet, and a slightly concave plastron--easy to sex, but they really do need loads of room, and two males will fight).
Painted turtles are very attractive, and are of a far more manageable size.
Almost all turtle keepers under estimate the size of enclosure needed.
So do some research and see what you can reasonably house--if you can get them, Chinese Thick Necked, Broad Headed or Climbing turtles are very rewarding, although they are said to bite--mine never did---best to you, rick
BTW, whatever turtle that you settle on, try to feed it in a separate container, and wait 'till it poops before returning it home--must easier to manage that way, and sorry if this is old news to you

 

For your part of the world, I'd go with a Macquarie turtle. I've seen them for sale up here, so I imagine they're available in their home state. They are perfectly adapted to your climate.

Don't forget that you need a reptile keeping permit to keep turtles.

 

I was just reading up on the reptile license, res are outlawed in NSW. I read that I can only keep australian native turtles. I read that eastern snake necks are the best for beginners, also probably going to get a 300 gallon pond.

I'll look into the painted turtles.

 

Sorry I missed your post teleost, just having a look at the maquarie turtles right now.

 

There's a reason you can't have your exotics!

If we look at fish, Australia has roughly 40 species of introduced fish, predominantly aquarium species. The threat of introducing new species into ecosystems is enough on its own. Can you imagine the result of introducing a novel disease, parasite or pathogen into our already highly degraded freshwater systems?

As much as we try to be responsible, there will always be an idiot who does the wrong thing. So biosecurity laws are made to protect our environment from the inevitable idiots.

 

There's a reason you can't have your exotics!

If we look at fish, Australia has roughly 40 species of introduced fish, predominantly aquarium species. The threat of introducing new species into ecosystems is enough on its own. Can you imagine the result of introducing a novel disease, parasite or pathogen into our already highly degraded freshwater systems?

As much as we try to be responsible, there will always be an idiot who does the wrong thing. So biosecurity laws are made to protect our environment from the inevitable idiots.

Yeah, I read that they've already escaped in to the wild, a few are living in a couple of lakes and rivers.