Is there a garden supply store near you that sells pond items? A pond specialty store is the best. They often carry a variety of preformed pond liners. I think tat would be your best bet so the turtles' claws don't rip the rubber liner. Depending on what size you want the borrow part of a wheel borrow could work (plastic, of course). Just use caulk or sealant to block holes, or use the holes as a bottom drain. If you can somehow connect the pond to a reservoir that'd be great. It will help with keeping the water clean as fresh water would continually be added. As far as solar pumps, i have not had luck with them. I made a small water feature that was about 2 to 3 gallons big and the solar pump had trouble with that. There are bigger, more powerful solar pumps but they are expensive. they are often used for fountains seen in large ponds in parks. If you run a filter to the pump you will need to clean out the filter periodically, usually weekly. You will also need to scoop out an turtle poop since there aren't organisms to break it down. To make a pond totally self-sufficient and self-cleaning you would need to create a large enough pond to sustain all the organisms found in a natural pond (turtles, fish, little bugs, water plants, etc.)

I hope that helps!

Jason :o)

I would not think that tortoises would need a real pond with filter and pump. Seems to be overkill to me. You could easily sink a large plastic flower pot saucer or cheap birdbath and give them an area to drink and soak without going to all the trouble and expense.

But didn't you read one is a Russian,1 is a Greek and one is a Yellow Foot and one is a Red Foot. Doesn't say what color the other feet are. They must be special!! So maybe their needs are different. Glenda

The idea to you may be overkill but I want to provide my pets with the most natural environment I can create for them, while at the same time give me some convenience. This will include planting their favorite foods (vegetation) and giving them access to clean water at all times.

Currently I feed them every day, and change their water every day. If I could get some automation in here it would help the both of us ;).

I have no experience with turtles or tortoises. How big are yours? And how big will they be 5 years from now? I agree a preform type pond would best resist tears from their claws. Perhaps a shallow kiddie pool with built up areas for them to get in and out? Or a preform buried in the ground. If it were a really shallow 'pond', I wonder if you could set up a buried hose on a timer that would refresh the 'pond' and just let it run over for a few minutes. Would give them a bit of a muddy area to play in. You'ld still need to clean it, but not so often.

I have to tell you that there is no practical way to accomplish your goal. The large flowerpot saucer is the best way togo. For one thing, when tortoises soak and drink they poop and pee in quantity. There is no way to filter these solids. In addition, transmission of parasites or the drinking of fowled water is a health risk. The saucer(s) can be kept clean and filled as required.

I am compelled, as a long time tortoise keeper, to tell you that the housing of such diverse species is a mistake. In a nutshell, the greek and russian require dry and sunny whereas the redfoot and yellowfoot require wetter and vegetation to hunker down in. The diets are radically different as well.

So many nay-sayers! All it takes is a large pocket book, (preferably inexaustable public funding)and a panel of experts to create a "natural enclosure". Ask your most local zoo!

My opinion is it could be done, and with appropriate habitats for different species, BUT, it would be expensive and have to be large enough to provide room for the transition of habitats. You would also be adding LARGE amounts of risk to your pets. Predators, parasites, pathogens, and other microorganisms that you would have no control over. Your pets would also have no defense against them, (other than their shell) as they are not indigenous to your area. None the less, you "could do it".

You would have to create a large sump either covered, or separated outside the perimeter of the enclosure. My first thought is a shallow stream, where a slow moving, (but enough flow to carry waste away) stream would drain into your sump area through a screen too small for your smallest pet to get through. (Maybe large holes cut into the side of a 55 gallon drum in a grid pattern.) That sump would need to be AT LEAST a 100 gallons, (not necessarily all in one container), and contain a prefilter, mechanical filter, and bio filter to treat your tortoise wastes. Since they would use it infrequently, (after all, they are tortoises)it would probably work fine to treat the water so long as it could get enough time to chemically breakdown, and balance. Your prefilter could be as simple as a mat of plant roots near the drain to the sump, or a settling chamber, which would also pre-treat the waste, while allowing the dirty water to flow through. Properly chosen, the plants would also provide a food source. You would pump from the sump, beyond all the filters, back up to the head of the stream area, and the water would carry wastes back to the sump through the drain system. Experimentation would be needed to set the water flow, then it would have to be adjusted as the plant growth varied.

The automatic requirement is the most interesting part of your idea. THAT could get very expensive! Filter back washing to waste, chemical monitoring, water level, etc. is quite a design feat in itself! But if you are willing to monitor the water level, and run a hose a little every few days/weeks, it would not be too bad to have it manually operated. In fact the bigger the sump, and filters, the less attention it should need if designed right. A simple toilet valve could control water level for you, but the supporting infrastructure becomes an issue. Solar pumps are certainly available to move the amount of water you need to move, and most likely, move it often enough to keep the water healthy, depending on system loads. (size of pond exposed to sun, wind, and relative filter sizes, how many leaves get in, etc.)

Just like your pets, water features need attention. So you know, there is no such thing as a maintenance free pond, just one that hasn't been maintained, or is not yet completely full of stuff. Nature puts things in, we take them out. We do this to keep the area a pond. In nature, the pond is always changing, and always filling with gunk, getting shallower and shallower all the time.

What you proposed is certainly not a simple project. What other proposed is simpler and more practical. It certainly is cheaper, and less risky to use a large saucer, and unless you are willing to create a large water sump, a lot less headaches! You have easy control over the quality and quantity of the water in the saucer, and simple disinfection with a weak bleach solution provides a micro guard.

When you decided to take on pets, you decided to devote a portion of your life to their care. If you want them to live in a natural area, you will need to return them to their native lands and set them free. Other than that, continue to care for them daily. They deserve your attention! And you benefit from providing for them. Heck, they're tortoises, you only have about 25-100 years to take care of them! Buck up!

-TT

I would try to find something that is both shallow and has a drain plug. Then sink it and plant around it and when you want to clean it, pull the plug, rinse with a hose and refill with fresh water. I don't think you would be happy with using filters and pumps etc. More work than is necessary for a shallow depression for every day bathing. I might dig a small French drain at the plug end for the daily waste water or if it were me.......

Since the tortoises won't know the differece if the bath is a shallow pan from Wal-mart as opposed to hundreds of dollars of something else I would use a removable shallow pan. The most important thing is to clean out the water pan daily. I would even use a mild bleach solution and scrub brush on occasion. Ease of removal for this would be paramount......... if it were me.

Goatiegirl:

I appreciate your concern and advice but I have not had any problems housing these guys together. I have built two micro-climates, one consisting of walnut shell/rocks, and one consisting of peat moss/Cyprus mulch. I'm using a 4' shoplight equipped with a reptisun 10.0 UV bulbs. I have ceramic heat emitters to keep the temps up. Both sides have their own water dish and both sides are fed their proper foods. The Russian/Greek get lots of dandelion leaves, turnip greens, endive, escarole, mustard greens and kale with a little fruit time to time supplemented with a calcium dusting. The Yellow and Red-footed tortoises get the same greens with more fruits. The only issue I have come across is that my Yellow/Red footed tortoise refuse to eat any bugs. I have tired meal worms, night crawlers, and pin head crickets. They will not touch them. I figure this isn't a huge issue since they are getting a calcium supplement and are being given UVA/B lighting.

Tillertilter:

I don't know if I came off as lazy or unwilling to care for my pets but that is not the case. When I bought them I knew what came with the territory and did a lot of reading and studying. The idea was, if possible, create a pond for them that could be nearly self-sufficient. I understand now from the replies that I am naive and that it isn't possible to set something like this up that is feasible.

comettose:

Something with a drain plug might work, but do you have any examples of this?