Hi, My moms turtle is growing, very very fast. We can't fit any more than a 10 gallon tank, but we have some space in our back yard to put a pond with some fencing around it, would this be okay for leaving the turtle there, day and night in the summer?

What type of turtle is it?
I would say it depends on where you live,(temperature, animals who could kill it,etc.).
Good luck with it!

Its a Florida Slider. We would put it inside the house with some kind of tile around it, probably in my computer room.. The reason I wouldn't put it outside is, we have a hawk with a 5 foot wingspan that watches for us to let our pets outside..

If you have a hawk then I wouldn't put it outside. If you are looking for an easy to clean setup, then I would get a kiddie pool. They sell for like 6 bucks at walmart and most have the little ramp that can double as a basking area for your turtle. You can put that inside also. Another thing you could use is one of those plastic ponds. Just get the plastic, the thing that you usually put in the ground but in this case, it will be just like the kiddie pool, only you may find the black color more asthetically pleasing.
Any of these, plus a very large rubbermaid container would work fine. If you really want to go all out, save up your money and get a tank that's about 90+ gallons. That should be fine for the one turtle.

hope this helps,

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I bought a 70 gallon pond at Home Depot for $35. I put it on the back porch with a Magnum filtration system. Works great!

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ok, now I have a question.......what do you do with outdorr turtles in the winter? Like, if I wanted to build and outdoor enclosure for my turtles this summer, would I have to bring them inside during the winter? Red ear sliders are native to my area, can I just leave them outside and let them hibernate? Do I need to put some logs or somthing on the land area so they can hide? I wanna do what's best but I also am just curious about the hibernation thing.

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-Adam

"Help Protect our Planet from Overcollection, Purchase Aquacultured Livestock and Captive Bred Herps"

I have rocks and sticks they can climb on. Mine come inside for the winter (spoiled little guys).

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I don't trust myself to hibernate mine. You'd actually need a natural bottom and banks to the pond to safely hibernate them. They'll burrow into the mud and under logs.

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