re: turtle habitat

Question
Hi Joseph, I have a honduros turtle and I want to build her a custom enclosure. She likes to put her head under water and she needs a pond area in her cage. Any suggestions as to how to build it. I was thinking wood base lined with black pond plastic. What do you think?  

Answer
Margaret,

Hello.  Sorry it has taken me so long to respond to your question.  I really don't know that much about keeping turtles, but I would think that a wood base lined with black pond plastic would be sufficient for a custom enclosure.  You could probably check a store like Lowe's or the Home Depot for materials that are sold for building garden fountains and ponds.  I don't know what your budget will allow, but if possible, you could get pretty elaborate with your design.  My only suggestions would be to make sure that there is enough area so that the turtle can exit the water, and also have an area where the turtle can bask under a heat lamp, or if outdoors, get enough sun.  You may want to go to an aquarium store to find out about filtration, as you will need some device to keep the water clean.  Here are a feew websites that may be useful, although none of them relate directly to Honduros turtles:

http://www.cob.montevallo.edu/LandersJM/house.html

http://www.tortoise.org/general/pondmak.html

http://www.sdturtle.org/WATER%20TURTLE%20CARE%20SHEET.htm

I hope these sites give you a better idea of where to start!

Best of luck,
Joseph Glenn