How to Make a Small Pond for Turtles

Incorrectly making a turtle pond could result in your turtles migrating out of the pond in search of adequate water. Additionally, predators might eat all of your turtles. Turtles need sufficient water, but they also need hiding places within the water to keep safe until they grow large enough to avoid predators. Once you successfully build a turtle pond, your turtles can grow and live happily in their new space.

Shovel
Yardstick
200 to 500 flat rocks or bricks
Industrial plastic - minimum thickness of .3 millimeters
100 pounds top soil
2-by-2-foot plank of wood
10 to 12 2-foot branches

Instructions

- 1
  Dig the pond to a depth of 2 to 3 feet using your shovel and yardstick. Make sure to slope the sides at a 20-degree angle. A 20-degree angle is a slope you could comfortably walk up.
- 2
  Line the bottom and slopes of the pond with flat rocks or bricks.
- 3
  Line the rocks or bricks with industrial plastic that has a minimum thickness of .3 millimeters.
- 4
  Line the plastic with 3 to 4 inches of topsoil. Make sure you clear the soil of any sharp rocks that could pierce the plastic lining.
- 5
  Lay the 2-by-2-foot plank of wood on the soil.
- 6
  Build a rock dome with odd-sized rocks, using the plank of wood as a base. Make sure to place the rocks in such a way that they create plenty of "natural" caverns or caves that small turtles can use for refuge.
- 7
  Snip off the bottom of the branches, making one side smooth so it serves as a "bottom."
- 8
  Line the bottom of the pond with branches that have four or five shoots each. Make sure the smooth, trimmed sides face down.
- 9
  Fill the pond with water.
- 10
  Layer 25 to 35 percent of the water's surface with floating foliage like lilies. The floating foliage creates surface cover that turtles can use to poke their heads through and still remain hidden from potential predators.

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