Fresh eggs anyone?

[stevej37]

Wow..too much for sliders! Be worth a drive down to MS and load up..lol or to KC911 place!

Here's an interesting fact from the pet digest...
"A female turtle may keep viable sperm in her body for several years, so that eggs are fertilized even in years when she does not mate."
Unreal.

[john70t]

++

[stevej37]

^^^ OK.. i think this is a photo puzzle that I've seen before? But I'm not quite remembering/getting it.
Turtle...bowl...plunger
Snapper...gold...toilet
I give up...

[KFC911]

Big azz shell fish suck? I dunno...

That is one huge snapper though...wow!

[john70t]

True story today: No good deed goes unpunished.
I was driving to the grocery store when I noticed a small dark circle on the street. It was a turtle, an alligator snapper in fact, but we were blocks away from any water source. It was barely moving and both eyes looked swollen shut and the skin completely dry. Little thing is probably not going to make it but of course I was compelled to try to save it. It would be the zen thing. I picked it up and put it in the car. It would just take a second to drive over and drop it in the river.
Then I noticed some water dripping. Roof leak? Oh duh it is peeing! Silly me. I grabbed a fat wad of napkins as it proceeded to discharge a quarter cup along with something that looked yellow and slimy into this paper bed which I tossed in the garbage when I set the turtle down a few seconds later.
By that very action I saved my own life.
Mind you, my reaction was swift. Only a few drops actually landed on my shorts and car seat but that was enough to set events in motion. You have never smelled anything like concentrated alligator snapper piss and you will never want to. The initial smell was not too terrible. On the surface it actually smells like sweet smelly beer with a hint of almond. Almost pleasant. But the undercurrent is worse than all of the human flems and humors mixed together and marinated in the hot sun until peculating unto a demons breath.
During the rest of the drive my troubles began. It had begun to rain and it was raining hard. As in torrential waves beating on the hood of the car. As I drove into the parking lot I began to notice that peculiar scent more and more. Then my stomach began to rumble and heave in synchronicity with the weather. I wanted to throw up but couldn't even open the door an inch or roll down the window. I was trapped. For about ten minutes I endured this agony and then ran into the store, my troubles should be over I thought. No. This special hell was time-released. The waves of regurgitation I had felt before now became a body morphing jackhammer. Every few minutes I'd get a small whiff and it would begin again. My eyes filled with tears of pain. My hands shaking as I tried to ignore it and go through the list.
After 30 minutes of shopping I entered the car again and drove home. Windows down. In own my driveway I crawled out the door and finally was able to throw up my empty stomach in great relief. There were flecks of red in the discharge which I could only conclude to be bloody stomach lining. Taking a shower and changing clothes helped greatly, but even door of the clothes shute held on to the reminders of this terrible day. Even now I dread to enter the hallway.

[KFC911]

My sides are hurting John...LOL . Yep....no good deed goes......

For some reason, I thought you lived pretty far north....didn't realize the alligator snappers ranged that far up....you can have 'em....ALL of them!

Funny story....

[stevej37]

Lol..turtle piss.
Whenever I pick one of mine up..it does the same, but I never noticed any smell..but they are sliders.
I looked up alligator snappers and it says they have been found as far north as southern Wisc.
It also said they can live up to 200 years!

[KFC911]

OK boyz....before I put 'em in the Great Lake, here's today's catch....send me yer addresses. Steve, I think I promised that I wouldn't send you a 2' Snapper...how 'bout a small one? That's the first one that's gotten in the trap. I never get the bigger Sliders either....I do have a "plan B" for next March however!

Hmmm...can't upload a pic...

I keep hitting the button too....nada???

[Baz]

Hey Steve....love your set up....thanks for the pics and thread. If you a chance, could you please share with us what you are using for pump and filtration and also for water quality issues.

Thanks!

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by Baz

Hey Steve....love your set up....thanks for the pics and thread. If you a chance, could you please share with us what you are using for pump and filtration and also for water quality issues.

Thanks!

Thanks Baz! I use 2 of the pondmaster 2000 12x24" filters that lay in the bottom. The water is pulled thru them by a pondmaster mag drive 1800gph pump and then dumped into a waterfall back into the pond. I normally pull them and hose them out maybe once a month. By that time there is about an inch of turtle crap on the inlet side of them.
The pond only gets about 5 hrs of sun each day...so I don't do anything for algae. It stays clear all summer.
I built the pond from 6 foot treated 2x4's laying flat. (42 total). Each one has a 3/4 hole drilled in the end. Then I inserted a dowel thru each of the 6 corners. That way, the shape of the pond can be changed from a true hexagon to more of a tub shape. Also can add to the depth by adding more 2x4's It's currently at 22" depth.

Please...no snappers!

[stevej37]

Here is one of the bigger females.

[livi]

Originally Posted by gr8fl4porsche

“We have a pool and a pond.”
“The pond will be good for you.”

Great movie!

[livi]

Lovely pond!

[GWN7]

What do you do with them in the winter?

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by stevej37

Here is one of the bigger females.

I dunno why I can't upload a pic, either in mobile or desktop mode...something I did with no issues just a few days ago....

That was about the size of the largest slider in the trap (three of 'em), and the evil snapper was just a bit smaller...

I have seen some of the larger sliders perched on top of the trap, but not in it. Something actually chewed through the rubber boat fenders (floating trap) last year, sinking it . Didn't know if it was snappers or muskrats...now I think I know....

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by GWN7

What do you do with them in the winter?

Late November, I net the fish and turtles out and put them into a 2x2x4 rubbermaid stock tank that I keep in the (heated)garage. I also throw the floating pond plants in.
They semi-hibernate until spring and then get tossed back into the pond.
I've done this for over 10 years and haven't lost any fish or turtles yet.
First sunny day in the spring..the turtles are basking and the plants get a head start.

[Baz]

Thanks for the reply and technical details, Steve! You did a really great job. Nice to see a pond like this being maintained so successfully for so many years!

All the best and belly rubs to your little turtles!