In order to maintain a turtle in a backyard pond, you will need to position the pond properly, ensure that it is deep enough, create areas for the turtles to bask, and provide an easy way for the turtle to enter the pond (for sloped sides).
You will very likely need to fence out predators that could harm your turtle(s). There may also be plants you will want to add to attract turtles – or encourage them to remain in your backyard pond.
Read on to learn more!
What Turtles Can Potentially Live in a Backyard Pond? (A Bit About Each)
Painted-Turtle
Painted turtles are very popular pet turtles.
They have smooth, green to black shells that look as if they were painted lightly in red and yellow!
They inhabit:
- lakes
- ponds
- marshes
- or other slow-moving water (like rivers)
Painted turtles are extremely prevalent and therefore are among the most likely to inhabit your pond.
They eat plants, grasshoppers, and small animals (such as minnows or crabs).
Be sure to keep painted turtles in mind, as they are prey for otters, raccoons, minks, foxes, and more. The water is their refuge.
Be creative: If you want to deliberately attract a painted turtle, you will want to be sure your pond has plenty of hideaways to protect them from other predators!
Red-Eared Slider
Red-eared sliders get their name from the red, paint-like markings found behind each of their ears.
They are small, sleek tortoises, and are a beautiful dark, olive green which contrasts with their red markings.
As mentioned previously, red-eared sliders are some of the most commonly kept sliders in the pet trade, and unfortunately, due to that, many have been released into the wild.
While it is unfortunate for the red-eared sliders that have been released into the wild, you have a good chance of luring one to your backyard pond as a result of pet stores selling them!
Along with their beauty, red-eared sliders are friendly and curious intelligent animals, and are about a foot or less in length.
Lastly, it’s important to note that red-eared sliders require ample sunbathing area, as they love to bask in the sun!
Box Turtle
Box turtles are small turtles, measuring an average of 100-150mm.
They have ridged shells, much like a tortoise. These furrows get deeper with age.
You can find box turtles in the wild around:
- marshes
- ponds
- forests
- or slow-moving rivers
They are brown in color, with subspecies that are yellow-brown, and all include yellow markings on their shell.
Box turtles like it warm, but not hot. If it gets too hot, they’ll dive underwater or seek nearby shaded spots.
If you want to attract box turtles then you will need a lot of cool-off spots for them.
They can sun bath on cool days!
Common Map Turtle
For map turtles, males are small (average, 6-inches) and females larger (up to about 10.5-inches).
How is it they got their name?
Wild common map turtles have olive-green shells with a unique pattern made of yellow lines that resembles a map.
Thus, the name “map turtle” arose. Unique to many turtles, common map turtles tolerate some running water (to a point); thus, they can be found not just along a pond, but a river, as well.
They primarily spend their day hunting, mainly for insects.
If you’re wanting to draw in a common map turtle, be sure to have plenty of sunny space available, because they love to bask!
Know Your Hardiness Zone
When it comes to attracting turtles, one of the most important aspects to examine is your hardiness zone.
If you’re in the wrong hardiness zone, you run the risk of having your turtles freeze out, and typically turtles should not be outside in any hardiness zone lower than zone 7.
That will give them plenty of comfort for a variety of turtles (such as those above).
Any lower and you’ll have to keep them indoors or at least bring them in for the winter!
Choose the Proper Pond Depth
Turtles prefer ponds that have both deep and shallow areas, and some areas that are completely out of the water.
They use the deep sides of the water to shelter and cool off, and they use the shallow areas to lay eggs or bask in the sun!
In an ideal world: Your pond should have both deep and shallow areas – and this can be accomplished when you are designing out those plans (as we explain below!)
Avoid Placing the Pond Under a Tree
Looking to provide shade (or purely for the sake of aesthetics), you might be toying with the idea of putting your pond under a tree.
Ironically, falling leaves can be a major pain for pond wildlife, as they would quickly rot and make your pond even dirtier.
If shade is what you want to create, it is probably better to go with an umbrella. Just don’t forget that the pond will need sunlight to sustain the plants!
Partial shade is best. That way, the turtles will also be able to soak up some rays and warm up!
Basking Area (Sunlight)
Almost any turtle will want and value a basking spot.
Basking spots are areas in a pond that are elevated above the water and not wet.
They get warm from the sunlight making it an ideal area for a chilled turtle who is basking!
Basking areas can be made very easily with a few tall flat topped stones (their favorite), a log or something similar.
Depending on the turtle, they may spend a good chunk of their day warming up in that special basking spot. It is quite a cute sight!
Just don’t forget to add shaded areas too, your turtles will be so much happier!
Plants (Certain Kinds)
One of the most important aspects of your garden that will attract turtles is plant life.
Turtles mainly eat insects but may also munch on some plant life.
Overall, the plant life will provide cover and make the area more attractive to your turtle guests.
For example, you can plant wild flowers around the outer edge of your pond.
You may like to try some of their favorites inside your pond:
- water ferns
- black cohosh
- fairy moss
- waterweed
- duckweed
- water lettuce
- and water hyacinth
A fruiting bush planted nearby is another pro-tip!
Keep in mind that turtles do prefer insects, but they will also accept some plants and fruit as tasty, healthy treats.
Security
Opossums, dogs, cats, raccoons, moles, rats, and even some scripted birds might all see your turtles for a snack.
With that in mind, it’s super-duper important to focus on pond security.
There are a handful of things you can do to make your outdoor turtle enjoyment more secure:
- To begin with, consider the size of your pond! A small pond makes it more difficult for turtles to go down and hide.
- However! It should be easier to completely fence off! Netting or chicken wire should do the trick!
A few feet of chicken wire around the perimeter is perfect, and if the pond is small enough, you can add some on top a few feet tall.
This should keep out everything else you can imagine!
How to Build a Turtle Pond Yourself
1. Map Out the Pond/Excavate It
The first part of creating a turtle pond is, mapping out the pond.
The shapes should all be equal so the water doesn’t spill over.
You can even dig out different depths along the edges, shallow areas, and deep areas.
This way, your turtles will have hiding spots and basking spots! If you use a premade pond, it can work the same way.
Just note that you won’t have as much creative freedom. For a premade pond, just dig for the premade-pond size and shape.
Reminder: The trade-off is, wiser or not as many details, a premade pond maybe is easier to install. It all depends on what your want!
2. Make Sure the Sides Are Sloped
If you are determining or choosing a shape for your backyard pond, bear in mind that turtles will benefit from slopes.
Otherwise, your turtles may have difficulty getting into the pond rationally and may simply not try entering your pond at all.
If you are trying to attract turtles to your pond, slopes might be the best solution!
3. Choose the Ideal Depth
The ideal depth for a turtle pond is 1-2.5 ft deep.
We recommend closer to 2-5 ft deep if that is doable for you, as there will be lots of places in the water for the turtles to hide from predators.
Also, deeper-sided water will freeze slower, and ideally, offer still liquid areas.
This helps your turtle friends hang out by simply going deeper, and enables them to survive the cold of winter!
4. Provide a Protective Wall
As mentioned above, any quality turtle pond will require some type of wall around it.
This will help keep predators away and to encourage the turtles to stay.
A close-slotted fence or log wall should work!
Final Thoughts
So if you’ve been looking for how to keep turtles in a backyard pond, now you have your answer.
First, you will need to plan out your backyard pond shape, or just dig out the shape of a prefabricated one, whichever you choose!
You want to have shallow areas, as well as deer areas, to make sure you have places for turtles to hide, as well as bask in the sun when it is warm.
Turtles will also love plants in the pound (such as water lettuce).
And you can even plant a berry/fruiting bush next to the pond as a sweet deal!
Good luck!