Sunday 7 November 2010

Insulating Turtle Hibernation Bath

After giving it a lot of thought , i have decided against hibernating my Emys in their pond. The reason for this is, they have only been outdoors a couple of months and i would rather monitor the pool through its first winter without them in it.
So, i captured them during the recent mild weather and before it turns cold again.
I still want to hibernation to occur but in a more controlled way......somewhere that has easy access to the turtles.
Deciding to use a plasterer's bath, some insulation was in order and 50mm thick poly foam boards proved to be ideal. One pack of these panels is just enough to completely clad a standard plastic bath.


It is shaped easily using a serrated kitchen knife, much better than normal polystyrene and a denser material too.

One board goes underneath, two others are cut to suit the sides, it can then be held together using duct tape.
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A lid is made to fit, giving the tub all round protection from what could be another cold winter.


Finally the bath is covered with a portable plastic breathable cold frame as extra protection against the elements.

As i have said before, at least this way i have some control and easy access to the turtles. I may only use the lid during severe cold spells.
I will check this set up against an unprotected bath nearby and will have the option of bringing the turtles inside should it not prove successful.

Sunday 26 September 2010

Autumnal Trout

Fished the last couple of weekends for late season trout, on two of my favourite small rivers. Last week down in Herefordshire a reasonably good few hours fishing was marred by tearing my waders just after starting to fish.
Then the sight of 4 or 5 cormorants working good pools, also knocked the stuffing out of me. Its amazing how these large seabirds can adapt to feeding on relatively small, swift flowing rivers. There is no doubt that they will have a serious effect on fish stocks, reputedly being able to eat 2-3lbs of fish a day.





Today back in shropshire, i found the river to be very low, strange when you consider recent downpours.
However i did manage to have some nice fish, nearly all caught on a size 14 or 16 nymph.Either a tungsten pheasant tail or hares ear pattern.







Now its time for the magnificent grayling.

Thursday 2 September 2010

Video Clips Of Emys in New Pond.

After a few weeks the Emys pond became murky due to sunlight and nutrients in the water. The good news is that it has now cleared, thanks to plenty of plants and oxygenating weed, so hopefully a balance has been acheived.





Thursday 12 August 2010

Pond For Emys Part 4

A few pics to show basking area.........they also use the decking surround.
The barrier is made from plastic roofing flashing which can be obtained from any diy store.









Tuesday 3 August 2010

Pond for Emys Part 3

Before planting up the pond a couple of rubber mats are placed on the slope between deep and shallow water. This is again to aid the turtles during cold water conditions, these will provide necessary grip on what is a smooth surface.



Baskets of various plants are then added which will help to use up nutriments, so keep the water clear and also attract insect life.
Masses of oxygenating pondweed are placed all over the pond floor, this i feel is key to a balanced healthy pond. It also creates good cover for the turtles and literally fizzes when the sun is out.



Lengths of decking panels are screwed around the edge to trap the liner and underlay, making a neat finish.





Floating plants, dwarf lillies and duckweed are put in to provide some surface cover/shade.



So, nearly finished, should be an ideal habitat to these intelligent turtles and nowhere for them to get stuck and drown.
Just a basking area to be made now and next year an adjacent land zone.
Water quality will be carefully monitored, to see if a pump and filter are needed, hope the Emys like it, they could go in the weekend.


Pond for Emys Part 2

With all the hard work done, from now on it starts to become exciting as the pond nears completion.
Firstly the underlay is carefully placed over and then pushed down into the cavity, keeping the surface as wrinkle free as possible.
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Next the liner is unfolded out on top and again gently pulled out evenly.

A hose is placed in and the filling begins! a dechlorinator is added at this point.

As the water level rises, creases will start to appear, these are folded and will flatten out as the pond fills.



When the water is at the top, hopefully the level will be even all the way around.....that's why a spirit level is an important tool in the early stages of construction.
Finally excess liner and underlay is trimmed, leaving about a foot of material all the way around.
Now comes the best bit......getting it ready for turtles!

Sunday 1 August 2010

Pond For Emys Part 1

Having recently obtained a group of Emys orbicularis, i needed to build a pond to keep them in.
Unfortunately where i live the ground is full of stones and boulders, so a raised pond was the only/easy option.
To save building walls etc, some concrete fencing posts were cut down to 18" long. They were then concreted into the ground and gravel boards dropped in, making sure all the top sides were as level as possible.




The dimensions are 9 ft long x 8ft wide, just big enough to enable various depths and a basking area to be created.

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4" x 1" pressure treated wood was then screwed on to the gravel boards to give a good surface to attach the underlay and liner.
Some soil was then dug out to create a deeper area of 20" with a very gentle gradient up to the shallower area. This will help the turtles easily reach the surface when the water temperature is cold and especially after hibernation!



Damp building sand was added to help protect the liner, but also to profile and level the bottom of the pool .
Depths of 7" - 12" were made so, other than the deeper zone of 20", the rest of the pool is relatively shallow. This will help the water to warm up quickly, again a must in spring when turtles are at their most vunerable. It is at this time drowning can occur when cold lethargic animals struggle to reach the basking areas.



Loft insulation was then stuffed along the inside walls of the gravel boards to further help protect the liner.

Monday 28 June 2010

Enjoying The Sun

With the recent glorious sunshine, the reps have been soaking up the UV's.
Here are a few pics....

Beware of Blackbirds.......with the ground being hard and worms hard to come by, my local blackbird sneaked in and grabbed a Podarcis while the cover was off. She escaped by dropping her tail!



Laudakia stellio x brachydactyla






Juvenile Physignathus lesueurii


Female Timon pater


Male Timon pater


Male & Female Clemmys guttata

Male Mauremys caspica

Female Emys orbicularis

Rana temporaria

Monday 31 May 2010

It's Mayfly Time

What a difference a week makes, i fished this Shropshire river last week and struggled for a few fish, as the river is low and clear. However yesterday, with similar weather conditions the fishing was very good. The key to this change was the annual appearance of the Mayfly, which were hatching all afternoon.



Various Mayfly patterns were thrown at the trout with moderate success, but after tying on a Stimulator fly i had a run of beautifully marked fish.


Mayflies tend to make the bigger fish less wary, so with stealth and careful casting, these small rivers will reveal some fine fish.


This time last year i caught fish at Mayfly time with a Balloon Caddis pattern so maybe a perfect Mayfly pattern is not necessary.

Sunday 25 April 2010

A Good Afternoon

Today i had an enjoyable afternoon fishing on one of my favourite shropshire rivers. Although the water was low and clear, it fished well with plenty of trout taking a size 16 copper tungsten-head pheasant tail nymph, tied by fellow blogger Mick.



The nymph was as usual, fished under a Klinkhammer pattern, but only a couple of trout fell to the dry fly.



It is surprising the head of trout these small rivers hold, and this time, a brace of chub and a perfect plump roach.





I am not sure what this c**p was leaking out of the pipe.