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.

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!

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.

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

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.

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.