How far to Pond Turtles Roam

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mwentz
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How far to Pond Turtles Roam

Post by mwentz »

Hi everybody, I have some ponds I want to check out, and I have found out that they are man made. How far do pond turtles roam overland to find new ponds?

It is only a mile or so from a river I would imagine has pond turtles, but the area in between looks pretty dry.

thanks,
Matt Wentz
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gopher
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Re: How far to Pond Turtles Roam

Post by gopher »

A mile from the pond is well within reach of a turtle. Males will travel to different bodies of water in search for females. I do not not know the limits to the distance they can travel unfortunately. Good luck with your search!
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Brian Hubbs
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Re: How far to Pond Turtles Roam

Post by Brian Hubbs »

About a mile, but if the ponds are really old there may have been a flowing seasonal creek at one time (which provided the flow to fill the ponds originally), so the turtles might have colonized them a long time ago when conditions were a little wetter. I've seen pond turtles in some brutal places.
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Porter
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Re: How far to Pond Turtles Roam

Post by Porter »

Definitely possible. When I was age 6-10ish I spent a lot of weekends and summers on a small farm. There were a few pond turtles that migrated back and forth from a crick, about a quarter mile away, to a drinking pond within a horse pasture for part of the year . The pond was full of minnows that were pollinated by migrating water fowl. Pond originally built by the owner of the land. Also have seen pond turtles crossing from one pond to the next, during the day, while raining. Also sitting in the wet road. Id check those ponds for food...
mwentz
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Re: How far to Pond Turtles Roam

Post by mwentz »

Thanks for the help! I plan on checking the ponds no matter what, but just wanted to get some opinions. More info on the ponds. They are pits from hydraulic mining, that have be reclaimed and turned into wildlife areas. I don't know what the water pH is, but pictures show that normal flora is growing there, so I think it might be a totally acceptable area for turtles.

I am more hopeful, especially with Hubbs' comment that he has found pond turtles in some butal places.

edit- changed Hubb's to Hubbs'
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Fundad
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Re: How far to Pond Turtles Roam

Post by Fundad »

It is also important to keep in mind, what you see now, isn't always what the habitat looked like 100 years ago, 200 years ago, 1000 years ago, and so on.

Recent changes to habitats are incredible, Cattle Grazing, Water Diversions, Historic farm land, etc.

In other words mankind has really F ed up many areas of California in the past 200 years.
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