Nesting Box

[AgentOrange]

Serious Problem

I have many as do most of us.
Why waste good beer thinking on that when you can use it to think on silly problems?

I have some Beck's Beer on the porch and am working my brain and the internet as to turtles laying eggs.

Mature turtles need a place to nest. Mine might be old enough this year and lack that.
How do I add a nesting area to my 4000 gal pond? You guys are smarter than me, so think on it.

Here is some info:
--- Turtles can not have a way to wander from the pond.
--- Critters must not have a way to raid the nest.

After 3 bottles of Beck's, my options seem to be add a floating island with dirt or build a box to the side of the pond they can access.

Easy is always best, but I want the best option.

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Building an external nest box using something like a cement mixing tray looks like an option. I like that as it would give the turtles more area to roam. Water turtles don't much care as to land, but an extra option on a day they are feeling frisky might be fun.




I would need to build a stand, add a wire cage around it, build a entry/exit ramp.
I like this option, but it is a lot of planning and work.

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Add a floating island is an option. I have a really nice large one, they use to bask. It was very expensive, and I can't find a place that sells these now. Too bad as I would buy another.



Smaller 20" round ones are available. These are $70, but I have a few not used for a few years. They are for plants. The deal with water plants is they grow like crazy, and the weight soon tilts these. As a small body of dirt for the turtles to dig in -- it might work. It don't look very good and is small, but ???