Step-by-Step Guide for How to Build a Turtle Enclosure

Turtles spend much of their life swimming in water. When you build a turtle enclosure, you will need to plan to have a small pond, as well as land, logs, and rocks for them to climb out of the water and bask in the sun on. A turtle enclosure also needs to provide a place of shelter for the turtle and plenty of plant life and greenery.

Things You'll Need

  • Measuring tape
  • Shovel
  • Thick, plastic sheeting
  • Rocks, boulders or bricks
  • Wood or chain link fence, 3-feet high minimum
  • Greenery
  • Basking rock
  • Aquarium pump/skimmer
  • Grate
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Instructions

    • 1

      Choose an area in your backyard for the turtle enclosure. Measure off a 10 x 10-foot area, or larger if you have the space.

    • 2

      Measure an 8 x 6 rectangle inside the designated turtle enclosure for the pond. Dig out this rectangle to a depth of approximately 2 to 4 feet in the center. The hole should gradually slope upward to the outer edge so there will be some shallow water areas. Line the hole with thick plastic sheeting. Use rocks, boulders or bricks to surround the top edge of the pond to keep the sheeting in place. You do not need to cement the boulders in place, but stack them in a secure manner. In the future you might need to replace the plastic sheeting, and being able to remove the boulders will make it easier.

    • 3

      Build a wall or fence around the pond to make a secure habitat for your turtles so they can't escape. Turtles can dig and climb out of a poor enclosure. Plan on building a wall or a chain link fence around the enclosure approximately 2 feet high. The wall or fence should be sunk into the ground at least 1 foot to prevent digging out.

    • 4

      Plant plenty of greenery around the turtle pond. Turtles will eat and hide among the plants inside their enclosure. Types of plants that turtles like are duckweed, water hyacinth, water lily, cabomba, fairy moss, tape grass, purple pickerel, dwarf rush, dwarf cattail, anacharis and water lettuce.

    • 5

      Make sure there is a hiding spot in the enclosure for shelter. The pond should be deep enough (approximately 2 to 4 feet) so a turtle can hide at the bottom. Place some large boulders and stones at the bottom of the pond to create a small cave or tunnel. This shelter is also called a turtle tunnel.

    • 6

      Provide a place for the turtle to climb out and dry off. Turtles need to dry off completely and bask in the sun at least once a day. This helps raise their body temperature so they can sleep safely under the water all night. The basking rock or stone should be close to the pond so they can slide into the water if a predator should show up.

    • 7

      Clean the pond regularly. The best way to keep your pond clean is to build a skimmer into the pond to filter out the debris and recycle the water. Buy a large aquarium pump/skimmer at a pet shop or pool supply store. Place it at one end of the pond. Build a grate in front of the skimmer so the turtles won't get stuck or injured on it.