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Hi...I'm actually a Sulcata tortoise owner - but have a friend who has a newly made pond, new koi and new sliders- 1 female - 2 males? The female is the only one that STAYS IN the pond...could she be chasing off the males? Or could the males be females trying to lay eggs???? The escapes have been thwarted to some extent - blocking off the area...but 1 little guy remains missing...day 4 or 5....found one about 40 feet away from pond trying to burrow??? (DO THESE GUYS BURROW???) How long can they survive outside the pond in a dry yard??? (they are about the size of a glazed doughnut) AND isn't it TOO cold for them in the coming winter months? I know my BIG guy has to be at least 80 degrees.... ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED!

I don't know how cold it gets in California but I'd suggest she bring them in for the colder months. First thing she needs to do is fence that pond in tho. Maybe with the cooler temps they're looking for a place to hunker down for a while. They may choose to bury in the yard because there's no mud in the bottom of the pond.

If they're trying to burrow, it would be good to extend any fence into the ground so they can get under it.

What kind of pond does your friend have? Is there any substrate in it? How cold is it where you are now and how cold will it get?

I'm in SoCal and just got two turtles. Everyone that I've talked to says that you can leave them outside over the winter if you don't mind them digging in your backyard.

There's also the California Turtle & Tortoise Club. A lot of the information is geared towards people & their turtles living in SoCal.

http://www.tortoise.org/

Why would RES dig in the back yard? They burrow in the mud/leaves at the bottom of ponds to hibernate...

CTTC is a good resource.

Not sure if Turtles are like Frogs..but..
If more than 1 male frog is around a pond, he will actually run off any other males that may show up. Doesn't matter if they are born there or not..a dominant male will always claim the pond to be his. Many females can stay but only 1 male will be there.
Perhaps that is whats happening to your friends turtles?

Honestly in most parts of Cali it doesn't get cold enough for them to hibernate, infact you almost don't even need to control temperature. I live in Nor Cal and it is still decently worm up here and it's colder here, unless you are on the coast . . . maybe.

Maybe you could take pictures of the turtles and we can try to sex them to make sure they really are boys .. .