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Want contact with other nzers who have RES turtles outside in a pond. I get good advice from other countries but want local info also.

Hibernate or bring inside? where in NZ are you?

Im in Nelson (which of course is the sunniest place in NZ, lol) but our temps arent that hot, 23C at moment and climbing for summer but get severe frosts (4C) over winter.

Hi Amy, you might have better luck searching the forum for anyone from NZ. There have been a few, but I don't think they frequent the site enough to come across your post.

I'm in NZ.

It depends on how big of a pond you have. The smaller the pond, the more the water temperature will fluctuate. Also, the age of the turtle and their general health beforehand would play an important part in your decision.

A friend of mine here in Chch just hibernated about 15-20 turts through this past winter and they came through fine. She let a good layer of leaves build up in the ponds for the turtles to burrow in heading for winter and fed them a lot before the temperature dropped to make sure they were getting enough to eat before their bodies told them to stop eating.

its about a 600 litre pond. having algae issues at the moment!!

good to know they hibernate safely in chch, which is just as cold as here if not colder.