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I'm in California and I'm going to build a pond for my turtles outside. I've been reading and waster needs to be around 75 degrees. Whats the best way to keep the water the right temp. I plan to build a pond 12 feet wide by 6 feet by 4 feet deep. Not sure about the 4 feet yet. My reason for the 4 feet to let the turtles have a place to hide if they need too far enough under the water. I just need to find out how to keep the water the right temp and how to keep the land the right temp. Do I put heat lamps on the land for the winter months when its 60 degrees. I need to get my hands around the right way to keep the water the right temp and a way they can come out of the water in the winter and have a place to dry off and get warm.

Anyone can help that would be cool. New here and I can't find this topic on the forum.

Thanks. My goal is to have a pond in my backyard in the next 4 months.

quick answer is you dont. the sun will do the work for you. and if your pond is 4 feet deep they will be able to hibernate during the winter.

rsour24 wrote:quick answer is you dont. the sun will do the work for you. and if your pond is 4 feet deep they will be able to hibernate during the winter.

Yup.....And the water will stay cooler during the hot summer days. Just locate it in a spot where it gets at least 4hours of shade through the day.

Thanks for the info. I'm very new to this. I bought many books and I'm doing my research. I want to do it right. I want to build a pond I would want to be in if I was a turtle. I just did not understand the whole winter deal. I want to put them in the pond and leave them there. I did not want to remove them in the winter to put them somewhere warmer.

So if I understand right they will just go to the bottom of the water and hibernate. Does that mean if we get 3 months of cold weather the turtle will hibernate for 3 months?

MyTurtles'sKeeper wrote:Does that mean if we get 3 months of cold weather the turtle will hibernate for 3 months?

Yes......Assuming we are talking about RES or all other north american turtles. Hibernating a turtle boosts the keeper requirements from "starter" to "intermediate" or "advanced" since you will have to know when to stop feeding them, control ammonia build up in the pond during this period, and keep an eye out for their awakening since they will be very hungry.
If we get into exotics or tropical turtles, no they will not hibernate and cannot be kept outdoors below 65 degrees.