Habitat - Outdoor :: When do RES Brumate?

[thequangsta]

I am planning on keeping my RES outside in Nor California (San Jose) in a 52 gallon Rubbermaid. Winter here i will say goes between the 40s (at night) to 60s (day time) so i am assuming the water will be colder. Do RES brumate when the water is cold or when there is no sun? I am willing to put a heater in the water to heat it up.

[steve]

Hibernation is a very tricky thing to do, it would be a good idea to consult local keepers about an advance topic like this: http://www.tortoise.org/

More info here: http://www.redearslider.com/hibernation.html

[thequangsta]

actually the point of this question is for me NOT to hibernate the turtle. so im wondering where i live (san jose, california) can i just heat up the water to summer degrees rather than bring the turtle in the house.

[steve]

Sorry, I misread the post. I would be uncomfortable having the turtle out in that temperature and in that amount of water. A heater will have it's work cutout in those conditions.