Habitat - Outdoor :: Too cold in Huntington Beach, CA?

[backdoc77]

I live in Huntington Beach, CA. I acquired 2 sliders this summer and they've been happily enjoying my back yard pond. Recently, to my alarm, the sun has gradually shifted away from my pond so that it does not get any direct sunlight during the day. This morning the water temp was 54 degrees F. Turtle sightings have been scarce, but I expected that.
So my question is:
Any other southern california turtle owners who have successfully "wintered" their turtles in an outdoor pond?
Is the lack of direct sunlight a cause for concern?
Worst case scenario, can I safely interrupt the current "brumination" and transfer my turtles to a temporary stock tank with more sunshine (and a filter and heater if necessary)?
The current pond is about 4 feet deep and made of concrete. There is debris at the bottom which the turtles are "sleeping" in.

Thanks for the help!

[steve]

Tough call, are they active at all? How big are these RES and were they kept outdoors by their previous keepers?

[mursss]

Well, I live in Southern CA as well in the LA vicinity. I know for sure when it's hot in LA it is hotter in HB and when it's cold here, it is freezing over there. For obvious reasons. Anyways, my turtles are located in an outside tank, and they definitely require a heater even though there hasn't been much rain this winter. The mornings & nights lowest get about 50 or 60 over here, still not bad but not right temp for the turtles. So what I do is I keep the heater running overnight, then around brunch time I open the tank, direct sunlight hits (i have them at the edge of my shaded enclosed patio where sunlight hits perfectly on one side of the tank illuminating the whole aquarium), turn off the heater since it'll stay the current temp, and turn it back on once the sun sets. Worse case scenario is you do need to move em, I know how much my RES love the sun. Take it from me, I accidentally turned off the water heater when they were INDOORS once, and they didn't move a muscle. saddest thing even though they were located in my living room, it was still too cold for em.

[THERUIZFAMILY]

Do a search and you'll see that many people keep their turtles outdoors in Southern California without any special precautions or problems. There is a park in Chino full of turtles. A park in La Mirada with turtles as well. Luminares in Monterey Park with many turtles in their pond. I don't know what part of L.A the other posters lives in but Huntington is always cooler than L.A because they are next to the Ocean. I have lived on the borders of L.A and O.C all my life and I don't remember it ever going below 45 degrees. As I said in the beginning. Do a search and you will see that there are many So. California outdoor ponds with RES without any problems.

[THERUIZFAMILY]

To be honest when it comes to brumination/hybernation I would just leave them alone and let them decide what to do. They will come out for sun when they want. If your that concerned get a basking light/area for them around/near the pond. They will find it and use it when they want.

[Linus]

Sorry for the late reply but I do keep 2 turtles in my pond during the summer. One comes in during the winter because she is tropical.

Since the sun shifts away from the pond during the late summer, we have a large mirror that we ajdust to direct the sun to the pond. Doesn't help with the UVB, but it's good enough.

[backdoc77]

Well guys, I've answered my own question. I am happy to say that my 2 res turtles have successfully survived the winter. In early october, the sun began to shift away from my pond. This concerned me quite a bit since I had read that res need an hour or so of sunlight a day. The temperature of the water dropped quickly from the upper 70's to the upper 40's. As I expected, I did not see the turtles for much of the winter. We had a few warm spells, and they did come out for a few days here and there. I fed them but they didn't eat much. Currently they are out all day, but they don't seem to be eating as much as they used to. Maybe it will take awhile for them to recover from the cold temps?
Anyway thanks for all the input and hopefully somebody can benefit from my experience.

[Impulse Shopper]

Great topic. I'll assume George is OK in his indoor tank, even if the water feels a little chilly to me (don't have a thermostat at the moment). I noticed because when I transferred him to his freshly cleaned tank this morning, he basically blissed out and didn't move from my hand for the longest because it was so nice and warm as I eased him in. So cute! But now it's back to chilly/room temp again, but he's active. Especially when the sun shines on his tank. We're in Pasadena, CA. Indoor air temp is warm for sure. Thank you!