I have the stock tank pond all ready for my turtle. I would like to bring him out during the day but not sure what the temps have to be for him during the day and how low they can go at night. He is a Mississippi Map turtle. The temps here hover around the mid seventies during the day (sometimes hotter) and go down to around 60 overnight right now. I will be buying a heater for the stock tank to keep the overnight water temps at 75 so hopefully he can stay outside all summer. Is that okay?
Until I get the heater I would like to take him outside during the day to benefit from the UV rays. Will this stress him out, going out during the day and coming in at night?
One more question. My husband built a lid for the stock tank to keep out predators like raccoons and cats. He built a frame with wood and then he stapled that hard plastic hardware cloth to the frame. Do you think that a raccoon could pick it up and move that type of lid? If so, do you have any suggestions on how I could secure it even better? I thought of putting some tent stakes in each corner and securing it with rope or bungee cords but it will be a huge pain having to take them off each time I want to access the pond.
Thx!
Denise