Habitat - Outdoor :: Moving from a tank to a pond?

[turtlehussy]

Hi folks. I'm new here but I have a question about my slider, Bob. Bob is a 6-7 year old female slider who is currently living in a 30g long aquarium. She has a basking light, nesting area, all the fun stuff turtles want and need. While she doesn't seem crowded in the tank, my husband and I would feel better if we could put her in something bigger. We don't have the space for another aquarium right now but we do have the space for a pond outside in our yard. We've found a terrific deal on a 170g pond which I think would be perfect for her. Issues of keeping her in the yard aside (we've got it covered) how safe would it be to move her from her warm, predictable, heated and lit aquarium to a pond outside? We live in the southeast and while winters can be pretty brutal (well, for me anyway) we don't get a lot of snow and don't have many really freezing days. Would she be ok out there? Should we heat the pond?

She's been with us for about 5 years now so she's definitely used to her aquarium and it's always heated to keep the water temperature even year round. Her basking area is similarly regulated. Would it be a shock to her if we moved her out there during the summer? What would happen when winter gets here, will she be able to hibernate? Does she still know how? LOL

Sorry for all the questions. I've got it covered as far as indoor habitats go, but outdoor has me a bit confused so I appreciate your clarification and knowledge in advance

K

[STRAYKINGFISHER]

I think you should take your turtle to the pond for a couple of hours a day until she realizes that the pond is her other home, when winter starts to set in I think you should bring her in, she should be able to hibernate if she has the right conditions, the water would have to be deep enough that it doesn't freeze completely, if the water freezes completely your turtle will be trapped and die, there should also be sand at the bottom so that your turtle can burrow to do her hibernating.

[jenaero]

You've got plenty of time from now, til winter to research all you can about hibernating turtles. There's lots of info out there! If after all your research you're still not sure, bring her in for the winter

[marisa]

Pond heaters (not deicers) for outdoors are expensive. She really needs something larger than what she's in now. Can you keep her in the pond in the summer and keep her inside in something bigger like a stock tank through the winter?

[turtlehussy]

Thanks all, so much, for the replies.

I absolutely agree she needs something larger, which is why we want to go the pond route since we most certainly don't have room for a 100+ gallon aquarium in the house.

These turtles are indigenous to where we live. I see them out when I'm fishing all the time. From what I can understand about hibernation and sliders it seems that as long as our pond is at least 3' deep and as long as she has a nice, thick layer of sand/mud/substrate to bury in over the winter she should be fine.

My main concern is that she won't be able to adapt to having to hibernate after not having to do it. Would it be a shock? Would she have forgotten how to hibernate? I wouldn't think so, but I'd like to have more to go on than what I hypothesize is correct.

As for wintering her in the house...well, space becomes an issue. We don't really have a place inside that's big enough to hold a preformed pond or holding tank for her. There's always the garage, but that's also my art studio and I use a lot of stuff that's bad for people to breathe, nevermind turtles. I do have fairly good ventilation (have to unless I want to die) but again, the space is an issue. I could probably make one fit somewhere but it'd be cramped and electrical outlets down there are valuable real estate

Our house isn't tiny but we do share it with a large computer collection of my husband's, tons of books, 5 cats, two dogs and a snake We're crowded, I tell ya!

[marisa]

Well, if I were considering putting her in a pond and having her hibernate at all, I'd start by reading something like http://www.anapsid.org/hibernation.html paying special attention to the diet and the short section on aquatics. Do a search and you're bound to find more info on the topic.

[jenaero]

Do as much reading about it as you can. The drop in temp will bring on hibernation whether she's done it before or not. Temps drop and their metabolism slows down. Only thing to worry about is if the water is too cold to be active and eat, but too warm to hibernate, it'll kill her. Like I said, research as much as you can but don't worry...she'll automatically know what to do

BTW, if you're still not sure, the best person to ask is OldTurtle...he's been keeping turts for years and years and knows just about all there is to know

[Oldturtle72]

Okay, TH,
Here's the straight skinny about taking your turtles outside from a warm environment. Shut the tank heater off and add 2 icecubes. Check the temp daily till it gets within 2-3 degrees of the water temp in your pond. You might have to add a ice cube now and then but don't hurry it. Your turt should be acclimatized and ready to go outside in a week. I just did the same thing with my 7 turts (a pair of 2+ year old RES, 3 female EPTs and 2 male EPTs). They were in their winter quarters (265gal. pond in the basement) with the temp right about 78. The outdoor pond water temp was 66 when I put 'em out. The outdoor pond is also a 265 gallon preformed pond buried flush to the ground. Leave the basking temp alone. It should remain at about 90 to duplicate the sun at this time of the year. Do not worry about your turt not eating. Cool to cold water has no effect on their ability to eat. At 50 degrees they stop eating just like fish. You don't want to feed them then any way because if they do eat something, it'll just sit in their stomach and rot. At 50 degrees, they may be swimming around but they're usually smart enough not to eat. I.ve kept turts outside all winter with a 1200 watt stock tank heater at one end of the pond and a 300 GPH pump aimed so the current goes around the pond so the pond doesn't freeze solid. The turts burried themselves under a waterfall pump and in the root ball of the cattails. Didn't see 'em for three months and then only for a couple of hours. I've done this succesfully for years so any questions you may have, I will answer.
George

[Oldturtle72]

I've gone back and reread some of the posts pertaining to your original inquiry. Aquatic, hard shelled turtles do not hibernate in sand. The chances of your old turtle hibernating sucessfully are 'slim to none'! As a captive bred turtle to begin with and spending that many years indoors, it won't know what to do come the time. Sometime in September or early October, plan on bringing her in for the winter. I wouldn't try to hibernate my RESs for that same reason. They just won't know how. That happened one year with a big female Western Painted Turtle that I bought because the pet store owner assured me that it was wild. I thought she was doing just fine at the pond bottom. There was 10 inches of snow on the ground and the air temp was 20 above and sunny and there she was, up and swimming around. By the time I realised that she shouldn't have been up, it was too late. When I brought her in, she never recovered from the cold and her legs died first. Now, my Eastern Painted turtles are all wild caught and will hibernate with no problem although last year they over-wintered in the basement pond with 76-8 degree water temp. Speedy, a 5 year old male EPT went into a hibernation mode anyway and refused to eat for almost 2 months. I started him back with a big nightcrawler and he is just fine now, enjoying the outdoors with his pals. Don't take the chance, please. Let her enjoy the full summer and fall outside and then bring her in. She will have no trouble with 40+ degree nights because even if her pond water temp drops at night, it'll warm up nicely in the morning. Mine stay out 24/7 almost until first frost. George

[Oldturtle72]

Put her right back in your 30 long when it's time to bring her in. If she's been in it all this time, that is good enough for winter quarters.

[turtlehussy]

Thank you so much, George! That's great info

Just to clarify, Bob wasn't captive bred, she was wild caught and then rescued by me, so she did get to spend a year or two in her natural habitat. At least I assume a year or two. I really don't know how old she is, but she was about 3-4" when I acquired her.

[Myrtle]

Hey George (or any one who knows more than me!), I have a baby turt (RES of course!) and he (or she) is just about 2 in. What would the dangers be of putting him in a pond all year round from this point on?
I mean, would predaters be a danger??
Who are the predetors?
Thanks a million!

[Oldturtle72]

First of all, is the pond enclosed. By that I mean, is there a short fence, part of which is buried in the ground and bent inward to deter a digger and the top bent over to deter a climber. The fence won't stop a Feral Cat or a Raccoon or a dog. Hawks, Crows, Jays are just some of the birds that would love a tasty morsel such as a 2" turtle. What I would suggest, is that when you have time to spare, put the turt in the pond and keep an eye on things. Your baby will thrive in the natural sun and in such a large habitat. Get yourself a soft, fine mesh pond net to help you catch it. My 2 incher is in a 4' wading pool now but at night it comes in and goes into a 265 gallon pond that's set up in the basement. As for all year---if all the above criteria has been met and if you live in a year-around warm area, yeah, by all means, let it stay there all year. Just don't expact it to hibernate. George

[Myrtle]

Thanks!!
I just have one more question, sorry!
I didn't know that baby RES don't hibernate-so they wouldn't survive out in a pond during the winter, would they?

[marisa]

Many do die, but some do survive. You wouldn't want to hibernate your turtle unless you could provide correct conditions, he was 3+ years old and healthy.