General Care Discussion :: Playing outside

[WendyByTheBay]

I have a weird question. Is it ok if my normally inside turtle spends time outside? Here in the Texas gulf coast, even on late fall/winter days out side temps can get in the upper 70's-80's mid day. I have a kiddy pool that my daughter out grew. I place it on an incline and take about two gallons of water out of the turtle tank and put it in the pool. The water collects at one end of the pool. The other end is dry and I have a rock in the middle. I keep close taps on the temperature in the pool & there is a small shady spot on one side. I put the turtle in there a few times and he loves to climb on his rock and sun himself. Every now and again he'll make a few laps round and round the pool then go back to the rock in the middle and sun again. I don't keep him in there for more than an hour. He seems to really enjoy this so I hope that this is ok for him to do. Of course I won't do this if the temp outside is lower than 78 in the sun.

[TheComputerGremlin]

Sounds like you are right on target. A lot of the turtle people on here keep outdoor ponds for their turtles during the warm months. You sound like you take great care with him and just keep an eye on the temps and he should be fine. Also watch out for predators, even birds can grab him up.

[Kemul]

I agree with TheComputerGremlin. I want to add that nothing beats good ol' natural sunshine for your turtle

[novroz]

Agree with both of them...I always keep them outside for an hour walking around the garden whenever I have time

[octpusgirl8]

I used to have a kiddy pool out on my balcony my turtle, he loved it! Natural sunlight's the best, beats the heck out of UVB lamps! It's great for them, as long as you keep a close eye on them temps, and the turtles themselves. They're an easy target for predators like hawks, a chicken wire screen might be a good idea if you're not out there with him.

[WendyByTheBay]

Well we had a strong front move in last night and it's in the 30's. No more outside time for turtle anytime soon. Took him out yesterday and it was so hot and muggy.

Normally when I take him out, I sit beside him. We have 3 cats and a dog. As much as I love them I don't trust them to leave the turtle alone. My husband said he's going to make a top for the pool.

Poor little guy's trying to escape. I think He knows it's about that time of the day to go outside. It's pretty warm about 78, in my house can I let him walk around on the floor, if I keep a close eye on him?? Sorry I ask so many maybe stupid questions, lol.

[TurtleLover_S&B]

Yeah,I've always wanted to put my turtles outside in the natural sunlight to get UV rays,but I just don't know when the tempature is right and plus I don't have anything to put them in.Right now I can't,because it's like in the 50's.I think it would be too hot in the summer here,because it can get up to 90-95 degrees.Spring would probably the best time.So,does anyone have any ideas what to put my turtles in?

[bigG]

I live in Florida and when the weather is warm I bring my two RES outside to romp around on the patio. If it's too cold, then I let them crawl around inside the house. I've had my female for almost two years and she has pretty much "memorized" the house and has her favorite spots to explore. I've only had the younger male for about three months and he usually find his favorite "hiding" place.