General Care Discussion :: Winter Care for Outdoor RES in Calif.

[MC428]

Hello All,

About a month ago I picked up 4 RES about 5 years old each. They are doing great in my outdoor pond that has lots of plants and basking areas.

My question has to do with their care during the winter. I live in Northern Calif. (San Jose) and we don't get snow, but we may get some frost. I figure I'll need to get a pond heater (any recommendations?) to keep the water at the right temp. The pond is about 600 gal.

Do I need to do anything else? Can I keep them outside in Calif. all winter as long as I heat the water?

Thanks for the advice!
Mary

[sonyj]

You will need to bring them in if the temps drop below 70F. You can supply a water heater for the water to keep the temp up but it's the ambient air temp you can't change and they will still need to bask at temps between 88-90F.

Fixing some indoor temp set ups sounds like the best thing unless others have some good ideas for keeping them outside at the correct temps. Stock tanks run around $70 for a 100 gallons or Rubbermaid tubs are around $20 for a 30-40 gallon tub at certain stores. Investing in some of these for their winter habitats may be an option along with the proper lighting, filters, heaters etc.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.