winter 2025
- Thread starter mark1
- Start date
If you can figure a way to put some type of air stones in the ponds they will keep the moving water around them from freezing solid.
Len, i'm hesitant to mix this air with the water, since the 23rd the air temps have been -1F, 0F, 10F, and 12F..... the 7 day forecast is calling for -2F tonight, then -2F, 1F, -5F, 0F, 2F and 5F........ your idea gives me an idea i hadn't thought of , soon as i see ice starting to form in the shallower pond i'm going to drop a small submerged pond pump aimed at the still spot that freezes first...
as of now there is no ice on the pond , the snow cover is keeping the ground almost 30F, and the pond is completely buried in snow
without snow cover i have seen the ground temps get down to 14F and not be a problem.....there is a couple sunny days in the forecast, and a 32F on february 4th.......
the winter storm that was all over the news was nothing here , i'm sure thanks to the cold....... folks south of us seem to have gotten way worse than us, i think you may be among those folks, how are the tortoises handling it?.....
these ponds are no worry , better setup.... next year i'll change that one, as is, it's not easy to get at, i was depending on global warming too much????
this girl has been hanging out in my trees lately, she seems to like watching my bird feeder.......
as of now there is no ice on the pond , the snow cover is keeping the ground almost 30F, and the pond is completely buried in snow
without snow cover i have seen the ground temps get down to 14F and not be a problem.....there is a couple sunny days in the forecast, and a 32F on february 4th.......
the winter storm that was all over the news was nothing here , i'm sure thanks to the cold....... folks south of us seem to have gotten way worse than us, i think you may be among those folks, how are the tortoises handling it?.....
these ponds are no worry , better setup.... next year i'll change that one, as is, it's not easy to get at, i was depending on global warming too much????
this girl has been hanging out in my trees lately, she seems to like watching my bird feeder.......
over the last 20 days the average air temperature has been 16.2F, for us that's a pretty cold winter, lake erie is 95% ice covered...... the ground temp thanks to good snow cover has actually risen and holding at 30F
thought Gabe was my last dog, friends though otherwise....... this is gus 10weeks........
thought Gabe was my last dog, friends though otherwise....... this is gus 10weeks........
Beautiful little dude.over the last 20 days the average air temperature has been 16.2F, for us that's a pretty cold winter, lake erie is 95% ice covered...... the ground temp thanks to good snow cover has actually risen and holding at 30F
thought Gabe was my last dog, friends though otherwise....... this is gus 10weeks........
first time in 36yrs i raised a single puppy in the house, it's every bit the job i dreaded......... standing outside at 1am in 0F waiting for a puppy to pee or poop, and he acts like he has no idea why we're out there..... i always kept 2-3 pups and they'd live in indoor outdoor kennels, they'd see what the older dogs did and learn from them and each other, by the time they came in the house they'd be pretty much civilized and completely house trained..... this guy is a little wild animal........ company he definitely is, same folks talked me into Gabe, and he was a great experience i am greatful to have had...... i'm sure this guy will be likewise....
if january here didn't have that first "warm" week it'd be one of the coldest on record...... the lake went from 0% frozen to over 90% in a week...... hopefully next week we start climbing out of this..... i'm pretty relaxed about the turtles, the snow cover makes the box turtles not even a thought, and the ponds have very little ice on them..... i had one wood turtle with a respiratory infection last fall, and i moved one last august, so we'll see how that plays out.....
if january here didn't have that first "warm" week it'd be one of the coldest on record...... the lake went from 0% frozen to over 90% in a week...... hopefully next week we start climbing out of this..... i'm pretty relaxed about the turtles, the snow cover makes the box turtles not even a thought, and the ponds have very little ice on them..... i had one wood turtle with a respiratory infection last fall, and i moved one last august, so we'll see how that plays out.....
I haven't raised a pup in years. The dogs I have now did learn from one another.
Our temps are starting to climb this weekend. To think we were in the single digits Sunday, and by Saturday it will be 60F
was -3F this morning and they say the cold here is going to be saturday and sunday ???? you might be just south enough to escape it..... northeast of here is supposed to get the worst.......
was 13F when i went in this enclosure, not sunny , but light clouds...... sun is definitely getting stronger.....
no ice on any ponds in the full sun enclosure....
was 13F when i went in this enclosure, not sunny , but light clouds...... sun is definitely getting stronger.....
no ice on any ponds in the full sun enclosure....
average temperature for the last 24 days has been 16.4F...... was -4 this morning......
..................................................................
january 2018, below normal snow cover, pond uncovered........
air temp
january 2026, normal to above normal snow cover, same pond, pond covered........
air temp
..........................
january 2025, pond covered, below average snow cover, most of the winter was bare ground....
air temp
ground temp
2026, pond covered, 8-10" snow cover for the last month......
air temp
ground temp
certainly appears to me the ground temperature is a major factor in pond freezing, snow cover is a major factor in ground temperature, our ground temp at 0-4" is almost 32F... during a warmer winter 2024-2025, with little to no snow cover the ground 0-4" got down to 13F , and the ground hibernators were all fine, even the 2-3" babies........ i always wonder what would happen if we had a winter like 1977, with the snow cover we had that winter, feet, i am feeling it wouldn't have been a problem....
..................................................................
january 2018, below normal snow cover, pond uncovered........
air temp
january 2026, normal to above normal snow cover, same pond, pond covered........
air temp
..........................
january 2025, pond covered, below average snow cover, most of the winter was bare ground....
air temp
ground temp
2026, pond covered, 8-10" snow cover for the last month......
air temp
ground temp
certainly appears to me the ground temperature is a major factor in pond freezing, snow cover is a major factor in ground temperature, our ground temp at 0-4" is almost 32F... during a warmer winter 2024-2025, with little to no snow cover the ground 0-4" got down to 13F , and the ground hibernators were all fine, even the 2-3" babies........ i always wonder what would happen if we had a winter like 1977, with the snow cover we had that winter, feet, i am feeling it wouldn't have been a problem....
last wednesday february 18th it was67F....
pic is friday february 20th, was 60F.......... never seen one of my box turtles come out in february, actually i can't recall ever seeing one come out in march.... i'm guessing with the snow cover we've had they never went very deep...... i dug down in the leaves to put her back down and seen another with his shell not even buried in the dirt.....
today february 22nd, was 28F.....
ground temps 0-4"
pic is friday february 20th, was 60F.......... never seen one of my box turtles come out in february, actually i can't recall ever seeing one come out in march.... i'm guessing with the snow cover we've had they never went very deep...... i dug down in the leaves to put her back down and seen another with his shell not even buried in the dirt.....
today february 22nd, was 28F.....
ground temps 0-4"
When my box turtles pop uo, i know its officially spring. They don't come up until the temps are consistently warm.
We had a week of warm with the highest day being 76F, and now we're dipping back down into the twenties and rising in the middle of the week.
We had a week of warm with the highest day being 76F, and now we're dipping back down into the twenties and rising in the middle of the week.
i'm actually a little confused as to why this girl was out..... unless we have a significant climate event this year, the box turtles here usually emerge in early to mid may, sometimes late may..... the average temperature through mid march here is in the 30's, at the end of april here it's in the mid 50's....... the average temperature the 2nd week of may is low 60's........ i may have missed her and she was in a shallow pallet under a bush or rock, i will watch for her if we get another warm spell, if she comes up again i'll bring her in.... i would have brought her in but it's way too early, she looked really healthy, the ground is pretty warm , and almost for sure we'll get above 32F most every day for the rest of the winter.....
Mark, you know this subject better than I but here in Md it's not uncommon to see box turtles and of course water turtles(ice permitting) pop up on warm day to soak up energy before they disappear for another 6 weeks like the ground hog says. I've seen the water snakes here in Jan on a warm day but they disappear quick when temps drop.
As always, your pics and the info that goes along are appreciated!
As always, your pics and the info that goes along are appreciated!
here it's normal for the water turtles to come out pretty much all winter, river and pond water temps can fluctuate pretty quickly, looks to me if they come up for air and it's warm and sunny they're basking....... not so much the box turtles , the leaf pile acts as an insulator from warm and cold , exposed ground and the ground under the leaf pile act very different in terms of temperature..... with the snow cover we've had i wouldn't doubt the ground under the leaf pile never reached freezing, even with 3 weeks of single digit and negative temperatures..... pretty regularly i'm digging up box turtles in mid may...... our plant zone here is 6a/6b, not sure what maryland is? but plant zones and north american turtle ranges seem to me to be indicative of each other....... 6a/6b being as cold a climate as eastern box turtles inhabit..... we can get below freezing here until the middle of may, 3rd week of february is not something that normally happens here, the worst is over, but we still have a long way to go......
