Winter is Coming! What do I do !?

[Ivan_Diaz]

As winter is approaching I want to start preparing for the following months. I have two red ear sliders living in a small pond in my backyard and I don’t know if I should leave them in there since I read they go into brumation during this time or should I put them in a tank where I know they aren’t going to get too cold another option would be putting a water heater in the pond ? It’s my first winter with them. I live in the central area of California where weather temps get as low as 38 degrees F to 82 degrees.

 

[wellington]

@Markw84 might be able to help.

 

[Markw84]

As winter is approaching I want to start preparing for the following months. I have two red ear sliders living in a small pond in my backyard and I don’t know if I should leave them in there since I read they go into brumation during this time or should I put them in a tank where I know they aren’t going to get too cold another option would be putting a water heater in the pond ? It’s my first winter with them. I live in the central area of California where weather temps get as low as 38 degrees F to 82 degrees.

I leave my turtles outside in the pond year-round. I do nothing special but stop feeding them when the water temps drop below 50°. Our winters here are not that harsh as the water will not freeze over on their pond. We will have some "warmer" spells during winter, but water temperature controls their body temps as they will not bask much at all with the sun so low in the horizon and stay in the water. So even with a day that will reach the 60°'s the water temp stays more in the 50° range or below. They normally just lie at the bottom for the most of the winter and rarely even surface.

So a lot will depend upon how "small" your pond is. The less the water volume, and the more shallow - the more it will fluctuate in temperatures on a daily basis. A larger - 2000 gal or more - pond that gets at least 30" deep is best and provides much more stable temps. However, Red-ears are extremely adaptable turtles and certainly do well in our climate. Watch your water temps through the winter, and particularly if you get into a warm spell before spring where cold weather could follow again. Do not feed them and allow them to keep their gut empty through the winter. It is normally the latter half of March before I start feeding again. Until then, the turtles will show little interest in any food you could offer, anyway! If healthy, they will do just fine outside in a good setup.

 

[NickA]

If your lows are around 38 they will be fine outside. They over winter in Much colder. We get some nights in single digits with windchills below zero and they are fine

 

[Estella]

I have 10 sliders in outdoor pond and as long as you have good air flow they should be fine, I don't heat my pond or do anything special. However you do want to watch over feeding when it gets colder out.