We just put in a pond. It is 600 gallons with a 18 inch shelf and a small 3 feet deep area. I have a yellow belly slider turtle about 5 inches long in it and several koi and surdunkin gold fish in the pond. I live in Florida. It is going to get down to 40 degrees this weekend. Should I bring my turtle inside?
Turtles in the pond
- Thread starter Perri
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I would - I don't know that they prefer temps that cold. But I'm not a turtle expert - I've only known them to be kept indoors.
Welcome to the forum.
YBS are native to parts of Florida so they should handle the temp drop without a problem if you choose to leave them outside. They will self regulate temperature so if they do not like the air temps, they tend to stay underwater until it is more to their liking. The water temp. will be steadier than the air temp. When they want to warm up, they will bask in the sun out of the water; an area they should have in your pond.
If they are not used to being outside and you have a suitable setup I could see bringing them in but I would avoid repeated sudden temp. changes. (air and water)
YBS are native to parts of Florida so they should handle the temp drop without a problem if you choose to leave them outside. They will self regulate temperature so if they do not like the air temps, they tend to stay underwater until it is more to their liking. The water temp. will be steadier than the air temp. When they want to warm up, they will bask in the sun out of the water; an area they should have in your pond.
If they are not used to being outside and you have a suitable setup I could see bringing them in but I would avoid repeated sudden temp. changes. (air and water)
Yellow-bellied Slider (Trachemys scripta scripta) - Species Profile
Species summary for Yellow-bellied Slider (Trachemys scripta scripta)
nas.er.usgs.gov
I discussed this with Neptune Turtle, and he suggested you let your turtle friend stay outdoors in his pond home. Just don't feed. The thing is, if you bring the turtle in, you really need to keep it in until say, the mid or end of February when it starts warming up.
j.w
I Love my Goldies
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Glad it worked out for you! Now that the cold weather has passed, please feel free to start posting about your pond's progress.
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Yellow-bellied sliders originate in North America, and Florida is literally not even the northern edge of their range. I would say they can easily survive hibernating through Florida winters.
However, not every turtle should be allowed to brumate, especially those that are under 3 years old.
Turtles also must not be underweight or otherwise sick while brumating.