Jump to content

Has anyone heated an outdoor pond during winter for turtles?


lara3

Recommended Posts

Just wanting to hear from anyone who has done this successfully? I have always had my turtles in large indoor tanks and this year they are in a pond. Can it be heated? I am a bit paranoid about these turtles dying over winter?

thanks i have done alot of reading including Donnas facebook info on hibernation and barley straw etc

sarah

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i am a little paranoid about loosing turtles as i have always had them indoors and the have been outside for 8 months now. Are they okay with it heated even thow the air is cold with winter and all?

thanks for the info

have read various sites about putting leaves on the bottom or barley straw etc etc

sarah

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I heat my reeves and snake neck pond and just use 2 x 300 watt heaters and yes when the outside is cold the heats go all the time .

But if you do not then they will drown ...the reeves that is the snake neck are more use to the cold ... I think this is best for them .

The snakenecks are an Australian species and people in some parts of Australia with snakenecks in ponds had some die when the weather got very cold last winter. In Auckland I believe snakenecks are OK. Check out the Turtle Town FB pg or Australian Freshwater Turtles forum to get accurate info on the ELNs and what they need to hibernate.

If you heat the water too much the turtles will be in a semi-hibernating state...too active to hibernate, but not active enough to eat etc as normal...and that's much worse. The turtles use up too much energy and can die. Also you don't want them in a warm pond with cold air temps.....again they are too active and can get pneumonia from the cold air temps. Auckland is very different to CHCH. Given the right environment the RES should be fine. Last year we hibernated about 30 RES in Cheries pond (my overflow turtle pond just outside of CHCH) and all survived. I have used heaters in one pond here, but that was to keep the water temp at about 6 deg. They were still in full hibernation with water temps between 6-10deg. The turtles were rescue ones where I had no idea of history and they hadn't been here all summer, so one heater set at 34deg...all winter....kept pond at about 6deg. But it was a deep, medium sized pond at the time. And we just ignore the $700 power bills.... :facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm: I believe healthy medium and large sized RES will be fine in Auckland with no heating.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

last year I had all turtles outside in ponds, snakenecks, red ears and Reeves, depends on age of them.

just keep an eye on them, I had one reeves with an underlying shell rot problem that I brought back in and treated and one red ear started basking a lot so also brought in and treated for mild flu, both ok and outside again.

that is out of 20 odd turtles so pretty good.

Auckland weather similiar to where you find some snakenecks in lower Aussie and Reeves come from climates that get very cold in winter.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

thanks broms can you post me up a photo of your pond? what do you have on the bottom of it? I have only ever had my turtles in tanks up until last year and its just red ears outside in a pond that i am worried about

sarah

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the main thing I think is if you do leave them out,leave them alone!no getting them out to see if they are ok etc,no food,just provide what they need and leave them to it.I have had redears outside,unheated for 20yrs or more(hawkesbay).only lost one that was a really old melanstic male that i don`t know how old he was when i got him,but he looked old!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

yeah will just have to leave them. Donna has helped me out with the whole straw thing. Must go and get some and do that

thanks for everyones input . Just have to leave them be or take the lot out into large indoor ponds/heated tanks

sarah

Link to comment
Share on other sites

heating outdoor ponds in winter is probably more trouble than it's worth. warm water cold air not good anyway.

snowed on my ponds last year - well the plastic cover. couple of long necks and 3 old red ears - young red ears too - oops did not know they were in there - but by end of this summer they're 12cm+ so seem to be loving it long time.

snowy winter good for mantrol ?

stopped feeding a few weeks ago down here. they still bask on good days atm, elns surprisingly active at cooler temps i find. breed em tough down here :sml2:

best thing to do is provide the setup months before winter and let them be.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just wanting to hear from anyone who has done this successfully? I have always had my turtles in large indoor tanks and this year they are in a pond. Can it be heated? I am a bit paranoid about these turtles dying over winter?

thanks i have done alot of reading including Donnas facebook info on hibernation and barley straw etc

sarah

PM 'Houthouse', I'm sure he would know- been there done that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

PM 'Houthouse', I'm sure he would know- been there done that.

Hot house doesn't have them in outside ponds. They are in 'hothouses!' :thup:

Sarah, they will be fine. Just set it up properly and leave them to it. You should have stopped feeding etc last month. Auckland will be fine :D

I've just taken 4 more small ones into the new turtle area in the conservatory.... -2 deg at night down here...brrrr not nice!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

yeah was thinking that myself would just need heated water and uvb bulb etc

sarah

auck temps fine for winter.snakeys,reeves n red ears. as long as they are yearlings and have spent the summer outside,snakeys seem particularly cold tolerent and are still active ish when evereything else has gone to bed. i remember reading about reeves breathing through there rectum whilst hibernating underwater :o maby google rectum breathing terapins :dunno:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...