Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ive got a small pond in one of my planter boxes outside, however its in shade. i dont know how much about RES, and i was wondering how much sun or heat they need. a friend of mine has two dwarf RES in a shade pond, and they seem to do fine. the pond will have only mosquito fish, and them eating the plants is no problem. the have enough space to dig around and get out of the water as well. any feedback would be appreciated. thanks.

-brad

Hi Brad

They will need to get some direct sunlight for several hours of the day or it is not a good spot for them.

Did your friend buy his sliders from Chinatown? I suspect so because who ever told him they are dwarf sliders fed him a load of crap. There is no such thing as a dwarf slider. Males get over six or seven inches long females over 10. If there where such a thing I suspect you would see them advertised alot more and your friend would have paid a small fortune for it. Hope he did not get taken for ride.

Steve

he actually bought them from a store that sells stuff on here... ive seen RES labeled as dwarf on websites as well. however my friend is probably wrong. are there any turtles that will do well in shade? i dont think there is, since most if not all reptiles love the sun. thanks.

-brad

Really maddening that people take advantage of folks by telling them that they are buying dwarf sliders!!

As far as turtles who will be alright in shade. Most aquatics will not be. There are land torts (forest dwelling types) and there is much debate over how much direct basking light they need because of the environment they live in.
Most everyone agrees, However, that SOME light is needed. They just debate the amount. So basically -- the answer is NOPE. You need to have a spot where the animals are able to get several hours of some good direct sunlight.