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I have a yearling RES that I got as a rescue after someone accidentally chopped off its front claws while weedwhacking around a lake. During the summer months I put it in a small garden pond full of minnows and tadpoles. The pond is approximately 2.5-3 feet into the ground. I am located in West Tennessee. The question is do you think that if I left the RES in the pond for the winter would it be safe? Right now I have it in my room and I notice it is not eating like it was (therefore hibernation time). If I should not leave it in the pond do you have another idea of a good hibernation setup? Thanks
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15 Leopard Gackos 5.10.0
2 Tokay Geckos 1.1.0
1 Standing's Day Gecko 0.0.1
1 Graybanded Kingsnake 1.0.0
1 Baird's Rat Snake (Thanks Vadoni!) 1.0.0
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Corn Snake, Green Anoles, crested geckos, and Yellow Rat Snakes.

Hi,

I am not an expert on the subject but I have heard from many people that you can just but them in a box full of leaves. You will have to wake him/her up after the winter.

im not really sure on this subject...but our local flower shop has a pond like the one u described...he has about 3 big RES in there...i asked him what they do at winter time, he told me they themselves get out of the pond, find a good hiding place...and hibernate....so i would think if u have a nice surrounding where your turtle can go and hide and feel secure, then let him hibernate...but once again..im no expert in this subject...i highly suggest you do a lot of research if you are considering hibernating ur RES

Sliders do not hibernate on land. They hibernate underwater all winter long. You can hibernate them if your pond is deep enough. (3 ft is fairly safe) Also if you temps dip very low so that your pond freezes over you will need to put a pond de-icer or even a bubble system in the water. Once your water temps are below 60 degrees withhold feeding the animals to give them time to empty their gut. (turtles that go under with a belly full of food will likely die because the their digestive system all but shuts down and food will rot inside of them).

you should shut your filtration off as well.

Understand that it is always a bit of risk hibernating them as you really can't supervise their progress in your pond over the winter.

Do NOT put the in a box with leaves and leave them outside to hibernate -- that will kill them. They must be underwater.

Steve

Thanks Steve. I knew that they hibernated underwater. When I was young I did the box/leaves thing. I still slap myself when I think about my ignorance. I lost 8 turtles!

Now that the little guy has been inside some I guess I will have to take him outside to get him used to the cool so that he can slow down again. He has been awefully sluggish lately.
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15 Leopard Gackos 5.10.0
2 Tokay Geckos 1.1.0
1 Graybanded Kingsnake 1.0.0
1 Baird's Rat Snake (Thanks Vadoni!) 1.0.0
coming soon...
Corn Snake, Green Anoles, crested geckos, and Yellow Rat Snakes.