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Any help will be IMMENSLY appreciated on this subject. We moved Mr. Softshell outdoors this past summer. It is beginning to get cold out -lows in the mid 30s-40s. We have a thick layer of bottom sand I would say 3-4 inches deep. Am I able to leave him outside or should I bring him in on cold nights. He has been outside a few times during cooler nights ( About 45 degrees) and he seems fine. He even has still been eating when the daytime temps hit like 70-75. Help will be greatly appreciated

Is this a Florida softshell we're talking about here? And are you in Florida? If this is the case he/she should be fine. If it is a Florida and you are up north and it stays 30-40 at night for more than a week or so then no, it may kill him if he is a Florida softy. A spiny or Smooth would probably do just fine about anywhere provided they have sand to bury in. Chris

like the man said.if he's from florida then he'll be just fine.
if i does get very cold(say below 40)then try this.float a ball-basketball,soccer,whatever-in his tank/pool.then cover the pool with plastic sheeting.the ball keeps the sheeting off the water & keeps a suprising amount of heat in the water.just take it off in the morning before it starts to warm up.it can get real hot quick if the sun is out!i used this technique this year to keep my turts outdoors until early november.good luck!

Thanks very much for your help. He is a florida softshell. I did bring him inside last night and will keep him inside till sunday cause its supposed to be real cold until then. I believe he may have been fine if I left him out there though. The reason being is -when I dug him out of the sand he was not lethargic at all and was moving very fast. Suprised the hell out of me to be honest- I thought he would be slow and lethargic. Actually I have him in about 5 inches of sand to bury and it seems like whenever it cools down he just buries himself and then there he is again when its warm!! It was the first time I actually held him in awhile and my god I cant believe how BIG he/she has gotten!! Also do you know how to determine sex? Thanks

if the tail extends beyond the end of the carapace then its a male.females have a dinky little triangle shaped stub.