Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I posted this in the RES forum too but here goes:
I'd like to try an outdoor pond for my slider. I was thinking of using one of the larger stock tanks, measuring 5X2X2 for the water section, and allowing the turtle to hibernate outside, since I'm within their natural range. I live in Amarillo TX, plant zone 5, with occasional drops in the temperatures to the teens--but it's rare for more than a couple of days to go by with below freezing highs.
Provided that I have a substrate, or at least a box under water filled with sand/dirt, does that sound feasible? And if so, are there any particular fish I should put in the pond for him to munch on, or plants? Or anything to specifically avoid?

That setup sounds good to me. Are you going to have any filtration? As far as "fish" go, I would suggest minnows and tadpoles and for plants, get some anacharis and duckweed. Good luck.

If the stock tank is going to be above ground I think it will get to cold. The ground insulates a pond a lot during the winter. Did you plan on setting it into the ground?
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I am currently in the US Navy, so unfortunetly I have sold off my collection of herps. But over the years have kept many different species of turtles, geckos, lizards, amphibs, and even fish. Looking forward to getting back in the hobby once im out though!

Oh yeah it'll be set in the ground.
And right after I said we don't normally get too cold we have the coldest weather of the year >.< Is anachris and duckweed OK outside? And would temperate water lilies be ok?
Do you mean rosy red minnows or white cloud minnows or another type? I plan to start this in the next couple of months to be ready for summer.

Anacharis and duckweed will definetely do just fine outside. You can also try any other pond plants that you come across. For fish, any of the ones you mentioned will do just fine. I am sure they will end up breeding. You may want to add a couple larger native fish like bluegill/sunfish to keep down on insects around the pond like misquito larvae, ect.
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I am currently in the US Navy, so unfortunetly I have sold off my collection of herps. But over the years have kept many different species of turtles, geckos, lizards, amphibs, and even fish. Looking forward to getting back in the hobby once im out though!

Texas has weird regs regarding stuff like keeping native fish, so I'm mostly gonna avoid them. Hopefully I can get some mosquitio fish to do that.

I had mosquito fish and they nibbled at my Eastern's feet all the time. They multiplied in the summer like crazy. Her feet were a mess. Then I realized that I didn't need them cause Abby (eastern painted) was eating all the mosquito lave'. I put a few rosie reds, which she also ate. She also ate the duckweed and some of the water hyacinth, but never the water lettuce. I put a load of snails in there thinking that they would eat any algae, but she ate all of them.
The duckweed spread all summer, and so did the water lettuce and water hyacinth. She just couldn't eat them fast enough.

Oh yeah, I also put Anacharis and they took over the whole bottom of the pond. Be very careful that your turt doesn't get tangled up. My friend found two babies dead in that mess. Eventually if no one eats it, it will take over the whole pond. It loves the sun.

About hibernation...
If you get a large planter, fill it with Aqua soil (I get mine at home depot) your RES will probably dig in that to hibernate...or... If you can make a land area around your pond...mix soil, peat moss and leaf litter so this area has loose soil then put at least 6 inches of leaves on top of that she will probably dig under to hibernate in there. IMO, that is the better way to go. Also if you do hibernate her in the water, make sure that you keep a defroster in there with a protective gard around it so that if the water freezes there will be an air hole. Good luck.