Habitat - Outdoor :: Winter worries also

[godstar]

Hi

I have just completed my outdoor installation.
There is around 3000 Litres in the pond and it has varying depths down to 1 meter (3ft3in). It is south facing and it has a wall to the north of it (and thus protected from frosts) and a hedge next to it along with a swimming pool close by (which frose to a depth of around 1in last year).
Our current temp range is 18 to 25 °c daytime and around 10°c night time with the colder weather coming late january with some frosts but no more than -4°c . The question I have is should I install a heater to the pond and if so when. Should I make a hotspot within the pool or should I only use it at times of frosts. Will they semi hibernate or not?
The substrate is a pond liner but there is already some vegatable material in the bottom.
I just need a little guidance.
You can reply in Farenheit and gallons I will be able to convert.
Cheers

[megcornell]

How large are your turtles and have they hibernated before?

I wouldn't condone leaving them in the pond if they have not hibernated in the past, not all turtles do well hibernating, and it's best not to hibernate them. It's difficult to exactly replicate natural settings in which turtles hibernate so you risk not getting things cool enough or having things too cool.

As for the actual science of hibernation and whether you'd need to heat the pond, I'm just not sure. I believe there are some members on other turtle forums who do allow their turtles to hibernate. Maybe someone more familiar with those forums (I'm not sure exactly which ones they are) can point you in their direction and you can ask the hibernation veterans for temperature advice.

I do however know that you can't "semi-hibernate" a turtle. They need to be in that reduced metabolic state for a long time and they need to gradually go into it and return to normal temperature. Having a heater kick on only at frosts would be too much of a jolt. You also don't want to keep the water warm enough to encourage activity because breathing the cool air is detrimental to turtles.

Good luck!

[marisa]

Try posting your concerns on www.turtleforum.com