Page 1 of 1

My RES in new zealand

PostPosted: Tue Jan 16, 2018 6:36 am
by Helena
Had my two male RES for 13 years now. 5 tank upgrades later and i need a new plan.
They have been seperated for most of their lives ( custom tanks with glass divider)
Im wanting to build a 2.8m long and 1.5 wide outdoor tank thats 1 metre deep. I need all the information my brain can get on climatising a turtle before winter. And will these boys fight in such a large tank? Please ask questions and ill anwser as best as possible. I cant look at them through glass anymore i feel they need the best natural habitat i can give them.

Re: My RES in new zealand

PostPosted: Tue Jan 16, 2018 10:07 pm
by steve
Most likely they will still fight. With a tank that large, I think you can have some physical barriers to keep them apart. It's more work to setup, but you have a lot of options to be creative.

Re: My RES in new zealand

PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 12:00 pm
by kiwi
G'day,
We are from Christchurch and Dunedin. Where are you located? If I understand your question correctly you want to build an outdoor tank. I would think if you live in an area that gets very cold you would not be able to have an outdoor tank as it might freeze solid. A pond has the earth as an insulator whereas the tank would be exposed and have no shielding from the wind and cold. Some additional information would help such as location and your tank plans.
Cheers

Re: My RES in new zealand

PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 7:35 pm
by Helena
Im located in Marlborough. If you check out "indoor koi pond" on youtube you will get my idea of the build of the tank.

I have been reading alot over the years on hibernating r.e.s. the hot hpuse turtle company in the north island have a page where they have clear instuctions on when and how ro hibernate. If they do it up north is it suitable to do here?

Eventually i would like to put the whole tank in the ground when i purchase my property. Im just unsure if i should attempt to hybernate them as they have never done this before.

Alot of people say its possible. No heated water. No heat lamps. Stop feeding by april.. and by october they shpuld be shpuld be ready to come out again and feed.

But........ i dont want to stress them or kill them?

Re: My RES in new zealand

PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 11:15 pm
by steve
There is a risk, but as long as they are not fed, are healthy, the water doesn't completely freeze, you add some sort of aeration, and it's deep enough, then you have a good chance.