Red Eared Slider turtles pond

[Cathy K]

Hi I'm a new owner to 2 red eared slider turtles. They were my neighbor had that had escaped from her yard went into hibernation and was found coming into my yard this last spring. She gave them to me. They both appeared an week apart. My neighbor hand them in a small kiddie pond but having them both together I got the largest kiddie pond. Bought a filter for the pond and a basking tray that they Love to bask on. It fits them both. There living happily in there habitat I've created for them. Now were coming into the fall months they still receive sunlight not as much as the summer months but at least 5 hours a day. I did buy them a preset heater 78° Aquatic heater for there pond. I also built a cover for them out of pvc and put a tarp over them at night since the temperature is dropping down to the low 50 °. I'm not sure what to do next to give them a good winter. There pins is outside next to our house with the SE sunlight. I need some help on the what's to do and the what's not to do. I do keep the pond clean changing the water out when alge accumulates and starts to green up.
I need any suggestions. I want them to be happy..I feed them turtle pellets and greens. I'm not sure how old they are. I know there both female they get along good. They eat good..

 

[j.w]

@Cathy K
There are a few people on this forum who have turtles and hope they will be able to help you. They will want to know what part of the country you live in among other questions.

 

[Cathy K]

I live in Yucaipa CA.
Southern CA San San Bernardino county near Oak Glen Ca

 

[j.w]

Oh so you don't really get cold down there much. I've heard you have to really make a secure place for them as they can even climb certain fences etc. and of course they can dig also. My friend up the road has 8 of them and she has to bring them indoors to her extra bathtub each winter. If she had the right set up outside I guess she could allow them to hibernate or brumate, whatever you call it.

 

[Stephen Noble]

Welcome Cathy! As JW said, there are a bunch of us who keep turtles. I have two Red Ear Sliders (RES). You live in country about 1/2 mile high and it can freeze. Your aquarium heater is not suited for outdoor use. It will run continuously which it is not designed to do and will not make any appreciable (if any) difference in the water temp. Can you bring them inside for the winter?

 

[j.w]

She lives in Southern California where I can't believe she would even need a heater.

 

[Ashley Jenkins]

I know this is somewhat of an old thread BUT it's very close to my heart because I'm setting up the same turtle setup now! Trying to do as much research as possible! I will have to bring my turtle inside for the winter! I will need a heater though.. which changes a lot of variables! Here is a picture of what my idea setup would look like! (of course reality won't allow for it to look the same)

Image Source

This will be my winter setup for indoors and my pond will house it in the summer!

 

[Stephen Noble]

Very nice! A couple of things come to mind:
The plants will probably get eaten but no harm in trying. You are wise to have a basically bare bottom tank because it will be much easier to clean. Turtles are messy so frequent maintenance might be required depending on the tank's size and filtration size. The distance of your UVB light from the highest point of a basking turtle is critical. Most of the manufacturers give excellent instructions on distance calculations. How large is your tank? And how many turtles will you keep in there? You might have to increase the size of the basking area if there are more than a couple of turtles. In short, you have a great plan and I wish you success! PM me if you need specific help.