Hi! Introduce yourselves here. :: New in Florida

[declutterbug]

I previously had a 4" male RES living in the second bathtub: where he was doing quite well. I have since had to move and no longer have a spare bathroom, nor do I have any place inside where I might keep an aquarium. For this reason, I did not keep my turtle, but as he technically "belonged" to my son, I would like to explore ways to create an outdoor environment suitable for a replacement turtle. (Yes, I know that the responsibility for the care and the upkeep of the turtle is actually mine. I don't mind this and actually enjoy doing so.)

I will be posting details of my thoughts and questions in the outdoor environments section of this forum, but wanted to pop in here and say hello first.

Declutterbug

[missibsu]

Welcome to the forum!

[rocketright]

Welcome to the forum!

[declutterbug]

Thanks!

[megcornell]

Where do you live?

[declutterbug]

Jacksonville

[megcornell]

After I wrote that I saw the thread was titled "hi from florida", sorry for my blonde moment, I was just wondering if it was warm enough where you live for a year round outdoor tank

[declutterbug]

Only with adequate protection. A hard freeze is extremely rare, but temperatures will still be too cool for the turtle without adequate protection. That's what I'm trying to figure out how to provide. Bringing him inside won't help much as the "room temperature" inside during the winter is generally around 65 degrees, dropping to 60 at night when we are all snug in our beds under the blankets. The porch where we shelter the cats is warmer than outside, but cooler than inside.

I'm sure that with adequate aquarium heaters I can keep the water warm enough. I'm hoping that the warm water will help keep the air above it warm. If I keep the head-space small (maybe 12 inches) and air-tight, with an infrared lamp and maybe a small space heater? I guess I should have thought to set everything up and tested it this past winter before I needed to rely on it next winter.