Even if it doesn't freeze outside, cool temps are a problem for a RES. When the temperature gets to be around 60 or lower, it's not cool enough to make a turtle hibernate but it's not warm enough for his digestive system to work efficiently. Therefore, he eats and the food sits in his gut until it spoils and then.....you can guess the rest. The temp around 60 or lower is called the "death zone" for a RES.
Another problem with cooler temps is that a turtle's immune system slows down and he/she is much more prone to infection.
RES in the wild live in temperate climates and hibernate in the winter. Hibernation is a natural process but very stressful. Many wild turtles never wake up in the spring. Furthermore, it's very difficult for us to create the right conditions for a turtle to hibernate successful in an artificial setting. That's why it's strongly recommended that a turtle keeper not try to hibernate his/her turtles - because so often they never wake up or wake up damaged.
The bottom line is, the pet turtle needs to come inside where the temperature is safe during the cool months.
On the light bulb, sure you can use a regular household bulb. How many watts it needs to be depends on your setup - you want the right strength bulb to heat the basking area to around 90 degrees without having to put the bulb so close to the turtle that he might touch it and get burned. Usually a bulb in the 60 to 75 watt range is just about right.
) and the UVB light above the basking area because the pond is in the shade. I suppose she can get a water heater too. Would that work? Oh, and would she need to get a 100 gallon tank eventually since it would be inside? I'm not so sure she wants to do that. I'm about to email her the list of supplies!
