We bought our first RES about 4-5 years ago (female) at a local bet store and in the past 2 years we have adopted two other males from a friend who couldn't care for them anymore. My wife is the primary care giver for the turtles and I just enjoy watching them once in a while. We keep them in our small pond (about 200-250 gallons) in the backyard with about 4 good size goldfish. We keep them there year around so they have been subject to the heat and the cold and have seemed to do just fine and are very healthy. We always have questions or concerns about our turtles so I'm sure we will chime in often to ask. BTW, this forum is a great idea FWIW.
Sorry about the avatar not being a picture of a RES. I'm a runner, that's what I do.....for fun....
