First pics of the turtles up

[Sploke]

We've had some beautiful days, got a few shots of the turtles up basking. I've seen all of them now, so they all made it through the winter fine.

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[AquaGem]

They are lovely :) Have a very nice home as well!

[petluvr]

Glad they made it through the harsh New England winter:)

[crimsonmoon]

did they over-winter IN the pond? or did they crawl out and dig a hole

[Kashta]

How cute!

[ChrisK]

Cool Turtles!!

[DarrylR]

Is that Kermit I see??!?!

[Sploke]

thanks all

Yes, they overwinter in the pond - they dig down into the mud on the bottom and hibernate there. Its over 4' deep at the deepest part, so no danger of freezing, especially right next to the foundation and on a southern exposure.

[crimsonmoon]

very cool

[kjr928]

How do they breathe if they are buried in mud?

[Sploke]

When turtles brumate, they absorb air directly from the water with special tissue in their throat and near their anus - they basically act like primitive gills. Since the metabolism slows down so much (as low as one heartbeat per ten minutes), their requirement for oxygen is greatly reduced so this is sufficient to support life during brumation. This is also helped by the high levels of dissolved oxygen in colder water (39*F at the bottom).

[StarStruck8]

When turtles brumate, they absorb air directly from the water with special tissue in their throat and near their anus - they basically act like primitive gills. Since the metabolism slows down so much (as low as one heartbeat per ten minutes), their requirement for oxygen is greatly reduced so this is sufficient to support life during brumation. This is also helped by the high levels of dissolved oxygen in colder water (39*F at the bottom).

Wow..how interesting! I never knew! Cute turtles, although I like the frog better. :)

[BoCoMo]

Very cool Sploke!

[Vicious_Fish]

Nice man! All but one of my box turtles are out of hibernation.

[crimsonmoon]

thats fascinating. so complex for such a little thing :D

[tugo]

Hi Sploke, nice photos, thanks.
I have an inground liner pond, do you think I can also keep turtles?(Zone 9) They can hide only under the plants because bottom is not earth? If yes, could you tell me what sort do I have to search. Here, besides the normal land tutles, I see in the pet shops, the small ones which they keep in a bucket of water (pitty). Do they survive? And also what will be the reaction of my koi, 9-10 inches the biggest.
Thanks for your reply.

[Rbishop]

Good deal! Nice turtles!

[Sploke]

My turtles do fine with my koi and comets. There is enough room (12 feet long, 7 feet wide) that the turtles don't have much chance of actually catching one anyway.

As long as the deepest part of your pond is below the frost line, turtles should be safe to hibernate, although they should have some sort of substrate to bury themselves in. Where I am, to get below the frost line, 36" is usually recommended, I went 48" to be safe and for the extra volume.

[dirtydawg10]

Nice pics, Sploke!

[tugo]

Thanks Sploke, but also could you advice me the type of the turtles that I have to search for, I mean shall I ask for any kind of "water turtles" (are they called so?
Thanks in advance,

[Sploke]

What is your climate like? The winter temperatures will determine what species will be able to overwinter outdoors. I am in the northern US, so many of the southern species would not do well overwintering in our longer winters up here.

[tugo]

Here is zone 9, winters coldest is 32 F. and only some days, let's say 10-15 days per winter.
Thks

[Sploke]

Alright, you could get away with pretty much any of the basking species then. Painted turtles, sliders and maps should all do fine.

[tugo]

Thanks Sploke, I will search that way.