Water Gardening: Red Eared Slider Turtles In Outdoor Pond in NorthEast, 1 by DavEdsel

DavEdsel wrote:
Had anyone successfully kept red eared slider turtles in their pond in the North Eastern part of the USA? We used to have one indoors and always wished we could put him outdoors. We gave him back to the pet store because he was a little to hard to take care of. Now, with our large pond that has straight sides with overhanging rocks, we were wondering about getting a few and keeping them in a pond. There's a few placed in the middle of the pond a turtle could get up to bask. The pond is 3+ feet deep so the turtle(s) could go down and hibernate. I know in the wild they live outside, but am concerned about buying them from a pet store that has been heated all year round. Should we buy them in the spring so they can acclimate?

Hoping for some input. Thank you very much.