Diamondback won't stay put

[DoubleD1996!]

I have a bit of a dilemma. As you all know, it's getting cold. All of my aquatic turtles are bunkering down in the mud and leaf litter at the bottom of the pond, with the exception of one of my female diamondback terrapin. For some odd reason, she comes out of the water and rests on the bank. I wasn't too concerned when she did this in the 60's, but now she's doing it in the 30's. Last night I sat her at the edge of the pond and she jumped in (this was in the 40's) I was sure she would stay in the pond, but when I got up at 5am it was 34 degrees and she was on the bank. I decided to bring her in and she warmed up slowly by the back door in a container of eco earth I had laying around. My question is, should I just let her stay in the house with me overwinter or give it another shot? It would be foolish to take her back outside now, because it's cold and she's warmed up, but we get into the 70's again Monday so I may give her another shot. If this behavior continues what should I do? She's a cold tolerant species, but she can freeze on land or be eaten by a wandering raccoon. I reached out to a few experts who keep terrapin and do conservation work with them...but I'm impatient, a So here we are ?. And there's nothing wrong with multiple suggestions. I could find the most common answer.

 

[Markw84]

In my experience I found these turtles seem to prefer to brumate dug into the substrate around the pond as opposed to in the pond. They can bury themselves quite deep, so would avoid freezing that way. Because their native habitat is coastal marshes along the much warmer Atlantic and gulf coasts, the gound temperatures are also moderated by the coastal water temps in those areas. When we keep them in inland or West Coast areas, we must keep that in mind. I think indoors might be a best solution for winter for you.

 

[DoubleD1996!]

In my experience I found these turtles seem to prefer to brumate dug into the substrate around the pond as opposed to in the pond. They can bury themselves quite deep, so would avoid freezing that way. Because their native habitat is coastal marshes along the much warmer Atlantic and gulf coasts, the gound temperatures are also moderated by the coastal water temps in those areas. When we keep them in inland or West Coast areas, we must keep that in mind. I think indoors might be a best solution for winter for you.

I didn't think of that.She was digging everytime I found her. I may try to make her a area where she can dig if she refuses to stay in the pond, and if all fails I'll set her up in my room.