hot weather

Question
hey summer is coming up and i want to build my turtles a bigger outside habitat...i was wondering how do you keep turtles cool in texas weather????i have two sliders 1)yellow-bellied slider 2)res

Answer
For sliders that should be easy. They are aquatic and just need deep enough water. They only need partial shade because they love to bask on a log or stay in the water.

My boxies however don't so much like the direct sun, so plenty deep humid retaining substrate and a lot of shade plants and hides are mandatory. I also have a recessed kiddie pool for them. Our slider and the goldfish are getting big enough, and they will be outside soon too.  

If you want to beat the heat, first you have to start out with the enclosure in an area that gets shade during the hot part of the mid- day. We used the area next to our garage on the east side which gets morning sun, but by afternoon it is shaded by the garage. I also use tarps over the chicken wire roof to provide additional shade in the really hot months and to run off rain water away from inside the enclosure. Some morning sun or some evening sun is ok, but make sure they have a shaded side of the pool during mid-day.