Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2005 12:17 pm
Is it still really warm where you live? If the heat light warms the water that much, my guess is that you've got a small tank and/or relatively little water in it. How big is the tank and what's the water depth?
Also, what temp is the basking area and what wattage heat lamp are you using? Is the tank in front of a window where it gets direct sun?
How big is your turtle? Water temp for a hatchling should be about 78F and for a larger turtle about 75F. Basking area should be somewhere in the range of 88-90F.
Depending on if any of the above applies to your situation, you might want to either move the tank, add more water to the tank (or get a bigger one) or lower the wattage of the basking bulb. Does your turtle have a UVB light as well?
"You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed." -Antoine de Saint Exupery-