Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2022 10:13 am RES sleeping with her eyes open
Hi. I’ve had my red eared slider female for over 4 years by now. I recently found her sleeping with her eyes wide open and it’s been concerning me. She used to sleep with her eyes closed, just like my other turtles, and on her basking area instead of in the water, like she is now. I know she is sleeping because she’s in that spot where it tends to be cooler and darker and there’s a tiny bubble on her nose (to hold oxygen in). I’ll tap my fingers across that area of the glass and she’ll be alert but she won’t move so quickly to replicate how she would if she was awake. It’s really weird because I’ve seen this happen in the past 2 days; not sure if it’s something I need to be worried about because I’ve seen reports on people also seeing their turtles sleeping with their eyes open. Another thing I think will be important is that I recently brought her to the vet just for a general checkup. The vets reported well on her and said she was doing good; her shell and skin looked healthy. She has her own 75 gallon tank and is a little over 6.5 inches. I’ve recently changed the UVB and UVA lights but she still basks throughout the day. If anyone has had similar experiences, please be sure to let me know. I’d be glad to get to the bottom of this. Thank you!
