General Care Discussion :: temp. question

[2wicky]

It's been a cold week. I woke up few days ago and saw that his water temp was at 70.. so I freaked out and bought a heater. it's now at a steady 78.. but water about the temperature on his dock? once the timer tells the light to shut off, the temp goes down. it's at 75 right now.. Is it a bad idea for him to be in the water all night because it's so cold outside the water? Does outside temp. matter just as much as water temp?

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Ambient air temps (outside temps) are important, too cold and the turtle will catch a RI - however 75 degrees is OK (try not to let the temperature fall any lower though).

[2wicky]

if it gets colder.. is there a way to fix this? or do i need to start turning on my room heater

[xsavingsaturdayx]

If you have a heater for your room that would be a good idea (cheaper too). If not you can buy a ceramic heat emitter. Or you can simply cover the tank at night with something like a towel and see if the temperature inside stays warm.

[DavidY]

It's fine for your RES to spend the nighttime underwater since that is what they do in the wild. They will automatically rise for air as needed.

[Safdar]

Also make sure there isnt an AC current hitting the top of the tank, this can cause the ambient air temp to drop and your turtle can get sick

[SpotsMama]

Your turtle should instinctively stay in the water if the water is warmer than the air. They seek warmth. Most turtles sleep all night under water. Safdar makes a good point about making sure there's no draft on the turtle tank.

[csmiley]

Now this one has me a little confused. I was under the impression that keeping the basking temp. around 85-90 degrees was crucial for the day time or hours that the turtle would be basking. Then, other hours when lights are off and the turtle is in the water sleeping, the basking area did not have to be as warm.

The way I understand this topic is that the ambient temp needs to be warm at all times. Now I'm pretty sure that everyone that reads these forums does not keep an ambient apartment or house temp of 75 - 80 degrees (or warmer). Yet, I have not heard of anyone using a night time heater to keep that ambient temp at a minimum of 75 degrees.

This would also make an outdoor pond virtually impossible since outside temp can't be regulated.

So...am I just completely misunderstanding the point of this topic or is this something that I just did not see on the main site?

I just want to make sure life is good for my little guy. And of course, getting the right temps is one way to do that.
Thanks

[DavidY]

Your original understanding is correct. Basking temps only need to be about 10 degrees warmer than the water during the day time. Night time ambient temps are not as important since the turtle will sleep underwater at night. Regular room temperatures are fine. The only thing to be careful of is cold drafts especially with baby turtles since they are so susceptible to RI. That's when it's better to be careful about not letting ambient air temps get too cool day or night.

[marisa]

I've used red heat lights (provide warmth not light) for small hatchlings to keep the ambient air temp warm during the winter months.

If the room the turtle is in is cool, and you have a submersible water heater keeping the water at a constant temp, covering the tank at night will trap much of the heat (heat rises from the water) and help keep the ambient air warmer.

Regarding outdoor ponds, no the temp can't be regulated, but a healthy turtle should be able to adapt to a temperature range (unless it's really extreme).

[csmiley]

Thanks for clearing that up. I just misunderstood the content of the post. 3 cheeers for the redearslider.com veterans....hip hip hooray x 3