General Care Discussion :: how cold is too cold?

[roseK]

winter is coming fast and all my tanks are suffering! my heaters are turned way up, and my wall-e's water is getting colder. its at 72 right now,but the only extra heater i have over heats the water and doesnt turn itself off *something is wrong with the senser, idk*

should i heat the water once and awhile just to make sure he does ok? or do u think he will be fine with this temp for awhile?

[megcornell]

A consistent temperature is very important for a turtle's health.
72 is too cold. I wouldn't let the temp get below 75. For a hatchling 78.
If your heater can't do this it's not strong enough for your tank.
Heaters are pretty cheap, why don't you invest in a good one like a stealth that is strong enough for your tank.
Especially in Canada you're going to need a good one this winter.
A heater is much cheaper than a vet visit so it will be a very wise purchase.

[untsmurf]

Also, make sure the the heater is buy the outtake of the filter or else there won't be anything to circulate the warmer water. What kind of heater do you have?

[Kallistos]

According to the Red Ear Slider care sheet on Austin Turtle's Page, sub-adult and adult Red Eared sliders can live in 72 to 76 degree water. Personally, I live in freezing Wisconsin and my turtle tank has been at 72-73 degrees for the past 6 years and they've never gotten sick.

[untsmurf]

Until you get a better heater, you could just turn the heat up in your house. The room temperature will increase the temperature of the tank.

[megcornell]

Warming the room will not really increase the water temp unless you put it up to something ridiculous like 80. Ambient room temperature, like lighting, is not a stable way to maintain water temps. The only way to do so effectively, especially in a tank larger than 10G is using a submersible heater.
Have you tried turning the heater up? Sometimes the heater may need to be set warmer than 75 to maintain a temp of 75.
How large is your tank? Sometimes larger tanks require 2 heaters, one at each end.
Also, I disagree with letting water get cooler than 75F. Although it may be possible to avoid illness RES are cold blooded and therefore much less able to regulate body temps and having too cool of water will suppress appetite and can cause illness which in my opinion is an unnecessary risk. Especially if your turtle is a hatchling.

[SpotsMama]

Also, if it's already borderline cold in Canada in October, what's it going to be like in November, December, January?

I think the handwriting is on the wall - a good water heater is going to be a necessity so might as well bite the bullet now.

[roseK]

kay, well if i had money to invest i would... you should see my room. 5 tanks.

i gave him the wacked out heater and im watching closely and turnning it off and on manually. (on at night)

[industrial_girl_2000]

Hey Rosek,

I used to have a problem with a "wacked out heater" (too hot or way too cold water temp) and come to find out, the heater was having problems because the heater's wattage rating was too high. It was a cheaper glass-tube heater too, and some of those $10 underwater heaters aren't the greatest.

I recommend the Visitherm stealth ("black plastic") underwater heaters. One of those might cost you a coupla more bucks, but you will love the fact that your turtles won't be able to break it (which is great for Adult RES's like mine who like to bulldoze & rearrange the entire tank). Also, the water temps will be much more consistent.

[marisa]

Are your turtles hatchlings/less than a year, or older? While it does sound like a better heater is in order, if your turtles are not hatchlings and are healthy, I think low 70's would be fine for them if they're healthy. To some extent, it depends on what a turtle is acclimated to (I don't mean extreme temps, though). My RES (not a hatchling) is doing fine in water that's around 70F, and he spent last winter in water approximately that temp and even a little colder at times (but not lower than 68F). A hatchling I would keep warmer.

I don't know how big your tanks are, but if you want to help keep the water temp up, you could get a piece of plexiglass and keep about half of it covered. I cover all my tanks at night in the winter, and if it's really cold I keep the plexiglass on during the day as well to help trap in the heat that rises from the water.

[Bumby's Mom]

If you are going to buy a heater make sure you order it offline or you will end up paying way too much for one. I went to Petsmart on Friday to get a Stealth and they want $32 for the 50 watt. That in my mind is absolutely outrageous when online it says they are $16.99.

[marisa]

Can you print out Petsmart's online price and see if the store will match it?

[Bumby's Mom]

When I told one of the employess that it was only 16.99 online but 32 in the store she said that I would have to print out the online page AND make a big scene about it. I don't want to make a been scene and look like an @$$ since thats the pet store I go to all the time so I just ordered it from Dr. Fosters Smith since the shipping was faster there. I just don't understand how shpping and stocking costs another 16 dollars.

[industrial_girl_2000]

When I told one of the employess that it was only 16.99 online but 32 in the store she said that I would have to print out the online page AND make a big scene about it. I don't want to make a been scene and look like an @$$ since thats the pet store I go to all the time so I just ordered it from Dr. Fosters Smith since the shipping was faster there. I just don't understand how shpping and stocking costs another 16 dollars.

When I price matched (printed out the webpage & took it into the store with me) I didn't have to make a big scene about it at all. They price matched everything I bought that day.