General Care Discussion :: day/night cycles

[vincentapa]

you know how you should keep your lamps on for 12 hours and turn it off for twelve hours would it be the same if both my lamps are off but the aquarium light is still on should i turn that off for complete darness for my turtle or leaving the aquarium light on is fine?

[imderanged]

White lights will keep him awake.

[jacqui]

I would turn them all off, just like night time

[vincentapa]

is it normal for a baby res to always want to bask and rarly open his eyes?can they sleep on the dock or a turtle will always sleep in the water?

[SpotsMama]

Turtles usually sleep in the water. They won't drown. That's why it's ok to turn the heat light bulb (as well as the UVB bulb) off at night - they don't need heat on the basking platform. The water which is heated by the water heater is warm enough for them to sleep in.

To your specific question "is it normal for a baby res to always want to bask and rarely open his eyes", the answer is no. A healthy baby turtle is lively and skittish. They will bask but often fly off the basking platform if they think someone is watching them. Is your little turtle sleepy all the time? A sleepy turtle is usually one that doesn't feel good.