General Care Discussion :: RES TURTLES AND SLEEPING HABBITS

[vincentapa]

hey everyone i know iv been asking tons of questions and i honestly and greatlfull for all the help eveyone has been giving me thanks once again.

now heres my question. i have been reading that turtles sleep in the water. now im trying to figure out if there is something wrong with my other turtle who isnt sick because i find him always sleeping on his dock and not ever once in the water. could it be because it is a baby still.. or that i have cichlids.. i wouldnt see how the cichlids would cause any harm cuz iv seen him jump in and swim around and there was no aggression... but is it normal for turtles to sleep wher there baskin area is and not in the water? also iv been trying to find out the right answer to whether or not i sould give my turtle a cycle 12 hours of light and when i go to bed turn or the heat lamp but im not quite sure if your suppose to turn it off or keep it on as the store who i baught it from told me it was fine to keep the heat lamp on over night?

THanks

[TheComputerGremlin]

Can you please post a detailed description of your setup, with a picture if possible?

Do you have a water heater? The water temps for a little turtle need to be around 78, which cannot be maintained naturally. If your water is too cold, the turtle will not want to go in it.

You also need a basking bulb and a UVB bulb, 12 hours on, 12 hours off. If the heat lamp puts off light, it needs to be off overnight. It encourages them to sleep in the warmer water when the dock becomes cold. You should keep the hours the same each day, which is best done with a timer.

[vincentapa]

i do have a water heater and the temp of the water is around 75 to to 77. i do have a uvb bulb and a basking bulb on my setup but to try to help you guys help me better i will see for pictures of my setup tomorrow to give you guys a better look and understanding..

[SpotsMama]

Turtles do need a cycle of light and dark like a natural day. Most people use timers to turn the lights on and off every ten or twelve hours.

Do I understand correctly that his heat light bulb is left on all night? If so, then the basking area is staying warm all night - warmer than the water - and since turtles are attracted to warmth that may explain why he stays up there rather than in the water. It isn't really necessary to keep the heat bulb on all night as the water will stay warm enough from the water heater.

[joeybsmooth]

Also turtles have different personalities just like people.

[imderanged]

when I first had my turtle I used to keep a red light on at night and I accually caught him basking in superman pose in the middle of the night one time.

[joeybsmooth]

"when I first had my turtle I used to keep a red light on at night and I accually caught him basking in superman pose in the middle of the night one time."

A red light should have taken his superman-turtle powers away . .

[steve]

vincentapa, they are enticed by the heat to come out of the water. If the temp around the basking area is constantly warmer than the water, then he will likely stay on it more.

[Azfar]

Emm.. sometimes my turtles sleep in water.. at night.. and theres a 2 bubbles at their nose.. with eyes closed.. are they sleeping ??

Is it ok they sleeping in water? Is it the bubbles they made for breathing ?

[steve]

Yes, they are sleeping normally

[skyrink]

hi, we recently upgraded our filter system to the fluval 204, it sucks in water at one end and spits out water at the other end. is it possible that the constant waterfall of water and the sound it makes disturbs the turtle while sleeping? the falling of water is quite loud and i can even here it when im watching tv...do you guys think its ok or would the turtle adapt to its noisy and vibrational environment? we tried positioning the waterfall to hit the side of the tank to rreduce noise, but its still quite loud. any inputs would be appreciated, thanks.

[marisa]

My turtles have falling water in their tanks and it's never stopped them from sleeping. They don't really hear the water fall like we do, but they do feel the vibrations from it (and that hasn't seemed to bother them either). If there's a lot of turbulance in the water, I think that would bother a turtle more.