General Care Discussion :: proper temp.

[LeslieMW]

so i have a red bellied cooter, and austins turtle page says they like water in the, "low to mid 70's"

i had posted a little while back about this, that my basking bulb would heat the water in the high 70's and at night it would drop to the low 70's.

well i changed the basking bulb from a 100 watt to a 60 watt, so that the water would be about 75 degrees during the day, and 73 a night.

but she just seemed so cold! sleeping too much, acting a bit sluggish..

so i went out and bought a heater...

now on to my question finally...what temp do you think it should be at? 76? or is 76 too cold for a hatchling even though my species likes colder water..should i just bump it up to 80 to be safe?

[BullDog]

76 isn't too bad, but 78 would be perfect for a hatchling (even cooters).

[Bumby's Mom]

I would do 78. Hatchlings are such fragile little creatures.

[LeslieMW]

alright, and now that i have a heater do you think it would be ok for me to go back to the 100 watt bulb? because the basking area is only like 79 degrees with the 60 watt

[Bumby's Mom]

Yea definitely. The basking area needs to be warmer. If you can move the light closer then I would try that first. I only have 60 and 75 watt bulbs and they keep my basking areas warm enough (my room is pretty warm though).

[LeslieMW]

oh haha no, my dad keeps the house freezing.

oh and just one more question i promise..

now i only have a uvb bulb for my ybs cosmo, but i just don't feel the nedd to run out and get a warming bulb becuase he basks so much anyways. he's in full superman pose as we speak, both legs and arms out!

do you think it matters? he basks a ton..so do i need a basking bulb?

[untsmurf]

You need to make sure there is a difference in temperature between the water and the basking spot. You can just use a house bulb though, you don't need to spend lots of money on a fancy bulb from the pet store.

[LeslieMW]

but see i guess i don't get it. they say a temp difference causes RI, yet we are told to have water temp at around 78 and basking at around 85. wouldn't the major temp difference cause a respiratory infection??

i mean i know they need to regulate their body temp, but wouldn't it make more sense to have the water temp at like 80 and the basking at like 80?

[PcBuilder14]

The reason turtles won't get RI from that is because they know when their bodies are to cold and to warm and are really good at regulating between perfect temp.

When I first got my turlte I tried to get it at about 80, because I was so worried about him getting sick! Now it stays at 78.

[Daniel3507]

if the basking temp and water temp were the same they wouldnt come out to bask and would end up with shell problems.

[LeslieMW]

well cosmo doesn't havea basking lamp, so the water temp and basking temp are very similar, yet he basks even more than stella!

so if the turtle will bask regardless of temp, do you think it would be healthier to keep the temps similar? but the basking temp is a little higher