General Care Discussion :: Need Help About Room Temp. During Winter Months

[gt5268]

Hi everyone.A while back I posted this topic in the forums.Okay winter is now here and I have my 2 red ear sliders in a back room of my house which is not heated.This type of room is called a "florida room".I have 2 heaters in their tank and of course the basking light.The water in their tank feels very cold when I touch it and the temp is around 65 to 70 degrees.Will my guys be okay without the room being heated?? Can I do anything to make them more comfortable during the long winter months?? They are not exposed to the outside elements at all just the room they are in gets very cold.Should I get another heater perhaps?? I am a bit worried and any help or advice would be great.Thanks.

[megcornell]

65 is just too cold for RES, its a dangerous temperature because its too warm to hibernate but still drastically slows them down.

You're going to need to figure out a way to insulate the tank better so it keeps the heat in. You probably will also need extra heaters, you're just asking too much of a standard heater to compete against such a cold ambient temperature.

How warm is the air in the room? If it's too cold, it's dangerous for the RES when they bask... you may need to break down and move them or heat the room to avoid health issues.

[BullDog]

You could try getting a space heater for the room.

Also, you could insulate the tanks by wrapping them up in blankets, cardboard, styrofoam, whatever you've got.

As Meg said, 65 is a dangerous temperature.

[mikee]

gr-68 -- If you have a heater you can add another to keep the temp up. You will have to do some adjusting but it is do-able. You will need the temp at least 75 to 77 to be ''normal''. They need the temp for every day living. You will need to keep you basking area at 90 to 91 degrees with uvb lighting. Good Luck! m.

[marisa]

Does the room have windows that aren't allows any cold air to seep in around them even though they're shut? If so, you could get one of those kits that contain a plastic sheet you attach over the window to provide an extra layer of insulation against the cold (you won't be able to open the window unless you remove the plastic).

If they absolutely must stay in the room, and there are any drafts in the room, make a barrier around the outside of the tank where the basking area is to help contain the heat (will help even if there isn't a draft).(What's the basking area temp? Is there also a UVB light?) If the tank is at least a 50-gallon one, you might consider a mercury vapor bulb (T-Rex Active UV Heat, Mega-Ray, for example), which give off good heat and also provide UVB and UVA rays.

Is there good filtration to circulate the heat from the water heaters (what kind and wattages are they?)

My turtles are all in rooms that are very cool (including the basement) I keep at least half of their tanks covered with a sheet of plexiglass during the day to help maintain the warmth in the tank and keep up the ambient air temp. At night, when lights are off, I cover just about all of the tanks with sheets of cardboard.

You can also keep the warmth in the tank by putting something under it for insulation and also wrapping it with something (a blanket, towels if it's a smaller tank). I use stock tanks, so this is not an issue, it would be more difficult with a regular tank on a stand.

If your turtle are not hatchlings and are healthy, you do not have to raise the temp all that much, especially if they're used to a cooler temp. My adult RES is doing fine with the water temp 68 - 70F, but he's used to cooler temps.

Aside from upping the temp, it's important to keep the ambient air temp from getting too cool. (Even if the water is warm, breathing cool air can, over time make them ill.) Covering the tank, especially at night when lights are off, will help in this regard. With hatchlings/smaller turtles that are in cool temps, I've also used red heat lights at night (I'm doing this with two tiny snappers currently), which just warm the air but don't provide light. Some people have also used ceramic heat emitters.

[gt5268]

Thanks to all here!! I am going to take your great advice!!! Thanks all!!!

[Dein211]

good luck, for me when i was living at my moms my room temp never got much higher than 54 so i had everything i could spare that retained heat on and around my tank. i had even made like a little "tent" out of towls to keep the drafts out and the air temp warm. i hat pinned part of the towls to the wall and then the other side to my plastic tank. it worked pretty well but i needed like three or four towles :/ plus i had foam bricks surrounding her tank and some pillows. lol it looked kind of goofy but it was functionable. my mom always freaked out thinking that one day the stuff was going to catch on fire ( a slight possibility) but it never did. at night i just layed the towles on top of the tank cover to keep the heat in.

honestly if i had to do it again i would invest in a space heater or the ceramic heaters but with my house being how it was i didnt have much trust in either of those.

[turtle_love]

up until i was able to purchase a tank heater like 2 months ago i use to have there tank right by the window where the sun will shine right through the window open for more heat there tank stayed at like 85 degress .(should put it back next summer)but i moved there tank away from the window which monte hated and the tank temp changed drastically! However im reading that the change of temp can effect there eating and energy levels but my turtles are pigs and there wired 24/7 dont know how or if they even get sleep ...haha they get sleep and for a while in really cold temps but it didnt faze them

[TheComputerGremlin]

85 degrees is too warm. They will burn through their food supply too quickly and hurt themselves. You want to maintain a constant 76 degrees year round.