General Care Discussion :: heater love

[scripta_elegans]

One of my little hatchlings keeps wedging himself (he can escape) between the water heater and the wall of the tank to sleep! I keep think that the water must be too cold, but it is consistantly 80-82. I have lots of other places for him to hide, or sleep, or even wedge himself (if he tries really hard), but he seems to prefer the heater. Is this normal?

[sonyj]

When I first got Koopa he would do the same thing. It always worried me, so I moved the heater to where he couldn't do this and added some different fake plants. Since then he's left the heater alone and picked his favorite plant to sleep in every night.

BTW, the water temp shouldn't be above 78F for hatchlings (72-78F for older turtles). A water temp that is too high can contribute to fast growth and over shedding over an extended period of time. A water temp above 80F is usually only recommended for ill turtles to boost their immune system.

[sQuirtle]

When I got sQuirtle over a week ago, the first night he slept on his basking rock. then for the next few nights he slept on his filter. after that i got him fake plants to add to his tank and now he prefers wedging himself between the plants & the tank wall to sleep all the time. every turtle is different and has their favorite sleeping spot just like us hehe they're so cute

[Wes_RES]

How will Wes sleep? Will he come up for air if he's *bum bum buuuum!* sleeping underwater?

[Anette]

Apparently they can hold their breath much longer when they're sleeping.

It is very cute how they pick they're own little place to sleep. My little Torquoise loves his plant, he is always on there. He climbs it and sleeps on it, and runs to it when he wants to hide from me. I thought I lost him one time, I moved his plant to look for him, and he wasn't there. But then I notice he was hanging on to the plant. I found it funny that even when I moved it he wouldn't let go.

[Wes_RES]

Okay, Wes is fine... I worried about him all night... I even woke him up at 2:00 to get air...

[sQuirtle]

When I first got sQuirtle I was worried about him sleeping underwater too, I thought he was going to drown! But then I read somewhere (I don't remember if it's in this forum or another site) that turtles can hold their breath for up to 3 hours underwater wen they're sleeping and 15 minutes when they're awake

[steve]

Make sure that he cannot get stuck. Smaller turtles are more likely to get caught or trapped in their environment that a larger turtle.

If your heater is using suction cups against the tank, make sure your hatchlings can't get wedged between it and the glass. Some people have mentioned using a heater guard or a DIY guard made of PVC pipe with holes drilled into it .

[scripta_elegans]

I have made it more difficult for him to sleep on the heater, so he has started to sleep in the plant. I am positive he can't get behind it now, so getting stuck shouldn't be an issue. I have attempted to "free" all of them before, only to have them swim nimbly away as I was reaching for them. They are such excellent swimmers as babies! I can't imagine how great they will be as adults!