General Care Discussion :: About to purchase a couple turtles

[industrial_girl_2000]

Do I need a heater guard for the glass tube water heaters?

No. Plus, it comes with a suction cup bracket that you use to attach it to the wall of the tank.

[steve]

I think it might depend on the heater brand. A high quality heater (like Ebo Jager) would give you fewer worries.

[scripta_elegans]

I too would recommend a non-glass heater. An ebo-jager or stealth heater is way harder to break. i had a glass heater with a guard, and it broke when I removed it one day to clean. It was a true mess! I have also read of turtles breaking the glass heaters occasionally.

[SpotsMama]

Mine would bite the heater pretty hard. I took the heater out before he could break it but I'll bet if I hadn't he would've.

[Rickiew04]

The Ebo-jager heaters I've been looking at are all glass heaters. Am I missing the kind everyone is talking about? Does the glass get to hot, and possibly burn the turtle if it touches it?

[Pizza]

Ebo-Jager Heaters are all glass heaters, they are known for their quality in fish set-ups. As long as you have the heater at the temperature setting recommended for turtles (~75 degrees F), then it won't burn them IF the glass is kept in the water. If a heater is on while out of water (which should never happen, it's a safety hazard), then it can get extremely hot and not only can burn turtles, but humans as well.

The brand of heater everyone is talking about here and his highly recommended for turtle enthusiasts are the Marineland Visi-Therm Stealth heaters, they are known to be reliable (with a few having defects), accurate with the temperature setting, and durable. They are recommended because, unlike the conventional glass aquarium heater, they are made and encased in strong plastic, so your turtle is safer, since it has a significantly lower chance of breaking it from biting ot just hitting it. The heater itself is all black, with the exception of the top having a red dial.

Just don't mistake it for the Marineland Visi-Therm heaters, they are also made by the same company, but are glass heaters. The packaging for the Stealth Heater is blue, and should say "STEALTH" on the packaging, while the packaging for the other glass Visi-Therm heater is green.