General Care Discussion :: Is the water to cold for my baby turtles??

[hknutson_19]

Is 70 degrees to cold for my 2 inch baby turtles.? They seem to be doing great to me but I just want to make sure. They have a basking spot and a UVB light. There basking spot is about 90 degreees.

[emma]

WAY to cold for baby turtles! The temp should be around 78 degrees. I suggest that you get a stealth heater for your turtles. They will be much happier with the water warmer. And remember that a turtles body temperature is always the same as the water. So they are probably freezing!

[octpusgirl8]

It's recommended to keep the water a little warmer for hatchlings, closer to 80 degrees. It's not dangerously cold or anything, but it might make them a little more suceptible to developing a respiratory infection.

[mikee]

Yep! 78 to 80 degrees is where it needs to be. They will metabolize their food better and grow a little faster. They will be healthier also.

[Bumby's Mom]

They need 78-80 degrees. Basking temp sounds good though.

[sarah85]

thats 2 cold 4 them, the water temp should be about 78 degrees

[marisa]

Are you saying you just have a UVB light for them? If you are, and unless you have a mercury vapor light, (which would be for a larger, say 50-gallon tank), if the light is a UVB light, it would be flourescent and wouldn't be giving off enough heat to make the basking area 90F. If the basking light is giving off heat and isn't a flourescent, it's not a regular UVB light.

Did you recently get them? Is it getting colder where you are? If so, I'd definitely boost the temp up to around 78F. Do you have a submersible water heater for them?