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The 1st year of my turtles life, she lived in water about 3 inches high. Once I got her, I put her in a 29 gallon with about 7-8 inches of water and saw that she struggled a bit for a day or 2 but was fine after that. She is now in a 55 gallon filled to the top and can stay under for quite a while- 'specially when she is eating veggies that sink to the bottom of the tank.

Anyway- my question is... How long can the average turtle stay under water before they drown?

IF?? they are healthy they can go to the bottom and sleep for a "long" time. I have never tried to see how long one would stay on the bottom but I suspect that it would be over 30 minutes. They seem to stay down longer when they are alone. When they have company they seem to stay more alert or uneasy and don't seem to stay down as long.

I think how long they can stay underwater depends in part on how active they are---if they're swimming around, somewhere I remember reading about 15-20 minutes. If they're inactive (sleeping), much longer.

Sorry- let me clarify.

There have been posts (unfortunately) about turtles getting trapped under water. So my morbid question is, how long can they last under there before they actually die?

My RES probably comes up every few minutes when she is active and swimming around and all, but will be down for quite a while when sleeping. Obviously, if they are trapped, they are probably struggling, which means they won't last as long- but I've seen posts where people come home and find their turtle trapped and are able to get them in time. Is that just luck? Did it probably just happen a few minutes before they got there?

I don't think that if the little guy is frantic, he may not last that long. I am sure he would be fighting to get out. I have never lost one like that, but I have pulled several out that had been stuck.

I think it's 15 -20 minutes. But it probably depends on the RES size, strength, and luck...
Either way, the best thing would be to make sure your tank does not have any drowning hazards in it.

What you want to do, so you don't have to worry about that happening, is to create a habitat where your turtle can't get trapped by anything...

By experience, it varies on the turtle. I have some that need air after just a minute, others sleep underwater. By observation if you're turtle spends more time underwater, they're probably more adept at holding their breath.