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i'm a little concerned about my turt's tank water temp now that the weather is changing and getting warmer. i've had a water heater and been successful at keeping his tank around 76 or so, but now that it's over 70 outside, my apt gets to about 80 during the day. since sesame's tank is right next to a window, i made a reflector to keep the direct sunlight off the tank for the most part, but the tank temp is still about 80. his basking spot is warmer than this, and he still basks, but could the high tank temp be a problem for shedding and growth?

Debby & Sesame

That is a bit warm for a turtle- and can lead to excessive shedding and growth. Your best bet would be to move the tank away from a window- its never really a good idea to keep a tank by windows just because it can lead to such drastic water temp changes- especially if its a smaller tank ( 30 gallons or less) because that's not a lot of water for the sun to heat or cool.

I would definitely move the tank away from the window and out of direct sunlight.

yeah i was afraid of that, this room doesn't really lend itself well to moving his tank. it's supposed to cool off tomorrow and for the next week, and i'm planning on cleaning the tank this weekend, so i'll try to map out a new configuration by then.

Have fun!

Yeah, I'm in the same boat, I lost a lot of fish last year due to heat, I'm in an upstairs apartment and it's easily 90+ in the summer. Now with the turtles, I have no choice but to get an air conditioner. I've heard of people building pvc things to hold ice packs inside the tank, I guess that's an option if you're desperate, but probably not as reliable.

Blowing a fan across the water in the top of the tank will help cool it off too by evaporation.

thanks, i've got a fan on it now. the afternoon got up to 76 so poor little sesame's tank got over 80! but filling a ziplock with ice and plopping it in there is pretty effective. lowers the tank temp at least a couple degrees in just a few minutes. i'm monitoring it of course so sesame doesn't bite off a piece of ziplock. it's getting to be nighttime too so i'll cool it off a bit more and then hopefully it will stay that way!

I'd make sure not to have a fan blow towards the basking area... you wouldn't want to unnecessarily expose your turtle to drafts.

good point!

Last summer I was suggested to use a frozen water bottle. That worked pretty well (I had to put two in at a time b/c it's a big tank) and you can leave them in there for a while without any worries of the turt nipping at it (but be sure to take the label and glue off!)