General Care Discussion :: Turtle sleep

[FanOfTurts]

Hello again!! This may be a dumb question....then again, no question is dumb. It's only dumb when you don't ask it.

Do turtles sleep under water, on land, or can they do both? At night, Shea always sleeps in one corner of the tank under water, by the filter and heater....EVERY NIGHT!! Lil' Beltran sleeps on top of the basking log.......on land. I guess it depends on the turtle, right?

No, the light is off at night. [The tank is in my bedroom.]

[Turtleyturt]

I believe they usually sleep underwater with their heads close to the water line. Mine rest on rocks that I have built up in the aquarium but sometimes they rest on the bottom. My littliest turtle isn't feeling well and sleeps out of the water by the heat lamp.

[FanOfTurts]

Well, it is Lil' Beltran that sleeps on top of the basking log at night. He was a little under the weather, but he is making some progress. Check out my posts on Feeding and Nutrition.

Shea keeps her head just under the water level when she sleeps.

[industrial_girl_2000]

They can do both (land & underwater). Sheba mostly sleeps on top of her fake tree root, which is still underwater, but if she raises her head, her face is out of the water.

[cam722]

Turtles are as indivdual with how they do things as are people. We all don't sleep the same way I'm sure. Some sleep at the bottom of the tank, some so their heads are out of water and some on land/basking area.

[marisa]

I've got several turts that sleep at the very bottom of their tanks, one that prefers the basking area when it's warm (but now that it's getting cool likes to sleep in the water) and one that rests on a plastic plant near the water's surface but still under water.

[Kallistos]

Is it okay if they sleep 20 inches under-water? One of my turtles sleeps on the rock, but I shoo him off because the temperature drops to the 60's at night.

[marisa]

They'll come up if they need air, so I don't think you have to worry. One of my painteds often starts out sleeping on his basking area, but by early morning (I try to check on them once before I go to bed) he gone into the warmer water on his own.

[Muirner]

One of my turtle will sleep out of the water on the basking rock at night, and the other will sleep in the fake plants that are under water but close to the top.. This is backwards now. Ashley (who sleeps in the water) is on the dock basking and sleeping, and Mary Kate is under the light in the fake plants with her head poking out.