How Long can Turtles live without a heat lamp?
Turtle is a cold blood animal. They pass a long period every day by basking under sunlight to make their body warm and dry. In captivity, the turtle also requires a basking area to get heat and light. As most of the time, it is not possible to put the turtle under sunlight; you will need a virtual basking area. Some owners are unaware about this topic. A turtle may not survive in the long-term without a proper basking area and heat.
If you are going to bring a turtle in your house for petting, then you may have a whole array of questions in your mind. Such a question is how long can turtles live without a heat lamp? In today’s article, we will try to answer this question. As well as, we will provide you some critical acknowledgment about the basking light and temperature of the turtle tank. So, keep going through this article.
How Long can Turtles live without a heat lamp?
The turtle is a wild animal, and most of the time, there are big differences between the temperature of their habitat and captivity. That means you put them in a climate in which they are not adapted. However, it is found that the adult turtle is pretty good at adapting to a different climate. It is found that some turtle species can live comfortably even when the temperature falls in their outdoor environment.
That means a fully mature turtle may survive without a heat source. But the problem is with the juvenile or the baby turtles, which we mostly use as a pet. As their body is not fully developed, they require a lot of care and intervention for a being well. A heat source is a must for a baby turtle for the first three to five years of their life. Note that, as like as the adult turtle, they don’t require any sort of heat source during the hibernation period.
How long the turtle survive without the UVB Light?
As per different sources, a baby turtle cannot survive more than a few weeks without a proper heat source. The heat is highly necessary to increase the body temperature for a while to fight against the germ. More so, the basking light and UVB lights are required for breeding, mood, activity, and the overall well-being of the turtle. The UVB light source produces vitamin D3, which is extremely important to keep the metabolism rate up. It is required for the overall growth and shell development.
More so, the turtle requires day and night cycle, which is known as the circadian rhythms as like as we human need. Without these lights, there will be different diseases occurred to the turtle. Such as, they will catch a cold, which is very serious for the turtles. It can cause respiratory infection in the long-term, which may cause death.
More so, the turtle will be stressed due to the disturbance of their regular life cycle. Without adequate UVB light, the turtle will be diagnosed with different metabolic shell diseases, their immune system will fall, and it will also affect their mode. That means the turtle will not survive for the long-term.
How long should you keep the light on?
The goal of UV lamps and heat lamps is to simulate the natural habitat of turtles as much as possible. That means you will need to provide lighting to the turtle as like as they will get from the sunrise to sunset. You can keep the light on for around 10 to 13 hours a day. Make sure that the turtle is getting enough of the UVB lights. It should be positioned in a way so that the turtle can choose how much heat he will consume. You can do this by putting the light at one end of the tank that will help to maintain a heat gradient.
Smart Automatic Day-Night Simulation Devices
There are also some smart devices available in the market, which can allow you to illustrate the exact regular sunrise and sunset timing in the tank. They will also on and off the light automatically. Some of the devices can even control the temperature. Though these devices will cost you a good portion of the money, they can be an excellent investment for a better simulation of the natural habitat of the turtles.
Precaution: The UVB lights of the turtle tank are harmful to the human eyes. They can even cause blindness. Make sure that you are not looking at the lights and the reflectors directly. More so, they should be positioned in a way so that someone sitting in the room cannot look at the lights directly.
The right water temperature for the turtle
Along with the heating lamp, it is also essential to maintain the water temperature of the turtle tank. You must find out how much warmth the species of the turtle will require for the stage of its life. One easy way to find out the information is from the care sheet of the turtle. There should be adequate information about the water temperature of the turtle as per their natural habitat.
The popular variants of the turtle, including the, must turtle, red-eared sliders, painted turtle, require a water temperature of around 78 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit, which is around 26 to 28 degrees in Celsius. Once the upper shell of the turtle is fully developed, you can gradually reduce the water temperature.
When to raise the temperature
You will require raising the temperature of the tank when the turtle is sick. That is because the turtle cannot run a fever as they are ectothermic animals. To maintain the heat of a turtle tank, you can use one or multiple aquarium heater. Make sure that the heater is powerful enough to deal with the quantity of water in the turtle tank.
One of the most important things that you need to maintain is the temperature and the heat in a turtle tank for its well-being. We hope that the above guideline will acknowledge you on different queries about turtle habitat.
Sources of the Information: https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20130309165441AAZQNnt
