Does pet turtles really need heaters?

Answer 1

Not really, but they do need a heat light to help regulate thier body temperature. Most of the turtles in the pet trade are wild caught out of ponds which can only get around 65 degrees. They will come out of the water to bask to warm up but if you are not going to give them a water heater you do need a full sprectrum UV heat light. A common problem with water heaters is sometimes when they start going bad they can superheat the water and boil a turtle alive. Plus a heat light in a 10 to 20 long aquarium can heat the water some.

Answer 2

The typical pet turtle needs water temps of about 75-80 and basking site temps of about 90.

Because turtles, like other reptiles, are endothermic, they cannot produce their own body heat. If the turtle gets cool and cannot warm up it will not digest food properly, develop its muscles or bones right, fight off diseases, etc.

There is a lot of mis-information about turtles out there, like they really don't need heaters or special light, or that they are OK in small tanks, or that some foods are good for them (lettuce and hamburger are two common examples- TERRIBLE turtle foods!)

To make a turtle happy is easy to understand, but sort of a pain to set up. Once you have a good habitat, however, it is pretty easy from that point on.

Some things that make good habitat:
- large tank, aim for at least 10 gallons per inch of turtle, and plan ahead for future growth.
- water heated to 75-80F in the warm end, with a cooler end
- water kept very clean, with lots of filtration and/or frequent water changes
- multiple basking sites, with some being heated to 90F
- lighting that simulates the sun in duration, intensity, heat (see basking sites), and 'color'- that is, that it includes all the colors- even ultraviolet (which does not penetrate glass!)

They don't need a lot of tank decor, cage mates, special 'conditioning' blocks, or a lot of the other stuff you can put in a tank... but they really do need heaters.

Answer 3

my turtle is 4 years old & i have a red heat light for him. i also have a ramp that he can climb onto. the heat light is right over the ramp so he just sits under that and gets warm or chills. you should really have a heat light at least and something for the turtle to climb onto. they don't always want to be in the water! make sure there is plenty of room for it to swim around, too. they also like rocks at the bottom of the tank. a filter is necessary also.

Answer 4

YES!! Even at "room temp" they need to be able to thermoregulate and need access to warmer temps, especially to aid digestion. It varies among species but they usually need a warm spot around 90-ish degrees... They also MUST HAVE access to UVB rays, to aid with vitamin D synthesis for calcium absorption. If they are in an outdoor enclosure they will get all they need from the sun, otherwise you will need to purchase a fluorescent UVB light for them, or you can get mercury vapor bulbs, which provide heat as well as max. UV output, but they're fairly expensive.

Answer 5

Depends. If indoors, probably no. I kept turtles outside and some species might survive the winter but die in the spring if it gets below 50 degrees.

Answer 6

They dont need a heater if they are in the house where its controlled temp

Answer 7

YES!!! Due to the fact they are cold blooded they need help regulating their temperature. To low of a temp. will result in illness i.e. pneumonia and poss death

Answer 8

no, but they do need someplace to hibernate if they want to
)they need a container of dirt and moss etc to bury in) if kept indoors all the time they will need UV lamp for their health

Answer 9

nope....jsut water and something for them to crawl on/.

Answer 10

yeah so they can grow more healthier